Interactive presentations in the classroom!

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKTtfy6eHyTbsHg5sPhSvhT66wmVu_-e0X-w&usqp=CAU Teachers can spend a lot of their lesson talking or asking questions with PowerPoint presentations becoming the new 'chalk and talk' concept in many classrooms, however that doesn't mean that all presentations need to be teacher centred lessons. With the development of technology and access to multiple programs it is easier than ever to ensure that your classroom presentation is interactive and engages students without the dreaded 'chalk and talk' lesson.  HOW PRESENTATIONS CAN BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM: There are so many ways teachers can integrate presentations into the classroom outside of using a PowerPoint presentation. Many teachers use presentations as they allow information to be presented in a verbal and visual way, including YouTube videos. However presentations can also be interactive with built in quizzes to check students understanding, getting students to create their own presentations, creating a class presentation that each student creates a slide to add or creating a class video or digital story. These presentations can then be shared with students to allow them to revisit and use them for revision. It also means students who are absent can also view the content covered. POWTOON: There are many different types of presentations that can be used in the classroom from the good old faithful PowerPoint, to Powtoon, Comic Life, mysimple show, digital storytelling or getting really creative with augmented reality and virtual reality, the options are endless it really comes down to your creativity and time. As I use PowerPoint or Canva quite frequently I decided to give Powtoon a go. Overall I found the program pretty easy to set up an account. They also have plenty of guidance on what type of presentations you can make as well as templates that you can edit to suit your new content. As with any new program it does take a little bit of getting use to however, there is plenty of guided videos and a help option to guide you through the process.  After selecting my template and watching a short 2minute introduction video, I was working towards creating my own presentation on how to include Powtoon in the classroom guide by the SAMR model. Check out the finished project below: Powtoon in the classroom SAFE USE OF PRESENTATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: Using ICT in the classroom requires teachers to set expectations and flow the school policy to ensure students are using and creating ICT safely and ethically, presentations are no different. It is important that any videos shared by teachers or students are appropriate for students viewing. Teachers must ensure that they educate and set expectations on what is appropriate materials for students to include in their presentations. Teachers must also be mindful of privacy setting when sharing students presentations outside of the classroom to ensure that the students identity remains safe and the presentation is shared with an appropriate audience. Overall there is multiple ways teachers can include interactive presentations in the classroom it is all about finding the most suitable tool to ensure transfer of learning occurs and students have the opportunity to not only listen but interact throughout the presentation.

Effective use of Digital Media in the Classroom

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DIGITAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM:
Digital media can be represented in classrooms in a variety of ways through images, audio files, videos and digital stories. Each has its own benefit and use, the learning goal will determine the most appropriate resource to use. One thing that is important is that it is included in the classroom as not just a different way to teach content but to change the focus to student centred learning through interaction and creating. As this blog is all about digital media and the different programs that teachers and students can use to bring digital media to live in the classroom I thought what better way could I share the benefits with you than through creating my own infographic through ThingLink

IMAGES FOR LEARNING:

Images can be a powerful tool in the classroom, we have all heard the saying a picture says a 1000 words, now imagine if you could harness that power and bring it to live for students. The us of images in the classroom can do just that, whether it be showing students an image and getting them to complete a see, think, wonder activity, through the use of graphic organises to allow students a visual way to organise their notes or getting them to create their own image on a unit of work just completed.

One of the best uses of images in the classroom is getting students to create their own. ThingLink is a great free online program that students can use to create their own interactive images. It is relatively easy to set up a free online account with an email address. From there you can guide students on the type of interactive image you want them to create or you can give them the task and let them run wild. See the range of options available:

Once students select what type of interactive content they wish to create a short introduction video comes up giving users a short video on how to use ThingLink to create the content, making it very user friendly.

ThingLink also allows you to include your interactive content in other applications including PowerPoint, Canva and websites, this step does seem to be slightly more difficult and I am yet to figure this out, however I am hoping with a bit more practice and creating I will be able to imbed interactive images directly into this blog.

As with all digital media students need to be taught how to safely and legally use and include digital media in classroom. Before setting student free in the digital world it is important that teachers set clear expectations and rules around what is acceptable and unacceptable when using digital images. Students need to know how to credit all resources used to uphold ethical use. Education Victoria provides a great overview of schools, teachers and students responsibilities when using digital technology in the classroom Cybersafe Policy

DIGITAL IMAGES FOLLOWING THE SAMR MODEL: