Workshop G: Using PowerPoint as a Teaching and Learning Tool.

 

Thomas Soth

Northwest High School

sotht@guilford.k12.nc.us

spanishisfun.org

 

This workshop is designed for teachers who have little experience with PowerPoint. Learn how to use this program to enhance vocabulary building, grammatical comprehension, and reading. Further, create computer lab PowerPoint lessons that will build students’ second language writing skill and communicative abilities.

 

Part 1: Creating your own presentations to support teaching.

 

Examples:  A unit question presentation using a design template, a simple verb conjugation presentation, and a translation slide show.

 

Beginning a presentation for reviewing unit questions. (Learning how to create a quick presentation with animation)

 

A dialogue box generally pops up when you open PowerPoint. This dialog box offers four options, including: creating a new presentation using the AutoContent Wizard, a design template, or a blank presentation; or working on an existing presentation.  (The AutoContent Wizard puts sample text into slides for you following a general context you enter into the program like “a marketing plan”.)

 

Select the Design Template option, the "New Presentation" dialog box appears.

There are several tabs above the preview box in this dialog box. The tabs you see at your school may be different from those displayed on this computer, depending upon the release of PowerPoint 2000.  The display may also look a bit different because of the three viewing options for this window. You can select from among these three options (Large Icons , List , or Details ) by clicking the corresponding display button, just like you do to change views in the Windows Explorer or My Computer.

 

The Design Templates tab contains template choices for the presentation. Click on a template name to preview that template's design in the box on the right. When you find the template you want to use, click the [OK] button to continue.

 

The next screen, “new slide dialogue box” offers you a choice of AutoLayouts for the slide you are about to create. AutoLayouts are formatted with placeholders for information like text or charts. When you click on an AutoLayout, the layout name is displayed in the area on the right of the box. Choose title slide and click on OK to continue.

 

Here you will fill in information about what you are going to present in two different boxes.  Lets do a clothing review for this workshop.  For accent marks and other FL symbols use the chart below to help or click on the insert tab from the menu bar at the top of the screen and the click on symbol to find the FL symbol that you need.   (Clicking on a menu bar option displays a list of commands. Older versions of Microsoft Office displayed all of the menu commands immediately. Microsoft Office 2000 only shows you the commands you use most often. Click on the double arrows at the bottom of the list to expand the list and display all of the commands. After you select a command, it appears in the personalized list.)

 


This is a good place to discuss the tool bars, or the icon you see above and below the work screen. The default window has, from top to bottom, a title bar, a menu bar, and a toolbar displayed above the main document window.  These buttons do the same thing as many of drop down items from the menu bar and thus work as shortcut keys.  Holding the mouse arrow above the icons on the tool bars generate pop up windows that tell you what each button accesses.

 

The five buttons on the left side of the screen just above the drawing toolbar are particularly important to beginners. They are for the different view modes you can use while you work on a presentation. The buttons and related view modes are: normal view, online in these different modes. 

 

It’s good to save your work frequently so find the little disk icon and click on it.  Iff the file has not been named a “save” dialogue box opens up. You may save your PowerPoint files in any folder you want. The default folder is usually "My Documents" on the C: drive.  For now save your document to your A drive. 

 

Once your document is saved, return to the “slide view” by clicking on said icon. 

 

From here, click on the “insert slide icon” and choose “text and clipart icon” to bring up your next slide.  On this slide, ask a question in the title tile and then type three different situations for the question to be answered in the click to add text box.  The click on the clipart box and insert any clipart you deem as fitting for your presentation.  Create two more slides like this.  (Reminder—you can change slide layout or design template as necessary by clicking on the slide layout icon or design template icon and choosing a different one.)

 

Playing Your Slide Show

 

Both the slide pane in Normal View and the Slide View give you a good feel for what each of your slides looks like, but those views display all of the layout placeholders, including ones that you chose not to use. To view the slides without the empty placeholders, you need to select the Slide Show View.  Click on slide sorter view and then click on the first slide in the screen.  Now click on the slide show button to watch your show. Press the <Down Arrow> key, <Enter> or <PageDown>, or click with your mouse to move to the next slide. Press the <Up Arrow> key or the <PageUp> key to move backward one slide.

Right-click anytime during the slide show to display a shortcut menu containing several options, including the option to end the slide show. You can also press the <Esc> key to stop playing the slide show.

 

Animating your slides

 

If you would text and/or graphics to appear one at a time on each slide you may animate your slides in a few ways.  Scroll back to your second slide and click on the bulleted box and then click on one of the animate slide buttons.   To custom animate each slide, click on custom animation icon and use that window to custom animate your slide.  Do this for each of your slides and then play your slide show again.

 

Congratulations, you just created a PowerPoint presentation!

 

 

 

 

Creating a simple verb conjugation presentation (learning how to create an original presentation, duplicating slides for animation, making a timed presentation, and moving slides

 

On the menu bar, click on file and the click on new.  The “new presentation” dialogue box will open up again and this time you will click on blank presentation icon and then click OK.  The new slide dialogue box will then open and you will choose a Blank Slide. 

 

Insert a text box into the slide and key in a verb chart for any verb.  Then change the font around to make your presentation more colorful.  Font size and type is changed above the screen and font color is changed below the screen at the font color icon. 

 

Next create a background for your slide by clicking on format on the menu bar and then on background.  Choose a background color and then click apply.  You may want to then change your font again so that it will appear clearer for the particular background you apply. 

 

Now go to “slide sorter view”.  Here, click on the one slide that you have and then click on copy and then past.  This will give you a copy of what you have. 

 

Click on the second slide and then view it in “slide view”.  On this slide you will underline and change the font of the changed part of the verb.  Highlighting what you want changed and then changing the font and color for each part does this.  Use the right mouse button to access these properties this time.

 

Play your slide show and make changes if necessary. 

 

Now click on the slide show button on the menu bar and then click on set up show.  In the set up show dialogue click on continuous loop and then hit OK.  Next under the slide show button click on the slide transition button.  In this dialogue box, click on advance and then the amount of time you want each slide to appear.  The click on OK.

 

Play your slide show and make changes if necessary.

 

Now make two more slides with the personal pronouns added to verb conjugations and then underlined with the conjugated parts of the verb.

 

Play your slide show and make changes if necessary. 

 

Congratulations! You have made another PowerPoint presentation!

 

Break
Translation slides (Learning how to copy boxes and order animation)

 

1.      Open a new blank presentation to a title only slide. 

2.      Write something in the title space. 

3.      Copy that box by right click over the edges of the box when the mouse arrow turns into a directional cross.

4.      Click paste and then arrange the two boxes so that they are of equal side and each is covering half of the whole slide.

5.      Click in the top box and then go to the fill color icon click on its arrow and give the first box a fill color. 

6.      Do the same for the bottom box.

7.      Right click the bottom box and click on custom animation.

8.      In the custom animation, click on how you would like the text to appear and then make sure the “animate attached shape” is not checked.

9.      Play the presentation to see if it is how you want it.

10.  Now in the slide sorter view, copy the slide and paste it a few times to get about 6 slides.

11.  Make six translation slides

12.  Use the slide sorter to move the slides around in the order that you want them by dragging and placing them.

13.  Play your presentation and make changes if necessary. 

 

Congratulations, you have made a translation slide show.

 

Making a grammatical concept slide show.  Aquí, allí and allá. (Learning to insert pictures and graphics)

 

1.      Open a new presentation with a blank slide. 

2.      Go to the Internet and find a good picture for your background.

3.      Save picture in my documents.

4.      In PowerPoint, go to format and background.

5.      Click the arrow and open fill affects.

6.      Here, select the picture tab and then click on select picture.

7.      Open your picture and apply it as your background.

8.      Now put in three text boxes. One for aquí, one for allí and one for allá.

9.      Now click on auto shapes and select an arrow for aquí and insert that arrow into the presentation.

10.  Size the arrow how you want it.

11.  Right click on the arrow and copy it and then paste it twice.

12.  Move the two copies to allí and allá and size them to how you want them.

13.  Make another copy of the slide and insert clipart for three different people.  Change the three boxes to “yo estoy aquí”, “tú estás allí” and “ella está allá”.

14.  Now in each slide work the custom animation so the slide show works with aquí appearing followed by allí and allá.

 

Watch the show and you’re done!


Part 2: Creating Lessons where the students use PowerPoint

 

Luckily, the majority of students I have encountered are familiar with PowerPoint.  When students are not familiar with the program, I have them sit in the computer lab next to students who know it well.  When planning a PowerPoint project I

 

·        Reserve the computer lab

·        Make a rubric (the most important step for me: see examples)

o       Include a general description

o       Include specific information about the basics

o       Show point values

o       Include a self evaluation

·        Create a model presentation to show either in class or at the beginning of the lab

 

When students are not familiar with the program, I have them sit in the computer lab next to students who know it well.  Generally, for a one period class, I have the students

 

·        only create six slides for a presentation (10-12 for a two day lab)

·        have them use design templates to speed up the process

o       Have them print out their presentations on six slides per page (seethe print dialogue box for PowerPoint)

·        Give them a rubric (examples are attached)

·        Have them plan out a presentation for homework (see attached)

·        Give them a model presentation the day before (or at the beginning of the lab).

 

Then sit back and watch you students work!

 

Question?

 

To access all this information, go to spanishisfun.org and click on

FLANC Presentation:

Using PowerPoint as a Teaching and Learning Tool