PPT

For class this week we finished up our powerpoints and posted them on our Google sites. Our two powerpoints we did were called, "What Number Am I?" and Hinky Pinky. Hinky Pinky was really fun to prepare because everyone started to get into it and wanted to start thinking of their own Hinky Pinky's.

Both of these assignments were great for using cognitive ability because the encourage them to brainstorm and think of possible answers to the clues that are given. Hinky Pinky is really fun, funny, and good for an activity that could be a nice break from the typical things they are doing in the classroom. Powerpoints are a good thing for the students to practice because right now they are very typical in the workforce today and it's important for them to learn the proper way of putting them together.

For my classroom, I love the "What number am I" because it's an easy way to test their knowledge of what we are learning. I can make a requirement for them to think of a number that will include certain terms that we have learned in class. I can also have them come up with equations that they will have to solve in order to get a clue to the number. The only problem with these activities is the fact that they might get a little out of control and rowdy. As a teacher you would have to maybe baby-sit the students while they are working on these assignments to keep them on task.

Video Blog

This would be a good thing for students to watch before they start on their own powerpoint presentation. I like it because it's very entertaining, but also applicable to learning what you should and shouldn't put on your slides. A lot of powerpoints have a tendency to have paragraphs of information on a slide, which leads to minds wandering, and ineffective teaching strategies. I get side-tracked when there are animations on the screen next to words and words of information and he even addressed that, I loved it!!! The main point he seemed to push was to keep the powerpoints simple, and be sure to post the most important information ONLY. It's the perfect length for students to pay attention to and teach them the important facts.