Reflection #5 : 7 Methods for Effective Powerpoint Slides

Hi guys! In our previous class, we reviewed a few submissions of slideshow presentations of a few of our classmates' lesson plans. Madam Ng gave us some constructive criticism and methods about how to make them as effective as possible for teaching and learning. Here is the list :

1. Understand that students are graphic literate and use colours that would appeal to them. Be careful to make sure that the colours are not an eye sore or too flashy. It is best to keep the slides clean and simple. Appropriate contrast should be used also (eg : if background is dark, choose light colours for the text and vice versa)

Keep it simple guys!

2. Slideshow presentations should be interactive. Do not ever make the mistake of merely reading word by word from the slides. Include activites within the slides to engage the students during the class to check their understanding and to prevent them from feeling too bored.

3. Choose proper templates. There is a variety of pre-designer, colour coordinated presentation templatest offered on Microsoft. Adjust the font and size if necessary to something appropriate like Century Gothic (size 20-25). The theme should be relevant with the theme of your slideshow. Do not over edit and put in too much custom animation as it may become annoying especially when repetitive.

4.  Do not try to cram too much information into one slide. Contrary to popular belief, the use of more slides is actually less time consuming. It will also be much easier for students to digest information when they are divided separately.

Won't want this to happen to our students, do we ? :p

5. Use creative strategies such as displaying pictures in slide show with the title and ask students what they think of it before showing them the definition straight away. This will provoke their curiousity and interest towards the lesson as well as help them understand better.

6. Give modern and local examples especially when explaining dry theory subjects. Students will be able to relate better when they are familiar with these kind of examples.

Characters from popular movies are good examples :)

7. For pictures, cartoon clip art should be avoided and real life ones should be used instead. This will show professionalism. Also, if only a certain part of the picture is relevant to the presentation, crop out the unnecessary part of that picture to highlight what you want the students to focus on.

Hope you found these tips useful ! :)

Reflection #4 : Most Important Element In A Lesson Plan

This week we were assigned to create our very own (and first) lesson plan! It was to be done according to our respective individual majors. Equipped with the basics of how it should look like, we were then faced with the challenging part : the content. After quickly skimming through a couple of samples that Madam Ng had posted, we tried our luck at it and hoped for the best.

As for me, I chose to base my lesson plan on a literature component called 'The Phantom of the Opera'. I fell in love with it when I first got exposed to it in high school. It is such an epic story embellished with elements of love, mystery, tragedies, culture, drama etc. Since I had a rather enjoyable experience learning about it back in high school, I figured why not try to recreate it for others ?

I think the most important part in creating a lesson plan is the organization of the stages. It consists of 4 sections namely,

1) Duration
2) Content/Skill
3) Teacher/Student Activity
4) Rationale/ Audio Visual Aids (AVA)

I find that this is a very useful technique to prepare for a lesson. It serves as a good mental checklist to know what to expect and what needs to be delivered in terms of priority. It is quite comprehensive and meticulous as well, as it goes to the extent of coming up with sample questions and answers from the class activities. You can also envisage a rough scenario of the class and be prepared for some of the common questions the students might pose to you. Not only that, I also really like the rationale part because it really makes you think whether a certain activity can be justified and that it's not just planned out whimsically. This enables us to fully maximize the benefits we can get out of the class.

I think that's pretty much the gist of it. Please excuse the brevity of this post compared to others. We have to prepare a slideshow presentation based on our lesson plan next week and I've barely started ! :O Yikes. Wish me luck! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes it my next post. Till then, stay tuned ! :)

Reflection #3 : Lesson Plan and Words of Wisdom

Technological advancements never cease to amaze me. In our last class, we were exposed to yet another new product of it. It was an interactive website known as 'Padlet'. It works like a sheet of paper where anything could be posted (images, videos, documents, text etc) anywhere from any kind of smart device , together with everyone. Our task this week was to upload our favourite school of thought as well as a method used in it. Within minutes, the verdant grass canvas page became fraught with a plethora of sticky notes. The fancy touch screen wall proudly displayed everyone's entries being edited and posted simultaneously. It was pretty cool. I liked how we were all able to collaborate in such a creative manner using our smart devices in the classroom. Not only was it quick and efficient, but the best part of using the Padlet was that there were no complications like we experienced the last time with our blog. What a relief!

Here's how Padlet looks like. Sorry this was the only picture I could find close to ours on Google. Note to self : snap more pictures in class 

In the next part of our lesson, we were assigned into groups and had to come up with a draft of a lesson plan. What is a lesson plan, you ask ? Basically, a lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction, or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered and the needs of the students. 

First, we started off with a quick brainstorming session and this was what we came up with :

Don't complain. Writing on touch screen walls are tricky. And anyway, as a teacher you have to get used to ALL kinds of handwriting :p

With Google and Microsoft Word as our allies, we all got our lesson plans done in no time. Then, we had a small discussion about everyone's finished masterpieces. All of us, more or less got the basics down. They were pretty simple, easy to digest and straightforward. Smiles lit up our faces as we got positive feedback from Madam Ng. We took note of her constructive criticism as well. 

Madam Ng is a very admirable person. In this lesson, we also had the privilege of getting to know her a little better as she shared with us some interesting anecdotes in her life. Many of us could relate and empathize with her especially when she told us all about her parents' pressure being the main reason she was in this teaching field. Despite it not being her first choice, Madam Ng persevered and thrived to achieve excellent results. She advised us that no matter how much we may be unsatisfied with the course, we should still strive to do our best. Getting a degree with flying colours will definitely benefit us in the working world, she reminded us. Our results can let people gauge what kind of a person we are and the abilities we have to contribute to them. By achieving excellent results, we would definitely have an advantage over others. 

Another piece of sound advice she delivered was to never give up. Jaws dropped in disbelief as Madam Ng narrated the number of jobs she had quit in the past until she finally found one that suited her. It surely must have been mentally challenging to go through what she had. However, she explained her simple philosophy that she vehemently stood by, "If I don't like the people I work with, I don't work with them". That really hit me because of the truth between the lines. You shouldn't have to compromise your own values and force yourself to work somewhere that is not conducive to your own well-being. Especially for teaching, I feel that it's important to have good emotional stability. Otherwise it may reflect badly on your teaching style and in turn impact the students negatively. One's happiness is definitely important in a career and shouldn't be taken for granted. If you adhere to this principle, you can be rest assured that there will always be a silver lining to find a job that's right for you. 

Thank you very much for your inspiring words of wisdom Madam Ng! Aspiring to follow in your footsteps :)

Happy Deepavali & Happy Holidays !