How Do I Use PowerPoint to Teach?

Anyone who has ever heard Patrick Crispen will tell you the practicality of his message makes your time with him well spent. He is also extremely gracious in not only allowing, but encouraging, other people to download his PowerPoints and use them.

Click here to download "How Do I Use PowerPoint to Teach."

This PowerPoint gives a wealth of direction on what to put in (and not put in) a good PowerPoint presentation. "Good" is defined as one that helps students remember what you are trying to get them to remember.

The presentation also goes into how to help students take notes effectively. (No, it's not the same-old-same-old you heard when you were in school. Trust me on this one.) It even shows how to take your notes from the PowerPoint slides and transform them into notes you can (edit and then) give to the students. No, it's not that type of handout you are thinking about where you see a little screen shot of each slide and have the blank lines you can write in. This is totally different and far better.

From our meeting with elementary principals and reading coaches the other day, they can tell you that according to Robert Marzano, summarizing and note taking is #2 on the list of nine essential classroom strategies that research shows really makes a difference, so this is pretty timely.

What's #1? What are the other eight? Glad you asked.