Reflection: Week 7

Dear All
Week 7 was a motivating and relevant week for me. It was motivating because I was dealing with making the power point presentation (PPT), which I have been using for 2 years, more interactive. It was relevant because there was an extensive discussion on teaching in large class contexts like that of mine in Nepal where I have been teaching more than 100 students in a class.

Regarding interactive PPT, I learned major techniques like Minute Paper and Concept Test to include in PPT to make the presentation more interactive. Moreover, it is interesting to know that there are many ready-made templates available in different websites which help us to design jeopardy games and interactive stories.
Moreover, I also learned to hyperlink (both external and internal) different websites and texts in order to make the presentation more interactive. I learned that hyperlinking helps teachers to make a thread on a particular topic which encourages students to learn in detail. This technique does not only make a class interactive but also addresses the multiple learning styles of students. Overall, I learned how to make PPT more interactive.

I also designed an interactive PPT incorporating different media like pictures and videos. I also hyperlinked the slides in order to make PPT more interactive. By incorporating the feedback from Deborah, I removed texts from the overloaded PPT. I learned that PPT should have minimum texts but it should have more visuals.

Another important thing that I learned was how technology helps to make a large class more interactive. There are so many wonderful ideas for this. One of the ideas is applying WebQuests or Project-integrated language teaching for students. In the context where there is no access to the internet in the classroom, we can also give students Out-Side-Classroom projects and ask them to work in group. We can ask them to research on a particular issue, write a report and present in the classroom.
There are some issues which emerged from the discussion last week. First, PPT may be boring too if it is not designed by keeping multiple learning styles of students in mind. It also spoils class sometimes. Second, the use of multimedia in PPT must be relevant to the lesson and level of students. Likewise, although technology can be a help to promote interaction in the classroom, teachers’ and students’ beliefs towards technology should always be positive. If they do not take it positively, there is no point of using technology in the classroom. For this, we need to assess the beliefs of the students first.

Oh! How I can forget the most important thing. I got a partner, Eve, to work on report jointly. We had wonderful chats last week.

Cheers
Prem