Using PowerPoint Interactively in the Classroom
Classroom teacher David Rayner explains how he brings his lessons to life using powerful digital images in PowerPoint presentations. Used imaginatively, the images and quizzes help develop thinking skills in his students and make lessons more engaging.
David provides clear, step-by-step explanations of his techniques in PowerPoint and he provides both finished activities and templates for you to build your own presentations. The techniques and resources provided in this feature relate to geography teaching but they could be easily adapted for any subject, so why not have a go?
Why use PowerPoint in the classroom?
PowerPoint sometimes gets a lot of bad press and some teachers have learnt to dismiss it. It is nevertheless a powerful and flexible piece of commonly available software that can be used in a huge variety of ways to generate interest, understanding and even excitement in the classroom. In order to demonstrate some of the more positive aspects of the software, I am going to concentrate on two areas of development - using images in PowerPoint and developing games in PowerPoint.
Using images in PowerPoint
Now that most of us own and use digital cameras, it is getting easier and cheaper to build a copyright-free collection of digital images for use in the geography classroom. These days I rarely leave the house without my digital camera bag or at least my smaller pocket digital camera. I snap anything that I think might be useful in a geography lesson and then at regular intervals delete poor or less useful photos. The tricky part that I hope to master is keeping the growing mountain of images well organised.
With students of all ages, we have in the past been severely limited in terms of what images we can present in the classroom. Textbook photos quickly become dated and invariably are already titled and sometimes even already annotated. Placing your own geographical images within a PowerPoint presentation opens a variety of new opportunities.
Manipulating images
Take an image and use it to illustrate a new scenario. You can do this in a drawing software package such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements. The example below is used to show a landform as it looked in the past and how it might look in the future. Instructions on how to alter the image are contained in the PowerPoint.
Note: You will need to save these files to your computer if you wish to edit them yourself. Right-click on the link below and choose 'Save Target As...' to save the PowerPoint file.
PowerPoint file: Manipulating Images (399 KB)
I have also taken images of pristine sections of tropical coast and digitally placed a nice new hotel complex on the edge of the beach – it makes an excellent before and after for discussion work.
Odd images
Surprise the students and stimulate discussion with a few unusual or quirky images. Students like to be puzzled by images and often come out with a surprising array of questions and possible answers.
PowerPoint file: Mystery Images (1,962 KB)
You can also use this technique to get students to challenge stereotypes, for example by showing them a small set of well chosen photos and asking them which photos were taken in LEDCs (less economically developed countries) and which in MEDCs (more economically developed countries). They are often surprised when told the answers.
Sequences of images
Use a sequence of images to illustrate a process or an effect. The presentation below illustrates the process of coastal erosion in Bawdsey, Suffolk. The images show how a series of flags placed one metre apart at the cliff edge disappeared into the sea at the rate of 14 metres in nine months. The images are reproduced with kind permission from Bettina Furnee (the artist who created the project) from the If Ever You're in the Area website.
I have also used it to show (in a controlled way) the movement of a depression using both satellite images and rainfall radar images. With a little more time and effort, it can be used to develop a detailed piece of virtual fieldwork (see GeoResources website for an example).
PowerPoint file: Bawdsey Cliffs (2,100 KB)
Annotating images
Give the students an image that hasn’t already been labelled. You can get them to sketch and label the image – either the old-fashioned way or via a drawing software package that will allow you to create a new layer over the image. The example below gives step-by-step instructions on how to add simple labels to a photo on the interactive whiteboard.
Note: This PowerPoint file uses a 'macro' and you need to 'enable macros' in your security settings in order for it to work. [Method: Go to Tools, Macro, Security and choose the 'medium' setting. This will then prompt you to allow a particular macro or not.]
PowerPoint file: Nant Francon Valley - Drag and Drop (180 KB)
Using PowerPoint to develop geography games
There is no harm, and often a lot of good, in allowing students to enjoy themselves while they learn. The development of a range of thinking skills can be promoted through the use of games which are educational. The ‘custom animation’ facility in PowerPoint, which is often misused by making text whiz around the screen, can be much better used to manipulate parts of an image.
Challenge Board game
The other great facility within PowerPoint is the ability to link different slides so that the user has a degree of choice when moving through the set of slides. This movement could be backwards, forwards or a jump to another slide. This facility can be used to develop many different kinds of interactive quiz-type games. The example uses a quiz format that can be played by pairs or teams of students. It is excellent for consolidating a topic or for revision purposes.
PowerPoint file: Challenge Board (387 KB)
Open this PowerPoint to see the technique for making the Challenge Board game. All 50 slides are provided for you to add your own questions and answers.
PowerPoint file: Challenge Board Template (154 KB)
Cover-up
A simple example would be to place a large image on the PowerPoint slide and then cover it up with a grid of boxes. The boxes can then be systematically removed using 'custom animation' to slowly reveal the photo. The aim for the students is to guess what the picture shows before the final box is removed. A variety of styles of questions can be posed with this activity. It is a guaranteed way of getting students to really concentrate and focus on the image being used.
PowerPoint file: Cover-up Arch (399 KB)
Open this PowerPoint to see the technique for uncovering an image:
PowerPoint file: Cover-up Template (50 KB)
About the author
David Rayner has been teaching for over 25 years and has taught in a variety of secondary schools in London and the south-east of England. David has always had a keen interest in how computer technology and the use of ICT can enhance the teaching and learning of geography.
David comments:
'Digital projectors and interactive whiteboards (IWBs) have opened up a range of exciting possibilities that I would never have dreamed of a few years ago. I now regularly use an IWB to improve and enhance my classroom practice and very importantly, to bring a greater element of fun and enjoyment into lessons – I certainly have more fun!'
'Over the last few years, I have spent an increasing amount of time working with groups of teachers to try and share some of my ideas and experiences. I do this through the two websites that I run (GeoResources and GeoInteractive), and through school and conference workshops. In October 2005, I had the honour of being invited to work with a large number of Scottish teachers at the annual Scottish Association of Geography Teachers (SAGT) conference in Dundee. I must have done something right because I have been invited back to run further workshops in 2006!'
David can be contacted through either the GeoResources or GeoInteractive websites above or at:
Date posted: March 2006