Classroom Presentations

1. What were some of the best things you saw during the presentations?  Why did you like them?  What were the most effective teaching strategies you witnessed?

I thought Sara’s improvisation of the Middle English when her video didn’t load was easily the best aspect I witnessed out of all the presentations: she remained calm in spite of the malfunction and showed an obvious command of the content.  I thought Cassie, Tim, Marc, and Roger all did a very good job of using their Prezis to support their presentations.  The videos and slides (stops) they had we only a portion of the overall presentation and the things they discussed were related to their stops but not redundant.  They showed great enthusiasm for their topics and were able to expand on the basics presented at the stops.  Marc in particular showed his passion (although a bit overwhelming considering how destructive they are) for tornados.  I thought as usual Cassie did a great job of roaming around the classroom and engaging the students.

2. What were the least engaging/helpful things you saw during the presentations? Why were they not effective?  What could any specific student do to improve?  [Please be honest here without being mean.  This is for critical feedback to help others improve.] 

One thing that the Prezis, and Powerpoints, do is focus the teacher’s attention on the board instead of the classroom.  This is where preperation and practice is key, when you know what is on the board and can expand on it while addressing the class, not the board.  I thought Jerry, and to some extent myself, had text on our stops that we simply read.  This is what I have been taught not to do on Powerpoints.  In my case, the text was typically the topic idea (which is fine) or the formulas.  The formulas need to be written out but Prezi does not do a good job of them due to issues with sub and super-scripts.  I could have used the smart board feature to write in the actual formulas.  If you have text you need to present, like Paula taught us, have the students read it.  Ryan also had the issue of videos not loading.  I don’t know the best solution to this problem.  He couldn’t simply improvise like Sara did and have the same effect that the videos did.    

3. After viewing everyone else's presentations, how would you improve your own (both how you presented and the project you made) the next time you were to give this presentation? 

Like I briefly touched on, I would try to write in the formulas as I went along instead of having that text on the stop.  This would give the students some time to catch up and write along with me.  The issue of advancing  stops in the full screen mode was a bit of a challenge with the mouse.  I thought Cassie did the best job of roaming and using the technology as best as she could.  I think roaming can help keep kids engaged and provide the teacher with the opportunity to control trouble making students better.  In general, I wish I was better prepared so I could talk more eloquently about each stop while addressing the class, not the board.

4. Do you like using PowerPoint/Prezi/SmartBoard as a lesson presenter?  What are the pros/cons of using it?  How might you use it with students?  Could you go back to Friday, would you have tried a different one than what you chose?

I do like using it.  The main pro I see is that it can engage students of a variety of learning styles: visual, auditory, and possibly kinesthetic if used correctly.  Putting together the actual presentation can take a significant amount of time, but once it is done and presented you can take feedback from your students, or personal reflection, and quickly improve it for use next time.  I think being able to show videos that tie the basics of a lesson into the student’s lives will increase the likelihood that they will become invested in the material.

As I mentioned in #2, sometimes the presentation can become the entire focus of the lecture and can stifle interaction between the teacher and students, and amongst students.  Having a well practiced presentation can allow the teacher to be more engaging but it can limit the free flow of ideas in a class (less so in Prezi).  If I went again Friday I think I would stick with Prezi but like I previous stated, I would also incorporate the SmartBoard into it.  By writing on the SmartBoard instead of the white board I could potentially save my drawings and share them with the class for future use.

5. After this project, what do you believe is the best way to deliver lecture material (no electronics is an option)?  How often do you think you will utilize an electronic presentation method to deliver your content and what might you use instead/in addition to?  Why do you think you will present material that way?

I’ll take the easy way out and say it depends on the topic.  However, if at all possibly I would try to incorporate some method of differentiation to the different learning styles.  Prezi seems to be able to do this quite well and allows for a semi-structured lecture format.  I am guessing I will use a Prezi type presentation twice a week in my classes, maybe more if the material is asking for demonstrations.  Simply showing YouTube clips is a way that we have done in the past also.

The method that I have learned thus far in the MAT program that I have seen the most potential for in math is jig sawing.  I was unfamiliar with it prior to the program but can see that it is very engaging for the students and can promote a strong sense of community.  In jig sawing the stronger students may be able to help me teach the weaker students, and at the same time reinforcing their own knowledge of the material.