Presentation Tools
What are they?
Presentation tools are probably better known by their most famous exemplar, Microsoft’s PowerPoint. They are, of course, the online equivalent of a traditional slide show, but are much more powerful. For example, you can include sound, movies and links to Websites in order to provide your students with a rich multimedia experience.
How can I use them with my students?
The traditional way to use a presentation tool is as an aid to lecturing, with text slides summarising the key concepts and facts which you want students to acquire, and images and movies to illustrate your words. However, you might like to consider the following additional uses:
- Capture an entire lecture or talk and turn it into a podcast using a tool such as BB FlashBack (for Windows) or Profcast (for Macs). These allow you to capture audio and a PowerPoint presentation simultaneously, and then combine them into a single file for distribution.
- Create PowerPoint quizzes.
- Allow students to present their work in the form of a presentation, either to encourage their public-speaking skills or as an alternative for students who have difficulties with extended writing.
Examples
Interesting uses of augmented power point for elearning can be found in the Explore new concepts case study from Fermanagh College, Northern Ireland.There are also video materials associated with this case study available from the JISC Effective Practice case studies page.
Where can I get one?
Most colleges and universities have site licences for Microsoft Office, which includes PowerPoint. However, free open-source alternatives are now available, including Impress (part of the Open Office suite) and Zoho Show.
You can find a list of presentation tools and related software, as well as further tips on how to use them, on the Website of the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies.
