10 Tips for Using Powerpoint in the Classroom

1.  Make your Power-points interesting!  Don't rely on the limited stock templates Microsoft Office provides.  Get creative and find other images on the web for more visually appealing backgrounds.

2.  Don't write long drawn out paragraphs on the slides.  If you do,  half of your students will fall asleep, and the other half will read through it quickly without listening to what you're saying... and then fall asleep.

3.  Write small phrases on your slides and then discuss them in detail during your presentation.

4.  You can number the order in which your bullet points appear.  This is great, whether your presenting  or  creating a Power-point Show.  Your slides will feel less cluttered and viewers won't be able to read ahead while you're talking.

5.  Use at least one interesting image on each slide.  Think outside the box.  Use graphs, charts, pictures, or even embedded video.

6.  Create hyperlinks that allow you to jump around in your presentation.

7.  Use animation sparingly.  Animation is a great way to make your Power-point more engaging, but if you overdo it and you'll end up distracting your viewers.

8.  If you're doing a Power-point show, make sure there are no background noises while you're recording.  Also, don't speak too close to the microphone or your voice will sound distorted.

9.  Speak clearly and enthusiastically while recording your Power-point show.  If you don't sound interested in your material, then why should anyone else?

10.  Don't make it too long.  Students are only capable of focusing on a Power-point show/presentation for 10-15 minutes.  Any longer than that and you've lost them.

Below is a PPT that I created for my Technology & Education class.  HOWEVER, the subject of said PPT involves the creation and of alcoholic beverages.  Probably not appropriate for a classroom.  The point of the assignment (in my mind) was to practice using Power point.  

Mindsteps and Differentiated Instruction

Effective teachers know that differentiated instruction is necessary if they expect to meet the wide range of needs common in most schools.  Teachers need to think carefully about how they are managing their classrooms, how they are grouping students, what kinds of instructional materials are appropriate for students with different needs, and what methods they will use to teach certain skills and content.  Sounds pretty overwhelming, right?

Mindsteps mission is to provide teachers with the professional development they need to improve their teaching skills.  A section of their website deals specifically with helping teachers learn to effectively differentiate instruction according their students' needs.   Please click on the following links to see the various strategies Mindsteps has come up with to help teachers improve:

The Four Types of Students Reference Guide
Blank Differentiated Unit Planning Sheet
Sample English Differentiated Unit Plan

Utah Center for Assistive Technology

The Utah Center for Assistive Technology's (UCAT) mission statement is:  "Helping people with disabilities identify and obtain assistive technology that will enhance the quality of their lives."

Check out the awesome work they've done, like creating a glove-like device to help a miner go back to work after an accident in which he lost nearly half his hand.  

UCAT also spends a lot of time helping make the lives of young people with disabilities more fun!  

Check out this "suck and blow train set" they created with help from a group of engineers in Logan, Utah at Autonomous Solutions.

Another UCAT staff member adapted a bike trailer using an old wheelchair so this young man could go on bike rides with his brother.

Supplementary Aids and Services under IDEA

Here is some really useful information regarding supplementary aids and services for students with disablities.  It's important that everyone involved in the development of a student's IEP understand that the IEP must contain a statement outlining the kind of special education, supplementary aids and services the child will require to meet annual goals.  This includes aids and services required by those who are working on behalf of the child.  It's also important that parents and professionals understand what is meant by 'supplementary aids and services.'

IDEA’s Exact Words

Again, let’s start with IDEA’s full requirement for identifying the supplementary aids and services a child will need and specifying them in his or her IEP. This appears at §300.320(a)(4) and stipulates that each child’s IEP must contain:

(4) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child—

(i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;

(ii) To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and

(iii) To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this section… [§300.320(a)(4)]

We’ve bolded the part of IDEA’s regulation that specifically mentions supplementary aids and services, because it’s important to see the context in which this term is used. It is that context, and IDEA’s own definition of supplementary aids and services, that will guide how a child’s IEP team considers what services the child needs and the detail with which the team specifies them in the IEP.

The Short Story on Supplementary Aids and Services

Supplementary aids and services are often critical elements in supporting the education of children with disabilities in regular classes and their participation in a range of another school activities. IDEA’s definition of this term (at §300.42)reads:

Supplementary aids and services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate …

Speaking practically, supplementary aids and services can be accommodations and modifications to the curriculum under study or the manner in which that content is presented or a child’s progress is measured. But that’s not all they are or can be. Supplementary aids and services can also include direct services and supports to the child, as well as support and training for staff who work with that child. That’s why determining what supplementary aids and services are appropriate for a particular child must be done on an individual basis.

Resources for More Effective Collaboration and Co-teaching

Gone are the days when teachers spent the majority of their time alone in classrooms with students.  Collaboration has become an essential part of the teaching profession.  More and more we are required to work with other teachers and administrators to share ideas, make decisions, solve problems, and organize reforms. The chance to include a variety of perspectives in a decision making process is exactly why collaboration is so awesome, but it can also create challenges when people with different perspectives disagree.

(Images found here and here)                            

I encourage teachers struggling with collaboration to read Addressing Bumps in the Collaboration Road found on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) website.  There you will learn how to watch for bumps and find useful tips for constructively traversing the occasionally rocky road of collaboration.

Co-teaching is another increasingly common way in which teachers collaborate.  What follows is a list of the six most common methods of co-teaching:

One Teach, One Observe:  In this method of co-teaching, one teacher leads instruction while the other observes and collects data on how certain students respond and behave.  It is important that both teachers take turns observing and leading instruction.  This way, both benefit from seeing the class in action.  Also, both teachers have the opportunity to earn credibility with students. 

Station Teaching:  In this method of co-teaching, the class is divided into three groups.  Two “stations” will have teachers helping students.  In the third station, students are working alone or with partners.  Students will move between stations throughout the class and benefit from instruction and independent work.                                                                                                                  

Parallel Teaching:  In this method of co-teaching, the class is divided into two.  Teachers will present the lesson to their half of the class.  This is advantageous for a few reasons.  First, students in these classes will have double the opportunity to comment and ask questions.   Second, teachers can focus on different learning styles and place students into groups that are most appropriate for their particular ways of learning. 

Alternative Teaching:  In this method of co-teaching, one teacher leads most of the class, while the second teacher instructs a smaller group.  Traditionally, the smaller group has focused on remediation.  However, other possibilities include focusing on pre-teaching with shy students, students learning to speak English, or students who just struggle—not only students with IEPs. 

Teaming:  In this method of co-teaching, teachers have an equal share of the leadership in the classroom.  The take turns teaching different concepts and cooperate through modeling, role-plays, dialogues, etc.  This method can be difficult if the two teachers have very different teaching styles. 

One Teach, One Assist:  In this method of co-teaching, one teacher leads the class while the other assists.  This method should only be used occasionally or the ‘assisting’ teacher ends up feeling like an ‘assistant’ teacher.  This probably isn’t the best use of two professionals in a classroom.  Also, students may become over reliant on help when completing tasks. 

Personally, I have found Teaming with occasional One Teach, One Assist to be most effective methods.  My work with a co-teacher in a Korean public school involved Teaming about 70% of the time.  My co-teacher and I were fortunate enough to have very compatible teaching styles.  This was especially effective with EFL because we were able to incorporate lots of role-plays into our instruction.  Also, my Korean speaking co-teacher could use the students’ native language to explain English language learning activities.  This allowed for far more productive English language activity time.  The only draw back to Teaming was that it required a lot of planning in order to determine who would lead which parts of the lesson.  I don’t think one method is better than the other.  I think effective co-teaching would involve all of these methods at different times depending on the needs of the students, the curriculum, and the teachers involved.

* For interesting data on how students react to co-teaching, read Patricia Dozier's article How Do Secondary Students Feel About Co-teaching?  also found on the CEC website.

* Interested in reading personal accounts and advice from other teachers about their co-teaching experiences?  Check out Co-teaching 101:  Lessons From the Trenches by Marie Huggins, Jennifer Huyghe, and Elizabeth Iljkoski.  As they mention in their article, "Teachers are the best resource for other teachers."

Parents as Partners Handbook

The Parents as Partners Handbook is an essential resource for parents and teachers. Most importantly, it includes comprehensive information on the creation and implementation of the Individual Education Program (IEP). It also serves as a fact sheet outlining the 6 principles covered in the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA). The handbook also outlines the language and acronyms commonly used in the field of Special Education. Parents who have children with disabilities can use this handbook to learn more about how they can participate as an equal member in their student's IEP process. General education teachers who review the handbook will be in a much better position to collaborate effectively with Special Education teachers regarding students with disabilities.

Prezi for Teachers: 10 Most Useful Aspects

1.  Unlike Powerpoint, Prezi gives teachers the ability to zoom and focus in on important concepts during presentations.

2.  Teachers can also zoom out, offering students a basic, overall impression of the presentation and its key points.

3.  If used well, the zoom and navigate functions can make the presentation feel fluid and visually interesting.  (As long as teachers don't overdo it and make students sick).

4.  Often times, powerpoint presentations can feel cluttered.  Prezi presentations, on the other hand, can hold A LOT of information without the cluttered feeling.  The ability to zoom far into and out of the presentation makes this possible.

5.  Powerpoint presentations can be easily converted to Prezi and then improved upon in the methods described above.

6.  Prezi is new and hip.  You can impress students with your technical savvy and and awareness of new and interesting ways of presenting information.  Students may go to sleep when they see a teacher queuing up a powerpoint, but not so with a prezi.

7.  Prezi encourages learners to forge a 'less linear' path to discovery.  Power point moves from one slide to the next until the presentation is over.  Prezi makes it easier to make connections between points by stepping back, looking at the big picture, zooming in and then moving around more freely between concepts.

8.  It's simple and easy to embed videos and images into your prezi presentations.

9.  There are more opportunities for the teacher to be creative and have fun while creating and organizing prezis.  Students will recognize the playful aspects of prezi and remain engaged.

10.  Finally, because prezi is a "cloud based" program, students and teachers can use it collaboratively--building and learning together.  With prezi, students can become active participants in their own learning, rather than passive receivers of information.


Over the summer I created a powerpoint to prepare my Korean students for our annual Summer Camp Auction.  I created my first Prezi by converting that powerpoint, adding pictures, and using it to create a big picture AND short summary of our class auction.

The second Prezi I created outlines how I would like to arrange the desks in my future classroom.  It also includes the posters I would like to put on the walls, and examples of community building activities for the first three days of school.