Dear all,
As the teacher whom I teach the blind students Information Technology,

I found this article which expalain how Powerpoint is a best tool for students with visual impairment. I recommend that you go through the following URL then you should agree with me that it is very important for the teachers including me, who teach Visually impaired students.Here is the article;
"The electronic file format allows distribution and modification for/by students unable to be present or who have impaired visual or auditory difficulties. PowerPoint comes with a free viewer programme that can be distributed with the files so that the reader is not required to have PowerPoint on their personal system. However, if they do have it, they are able to perform a greater variety of manipulations on the PowerPoint file provided, such as editing the text, etc before printing it out. Most Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are now capable of including PowerPoint presentations if required".
Here is the URL,
http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/journal/vol2/beej-2-3.aspx

Thanks for your attention,
Cheers,
Kheri.

Rubrics for evaluation

Dear all,
Since I have been often assigned teaching basics of Information Technology, today I am going to present my rubrics on assessment criteria for the PowerPoint presentation.
So here I always divide the criteria into 4 subsections for the students to meet. These are Content-writing, Content – Technical, Communication, and Technical Organization
Here we go!

1. Content - Writing
I. All material is in publishable form; that is, it is thoroughly proof-read and without careless errors. (5=10, >10=5, >15=3)------(10 MARKS)
II. All your information is well researched, well written, well organized and in your own voice.-----(8MARKS)
III. All flaws pointed out by the instructor and/or peer advisors in drafts have been corrected. .-----(4MARKS)
IV. Material shows strong understanding of major ideas and displays critical thinking in placement of text, sequencing of pages, and page composition. .-----(10MARKS)
V. Presentation has a title page. .-----(3MARKS)
VI. Presentation has a bibliography which follows the MLA citation rules. ----(5MARKS)


2. Content – Technical
I. The presentation includes a minimum of 10 slides. ----(9MARKS)
II. The presentation includes a variety of text fields, graphics, sounds and transitions. ----(6MARKS)
III. The presentation has a professional look with an overall graphical theme that appeals to the audience, compliments the information, and each slide is visually neat incorporating a variety of layouts. ----(6MARKS)
IV. Each slide uses text, graphics, sounds and transitions that communicate and compliment information being shared. ----(6MARKS)
V. The presentation visually depicts material and appeals to audience. ----(6MARKS)

3. Communication
I. Did you use a different form to communicate to the group during your presentation other than simply screen reading? ----(3MARKS)
II. You used each slide as lead into the wealth of additional information you have on the topic----(3MARKS)
III. You maintained eye contact with group and modulated your voice in addition to your visual on-screen sharing. ----(3MARKS)
IV. At conclusion of your sharing you checked for understanding via questions or oral quiz, etc. ----(3MARKS)
V. You utilized your allotted time effectively. ----(3MARKS)

4. Technical Organization
I. You can access the GASFS server and have saved your presentation (web site) in your personal folder. You have also made a backup copy of your presentation to assure against any disaster. ----(4MARKS)
II. Each member of the audience has been given a handout of your presentation which includes an area to take notes. ----(4MARKS)
III. An electronic form of your presentation has been given to your instructor through a folder which will be set up on the GASFS server by your instructor. ----(4MARKS)

*GRADING*
Total Points = 100
Content Writing 40
Content Technical 33
Communication 15
Technical Organization 12
...........................
Okay guys , I am waiting for your comments!
Kheri.

TEACHING USING POWERPOINT

TEACHING USING POWERPOINT

There are diverse teaching and learning contexts in which PowerPoint can be used for presentations.

1. PREPARATION OF THE PRESENTATION

· Plan your presentation structure carefully and according to the general rules of presentations. The key to a successful presentation/lecture is to have a clear structure and generally not more than five key topic areas.

· Know the level at which the presentation is aimed and develop the content for this level

2. SIMPLE RULES TO FOLLOW

· Do not present too much textual material on each slide and avoid simply reading out what is on the slide: provide mainly structural headings and sub-headings around which the bulk of the verbal presentation takes place so that students still require to be active and take notes of detail, etc

· Make sure that you speak at a normal pace and do not allow the use of PowerPoint to deliver material too quickly: this is one of the most commonly encountered problems when converting to using PowerPoint.

· Utilise the visual and other media opportunities offered to enhance your presentation whenever possible but be careful to avoid excessive use of colour effects, animation effects, transition effects, sound effects, etc.

There are many and varied sources of information on the do’s and don’ts of constructing and delivering PowerPoint presentations but one of the most useful is that found at Sebastian Kolowa College of Tumaini University where you can also acquire a collection of free templates suitable for many different forms of presentations, including educational. Some key points relating to designing PowerPoint presentations are given below:

· Try to avoid having more than 6 lines of text per slide and make them primarily headings or subheadings.

· Remember that a picture can be worth a thousand words – use graphics to enhance your presentation. Consider how you will make such diagrams available to the students (time to copy during presentation, handouts, files, etc) but be aware of copyright limitations on non-original material.

· Try to avoid using red and green combinations for emphasis – the most common form of colour blindness prevents separation of reds and greens.

· Consider introducing lines of text one at a time, dimming the previous lines as the new line is introduced: this facilitates concentration on the current item. Putting the full slide up can result in the audience reading ahead and not listening to what is being currently discussed. This facility is accessed within the custom animation option.

· Standardise on a form of animated text entry that is straightforward: I use ‘wipe right’ since I consider that it mimics the normal entry of text in a wordprocessor and feels natural, at least for those from most western countries.

· Use a Sans Serif font such as Arial rather than a Serif font such as Times New Roman: typographical texts recommend this as being easier to read on a poster or presentation slide. If you want a more casual font, Comic Sans is a popular alternative. For reading from paper handouts, etc, a Serif font is recommended.

· Do not use more than two text colours in a presentation unless there are particular reasons for doing so.

· Consider whether to use a dark or a light background for the presentation. Dark backgrounds may not work well if the room is not fairly dark. Remember too that the darker the room has to be, the more likely the audience are to find it hard to stay awake!

So guys, these are tips for a good PowerPoint presentation. I am waiting for your comments.

Yours Kheri Mtani.

Building Teaching Skills through the interactive Web.

Reflective blog

Since i opened my new blog I have using it for official and social interaction with my students. I have been telling them to post their assignments on my blog so as to let them cope with different technological learning tools. It is wonderful, and I have not been receiving any assignment manually.
They are happy with new technology and I am happy too.
So i welcome all again to share things wiuth me in my blog.
Yours
Kheri.