Innovative Classroom Technologies

This presentation was prepared for Okanagan College's Connections 2009 conference.

A4: Innovative Technologies in the Classroom

Session Description: Discover some new software tools and technologies for better engaging your students and managing your workload! In this presentation, you will be introduced to several innovative presentation software tools for supplanting or enhancing your existing PowerPoint presentations. Most of these tools are freely accessible on the Internet, have been well-received and appreciated by students, and are easy to learn and implement. Furthermore, this session explores some cool software tools that can help you better organize your lecture notes, presentation materials, websites, and related resources. There will also be time for answering questions regarding bibliographic and research software, as well as sharing ideas on incorporating blogs, wikis, and other social software solutions. Come to this session if you want to learn about some new technologies that can help you capture and retain the attention of your students.

PowerPoint 2007: Version 1

To differentiate and demonstrate the unique capabilities of several software programs, I begin by presenting a basic PowerPoint presentation on Social Media Software. This presentation took 15 minutes to prepare and uses a standard Office 2007 template and color scheme. Text is presented in paragraph form, with bullet points and some hyperlinks. There are no graphics or flash interactions in this presentation. Also, please note that the content was not the focus of this presentation, as you will see!

PowerPoint 2007: Version 2

This presentation took less than 1 hour to prepare and uses a custom template designed by Tom Kuhlmann of the Rapid eLearning Blog. Tom works for Articulate software and was kind enough to make these materials freely available to the public. The key software tools and features provided in this presentation include:

1. Navigation using button hyperlinks, as opposed to a linear progression

2. Graphic images, such as logos, to aid in recognition and recall of brands

3. The free LiveWeb PowerPoint Add-in to embed Web pages within slides

4 The free YouTube PowerPoint Add-in to embed YouTube videos within slides

5. The free Flashback PowerPoint Add-in to rewind Flash movies automatically

6. Articulate Engage to embed and display multiple YouTube videos on one slide

7. The free ZoomIt software (SysInternals/Microsoft) to zoom in and annotate any screen

Articulate Presenter

In this presentation, Articulate Presenter was used to convert the above "Version 2" presentation into a Flash-based eLearning program. The conversion process took approximately 15 minutes; mostly to replace the LiveWeb and YouTube components with Presenter components. Although not provided in this particular example, Presenter allows you to record audio narration and notes for each slide. You can also embed attachments, such as PDF handouts, that students can download and print off for completion. To view the presentation, click on the screenshot below. Navigate the presentation using the hyperlink buttons on-screen, as opposed to traversing linearly.

Articulate Engage Interaction

Articulate Engage was used to create a simple Flash-based tab interaction for displaying multiple YouTube videos on one slide. This component allows the user to view several "Plain English" videos, which are produced by Lee LeFever of Common Craft and freely available on YouTube. This interaction required only 10 minutes to produce, but does not incorporate any additional text, graphics, or audio narration -- which would have made it much more engaging. You may test this interaction in its standalone form by clicking on the screenshot below.

MindManager Mindmap

Using Mindjet's MindManager software, I created a mindmap of the Social Media Software presentation. The entire process required about 20 minutes (mostly to set all the hyperlinks). The advantages of mindmaps are that learners have a ready-made advanced organizer of the lecture at the 50,000 foot level. The presenter may then drill down into topics, linearly or randomly, and add to or annotate the mindmap with the help of his/her students. This mindmap shows that several topics have notes attached (refer to the paper-pencil icons). Although not visible here, I have also included the Articulate Engage interactions as a hyperlink off of the Social Media branch. Click on the image below to view the expanded mindmap in PDF form.

Mindmeister Mindmap

Using the Web-based Mindmeister application, I uploaded the aforementioned MindManager mindmap to appear online. This process works well for providing student handouts, since students may interact online with the map, expanding and collapsing nodes and viewing attached notes, or export the map to PDF or an image file format. The PDF export provides excellent students notes, once the instructor/students have annotated their mindmap online. To view and interact with the online mindmap, click on the screenshot below.

Prezi Presentation Map

Prezi offers the most unique presentation format -- it provides an innovative way to present content and information flow. Although using too many of the features may make some people nauseous, students seem to love the "surprises" of what comes next in a Prezi presentation. Personally, I find the concept interesting, but have not used this tool in preparing lectures or for anything more than simple presentations. To view our Social Media Software presentation in Prezi, click on the screenshot below and then click the Forward button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

Other Software Tools

For other software tools, see "Glen's Software Picks" in the wiki menu area. For example, you can use PollEverywhere.com for online and interactive audience polling via text-messaging, Twitter or the Web. You may also want to view Glen's "in-progress" WebBrain on Education in a new browser window or interact with the embedded version below. For more information on this amazing technology, visit PersonalBrain.

 

Posted by Glen Coulthard on August 20, 2009 in Education •Technology • Comments (0)

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