Instructional Presentation Tools

(Hardware and Software)

How Can Technology Improve Learning? Improving learning is the key in this question. So often, instructors look for the latest technology so they can implement it into the classroom in an attempt to keep their students' interest in the selected lesson content, when consideration should be given to choosing the most appropriate media (hardware and software) for the content to be taught. To accomplish the latter, instructors need to know the purpose and characteristics of all the newest technology so they can decide which hardware and software will present the information and skills in a manner that is beneficial to their students.

Using presentation software in the classroom benefits both the instructor and students in a variety of ways, including:

• Professional, fine-tuned presentation (especially with the implementation of peer review) for the instructor and the student
• Richer, more engaging ways of representing information
• Enhanced value of content through links to digital resources (audio files, images, web pages, etc.) 
• Improved student retention of material from lectures and demonstrations using presentation software
• Broader engagement of students during a lecture through connections to all types of learners (including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learners)
• Address the variety of learning styles and strategies (active, reflective, sensory, intuitive, visual, verbal, sequential, global)
• Decreased preparation time through teacher collaboration
• More efficient pace to lessons by eliminating time-consuming transitions between media (which causes students to stop paying attention)
• More time for students to review instructions
• Improved computer skills, including learning to conceptually use presentation software (knowledge which should be transferable to any package)
• Increased student cooperation and collaboration
• Opportunity to practice public speaking skills while using presentation software and tools to develop their own signature style of engaging an audience
• Simplification of complex concepts or lessons
• Enhanced language learning through the engagement of the four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening
• Improved organization 
• Extension of learning through presentations outside of the classroom (students access presentations digitally for preview and review) 

To provide the best possible teaching and learning experience in the classroom, both the instructor and the students should actively use the presentation software to avoid passive learning where the extent of the learners' engagement is to write notes or ask a question, which is a common criticism of instructors using presentation software in the classroom. (JISC Digital Media, 2009)

The information below provides insight into several types of presentation hardware and software that can be used by instructors and students to improve learning in the classroom.

PowerPoint

• Overview

               PowerPoint is the presentation software included with Microsoft Office. This software operates on a "slide" platform and allows for integration of links, images and video. 

• Research
• Electronic Presentation of Lectures - Effect upon Student Performance (study conducted specifically on PowerPoint vs. overhead projector)
• PowerPoint Is Not Just for Business Presentations and College Lectures: Using PowerPoint to Enhance Instruction for Students with Disabilities  (article stating how PowerPoint can be used to increase motivation and encourage independent skill practice in students with disabilities)
• http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/CreatingAnimationsinPowerPoint/192966 
• Powerful or Pointless: Faculty versus Student Perceptions of PowerPoint Use in Business Education (article includes an empirical study that was conducted in order to discover whether there were differences in the way faculty and students view PPT use).
• Media
•  Using PowerPoint (or not)  (lecture on how and why teachers should use PowerPoint)
• PowerPoint beats Prezi   (Video about why PowerPoint is preferable to Prezi)

Prezi

• Overview

               Prezi is a dynamic cloud-based (stored and accessed online) presentation software that uses a "zoomable canvas" in order to "explore ideas and the connections between them" (Prezi.com/about). Prezi is a non-linear presentation platform that allows for integration of images, video and links. Prezi can also operate as a collaboration tool, as multiple folks can edit the same presentation in real time.

• Research
• Review of Prezi (in terms of research and education in social work)  
• Survey analysis of Prezi effectiveness 
• Presentation Software: Pedagogical Constraints and Potentials (an academic paper discussing Prezi and PowerPoint)
• Media 
• Prezi Video (An introduction to Prezi that demonstrates it's strengths.)
• Top 5 Reasons to use Prezi (Youtube video of a user's tops 5 reasons to use Prezi) 

SMART Board and SMART Notebook

• Overview

                SMART board is an interactive white board that puts a computer's functions at your fingertips.

                SMART Notebook is a piece of presentation software that was created for use with a SMART Board.  It's unique in that you can place movable objects and text in the presentation adding a layer of interactivity that isn't available in other presentation software.

• Research 
• Using SMART Board (An article discussing the use of SMART board and SMART Notebook in the classroom)
• Integrating the SMART Board into the Elementary classroom (An article providing 21 methods of using the SMART Board in the classroom, plus tips for basic use)
• Pedagogical activities made possible by the SMART Board and other interactive white boards (An article providing a variety of ways students and teachers can use interactive white boards in the classroom)

• Media
• Creating Excercises (Youtube video describing how to use the included activity toolkit in SMART Notebook)
• Ease of Use with Touch Recognition (Youtube video illustrating how elementary teachers easily stream SMART Notebook use into the classroom)

Keynote

• Overview

               Keynote is a presentation software developed by Apple Inc. and now part of the iWork suite of products. Keynote, a presentation program similar to PowerPoint, allows slides to be quickly created from an outline and enhanced with images, objects and multimedia files such as sounds or Quick Time movies.  (Apple Keynote). Virtual Teams in Business

• Research
• Keynote Basics (An article illustrating how to create a presentation in Keynote) 
• Media
• Effective Keynote (Youtube video describing some features of Keynote)
• Keynote '09: Getting Started  (Tutorial from Apple on using the basic features of Keynote)

iPad/Tablets

• Overview

                A tablet computer is a "general-purpose computer contained in a single panel. Its distinguishing characteristic is the use of a touch screen as the input device" (PCMag.com). A tablet computers is a "complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen" (Wikipedia: Tablet Computer). By late 2011, 5 tablet platforms have emerged: iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows, and HPWebOS (PCMag.com).     

• Research 
•  Will the iPad Revolutionize Education? (article stating that iPads benefit educational settings because it reduces the learning curve for students and gives teachers the opportunity to experiment with technology)
• Schools Release iPad Studies (article summarizing the results of iPad experiments in higher education). 
• Teaching and Learning with iPads, Ready or Not? (article looking at the early benefits and costs of iPad use, focusing more on K-12). 
• Media
• Math that Moves: Schools Embrace the iPad 
• iPad Keynote presentation tutorial  (How to create Keynote presentations on the iPad)
• iPads for College Classrooms? Not So Fast, Some Professors Say (Chronicle of Higher Education article on the pros and cons of iPads in the classroom.) 

Camtasia/Jing

• Overview

               Camtasia is a program that allows users to record PowerPoint presentations, websites or anything they are doing on their computer screen.  Users can edit screencasts and add transitions and captions. Videos can be shared by uploading to sites such as YouTube or Screencast.com. Jing is the free version of Camtasia which has limited features. Screencasts created with Jing are limited to five minutes long. (Techsmith.com)

• Research
• Camtasia Description (This PDF document provides an overview of Camtasia and a basic tutorial on how to use it to record a PowerPoint presentation)
• Media 
• Basic Camtasia Tutorial (An introduction to using Camtasia)
• How to Record a Lecture (This video is for teachers who would like to record lectures with Camtasia)
• Record PowerPoint presentations with Jing (Tutorial showing how to use Jing to record narration for PowerPoint presentations)

ELMO

• Overview

               ELMO is a document camera that adds live images to a presentation.  The ELMO has functions such as zooming, lighting, capturing skill pictures, and can be used with a wireless tablet.  An ELMO can be viewed by connecting it to a computer or projector. 

• Research
• Classroom uses  (This gives suggestions for using the document camera in your classroom)
• ELMO Document Cameras (This article explains the benefits of using an ELMO)
• Media
• Set up and presentation of ELMO (Video of usage and set up of an ELMO) 

Audience Response Systems 

• Overview

          Turning Technologies has developed audience response technology also known as Turning Point or Clickers.  This response system uses Microsoft Point and Microsoft Word to test/poll the audience with instantaneous results.  This presentation tool creates active learning and engagement while assessing audience results.

• Research
• Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach (This study explores the effect of clickers, an active learning tool, on student learning outcomes)
• An Audience Response System Strategy to Improve Student Motivation, Attention, and Feedback 
• Media
• Turning Technologies (This website has information, videos, and products for audience response systems)

References

Axtell, K., Maddux, C., & Aberasturi, S. (2008). The effect of presentation software on classroom. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 4 (1), 21-33.

     Retreived from http://www.sicet.org/journals/ijttl/issue0801/4_1_2_maddux.pdf

Carter, M. (2008, July 27). Using presentation software to pace lessons in the classroom. Mr. Carter's Blog: Exploring Applications of Technology in the Classroom, and Reflections on Teaching.

     Retrieved from http://occasionalteacher.blogspot.com/2008/07/using-presentation-software-to-pace.html

JISC Digital Media. (2009, April 30). Pedagogical uses of presentation software. Finding and Using Digital Media.

     Retrieved from http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/crossmedia/advice/pedagogical-uses-of-presentation-software

Murray, Orrin. (2011). Teaching and Learning with iPads, Ready or Not?. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, v. 55 issue 6, p. 42-48.

     Retrieved from http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/article.cgi?issn=87563894&issue=v55i0006&article=42_talwiron 

Schcolnik, M. & Kol, S. (1999, March). Using presentation software to enhance language learning. The Internet TESL Journal, 5 (3).

     Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Schcolnik-PresSoft.html

Stillwater Area Public Schools. (2011). An introduction to keynote presentation software. 

     Retrieved from http://oakland.stillwater.k12.mn.us/sites/f1c1a073-106e-4552-82a3-3b75eff284c3/uploads/Keynote.pdf    

The Ohio State University. (2009). PowerPoint & other presentation software. University Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

     Retrieved from http://ucat.osu.edu/read/teaching/technology/technology_modesppt.html

The TLT Group: Teaching, Learning, and Technology. (2008). Using presentations to help students learn. In Flashlight Evaluation Handbook.

     Retrieved from http://www.tltgroup.org/flashlight/Handbook/Presentation/Ideas.htm

Tufts University. (2007). Presentation software. UIT Encyclopedia for Teaching With Technology.

     Retrieved from https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/UITKnowledgebase/Presentation+Software            

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