Using Presentations - Teaching - Articles about Computing

The preceding section discussed motivation.

You can also motivate students by preparing a presentation and demonstrating what will be studied during the course of the training.

A good presentation program such as PowerPoint�, can help. Granted, this presentation does take a great deal of time to prepare. However, it can be used over and over so the investment does pay off. Each time, it will have to be adapted for the specific students or audience, but it will not have to be recreated from the beginning. In this way, the teacher comes across as a person who is prepared to teach the course, knows what will be done, and has a view of the entire sequence of the training.

This is important. In many cases, students feel that the teacher just goes through the sequence of things, turning the pages of the textbook in a bored way and goes on to the next lesson. Students who feel that the teacher has a full overview of the entire sequence of learning react more positively. This is especially useful when students don�t really know what to expect.

On the other hand, it is possible to destroy the sequence of training by a presentation which is too technical for the students to absorb.

Thus, the goal of this presentation is not to show off how much the teacher knows, but rather to explain what will be accomplished. Thus, the goals will be on the slides, and not the means to those goals. The goals are easy to write out and to explain in lay terms, whereas the means might have been more difficult to explain.

When preparing this presentation, take care to assure that there is sufficient content to set off its multimedia aspects. Again, the goal is not to show off how well you can prepare a dazzling presentation. The presentation is intended to help you present your case and demonstrate what will be done. It will present your points the order that you want, so that you will not be distracted. Questions from the students can be readily entertained without interrupting the flow of the presentation, because the next point is always ready on the screen. This helps the teacher become more relaxed and in control of the lecture.

On the other hand, excessive use of fonts, sound, animation, or other computer-based effects can distract from the message. They would make the presentation become a burden.

If too much effort is placed on the presentation aspect itself, then the students may rebel. They will feel that they have invested a great deal of time, effort, and money and then they were subjected to an undesired and unwanted show.

Prepare this introductory presentation by trying it out with people who can offer an honest appraisal about the proper balance between content, message, and effects. Although you may have spent a great deal of effort in the presentation, it is wiser to make the recommended corrections. You would not want to give a presentation that will be a burden and cause the students to become less interested in your subsequent teaching.

There have been cases in which students felt that the teacher wanted to waste part of the lesson by giving the presentation. The presentation did indeed take a great deal of time to prepare. Nonetheless, the students saw an improper balance of effects and thought that the teacher was trying to impress them. They asked the teacher to get on with the teaching and forget about the presentation.

Speed is another factor. The presentation should move rather rapidly. Students should feel that you are moving along at the best possible rate. If it goes too slowly, then you will lose some of the students.

How long should the presentation last?

Ideally, it should not last for more than 15-20 minutes. It is rare that a presentation can last for an hour or two hours. An introductory presentation should always be kept rather brief.

What information should be included in this presentation?

A private lesson should include the cost for the sequence of lessons, the number of lessons, the length of time for each lesson, whether you mean a clock hour or an academic hour � and if it is an academic hour, whether it is 40, 45, or 50 minutes.

They should know the payment schedule - after each session, after every week or month, in advance, or by any other system. Is it possible to modify this by mutual agreement or arrangement?