Presentation software
What is presentation software?
Presentation software is a computer program that allows users to create a variety of visually appealing slides and audio-visual aids for public speaking and presentations.
As computers and technology such as data projectors and whiteboards become more widespread in education, presentation software is increasingly being used in schools as a teaching tool and as a resource for learners to prepare and present information.
Creating multimedia presentations
As well as adding text and images to a slide presentation it is possible to add video sequences, audio and music, thereby making it possible to convert a slideshow into an interactive and engaging multimedia presentation. In some cases it is also possible to watch presentations on the internet. Used correctly, presentation software can make learning a dynamic and engaging experience for learners of all ages and abilities. One of the most popular presentation software programs is Microsoft’s PowerPoint.
Helping people with disabilities or learning difficulties
Presentation software can be particularly helpful for learners who have a disability or a learning difficulty and find traditional ways of learning either difficult or impossible. For example, it is possible to make Microsoft PowerPoint switch-accessible for learners who have complex difficulties.
Resources
There now exists a large range of resources to support presentation software - for example, tutorials, ideas for using it in the classroom and a number of ‘add-ons’ which can increase the ways in which presentation software is used.
Useful links
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Microsoft PowerPoint is notably the best known and most widely used presentation program. PowerPoint allows users to create easy-to-use engaging and interactive slide shows that can be used by both teachers as a teaching resource and by pupils and students as a means of presenting information. As PowerPoint is so widely used there is a vast amount of resources on the Internet that can be downloaded, for example, slide templates, clip art, audio sounds and video clips as well as an enormous amount of tutorials and support.
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PowerPoint in the classroom is a colourful and engaging series of tutorials to help get to grips with making your first PowerPoint presentation. The tutorials include 'Creating your first slide', 'Adding images and charts', 'Adding motion and sound' as well as a 'Teacher's Guide' in printable format.
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These web pages offer a variety of links related to presentation programs for creating innovative presentations. The list includes CD Presenter, an easy to use point and click program that allows users to save their work to a CD or DVD as well as some of the more advanced programs such as Techsmith (screen capturing) and Astound for creating interactive multimedia presentations.
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A series of information files on using powerpoint to create accessible multimedia.
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Based on the concept of visual learning and mind maps, Inspiration is a learning program to help strengthen critical thinking, comprehension and writing skills across the curriculum. Inspiration helps learners to create graphic mind maps that represent concepts and relationships to help construct essays and reports. One of the great benefits of Inspiration is that it is simple to use, colourful and engaging. It also allows learners to quickly and easily convert mind maps into PowerPoint presentations or even colourful web pages to display on the Internet.
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Semerc provides a range of ICT resources for the curriculum, including, early years, learners with sensory impairment, speech and language development and switch users. Semerc resources aim to make the delivery of learning as inclusive as possible.
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BuildAbility is a presentation program for children (young and old) from Don Johnston. BuildAbility is similar to a PowerPoint presentation program, but because of its easy-to-use layout and accessible tools, it is much simpler to develop materials. BuildAbility comes with a BuildAbility 'Player' which means you can share your presentation/lesson with your colleagues on either a Mac or Windows computer. It is possible to download a number of presentations/lesson from the Don Johnston website to get you started, for example, 'I can build a House', 'In the Desert and the 'Solar System'. BuildAbility uses a combination of text, graphics to create engaging sentence structures, concepts, story lines and language patterns, for example, rhyme and rhythm.
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Did you know it is possible to make PowerPoint slides switch accessible for learners with complex difficulties? The basic technique is fairly straightforward. PowerPoint slides can have buttons that do things, such as play a sound or a video clip, or jump to another slide. These buttons can be used by pressing a small number of keys. In turn, the keys can be generated by switches. There are 3 tutorials that provide an easy to follow step-by-step guide to do this. The link at the bottom of the web page will allow you to download a switch accessible PowerPoint example and an interactive guide to build your own switch accessible PowerPoint presentation.
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Access interventions page of the Don Johnston special needs web site.