Using Power Point presentations in the EFL classroom

Nowadays, Power Point presentations are considered one of the most effective pedagogical tools in the classroom. This is because they can be used for a number of classroom objectives, for example, teachers can create a power point presentation to introduce a new topic in their initial teaching, or they may want to use power points for student projects and tasks, or even to practice and revise for tests.

Another important characteristic of power point is that they allow teachers to accommodate their teaching to cover all possible learner’s needs and learning styles. This means that when using Power Point presentations we have not only the opportunity to engage multiple learning styles, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic by employing multimedia methods like sounds, images, color, action, videos, but we also have the possibility to adapt these resources depending our students’ current level of English and the aims that drove them to take up the course.

I’ve chosen three adjectives to describe power points presentations:

     -They are FUN not only to make, but also to watch.

   - They are CREATIVE because they involved the teacher and the student’s imagination to create new things. In any creative task the learner is actively involved in the process of learning; they are constantly revising what they already know, as well as assessing themselves and reflecting upon their own learning. This empowers student’s independence, and offers them opportunities to demonstrate their work

      - They are MOTIVATING. Teachers and students feel they can work with any subject because Power Point presentations make them attractive, interesting and easy to learn. When using technology in the classroom the whole atmosphere changes, the learners predispose themselves to a different kind of learning. This is because PowerPoint presentations can enrich the information presented in the students’ book making it more flexible and aye-catching.

When using PowerPoint presentations it is not only important to think about “what” to teach, but also “how” to teach. PowerPoint presentations can be a highly effective tool to aid learning, but if not used carefully, may instead disengage students and actually hinder learning. There are a number of challenges teaches face when using power point presentations properly.

One of them is that the classroom may become a teacher-centered one. As a result, the learners may become too passive or reactive. Luckily, we can avoid these designing tasks that involve greater classroom interaction and critical engagement, as well as group work and peer correction.

We should also be careful when designing a PowerPoint presentation so it is not merely a digital “lecture note”. There should never be too much text nor too many images on a slide. PowerPoint presentations should help students organize their notes, not just “be” the note or a written summary of the subject. 

Rocio Mounier is one of my partners in the English Training Course and she has written a very useful and interesting article called "Using PowerPoint Presentations Adequately" in her blog "Teachnology". She listed the following five items which teachers should bear in mind when designing and presenting power point presentations. 

1-Use readable font: make your slides easy to read from anywhere in a room.

-Use bold font for all text on a slide.

-Do not rely on the default settings; they may not be as legible when projected onto a large screen as they are on your computer screen.

-Use contrasting colors for text and background.

-Be consistent, use the same size and color font throughout the whole presentation.

2-Use key words and phrases: be concise on slides.

-Use bullet points (phrases instead of complete sentences)

-Your slides should guide the reader to your main points: make only three or four points per slide.

-However, include enough information so that the slide makes sense.

3-Use Charts and Figures: when it is difficult to describe something briefly, display the information in another format.

4-Keep it simple: too much animation, color, or text will be distracting.

-Use simple design templates or backgrounds.

-Use animation sparingly.

-Keep text out of the slide design.

5-Talking with your Slides: remember that no matter how great your slides look, content is the most important part of your presentation.

-Use your slides as your outline for the presentation.

-Use the same words in your speech as appear on the slide; this will help the audience follow along.

-Be sure to discuss the text on the slide; try not to make the audience choose between reading the slide or listening to you.

-Reference your information by including citations on slides

-As a general rule, have one slide per minute of presentation (e.g., for a 12 minute talk, have 12 slides)

      -Practice your talk so you stay within your allotted time.

You can read Rocio's entire article Here

The most important thing I’ve learnt during my experience using power point presentations for a practical work in the English Training Course was that planning and designing materials could be fun. My partner and I used a power point presentation to revise a unit called “Cappuccino and Chips”. I really enjoyed the experience because I felt absolutely free to create a task using aye catching materials, such as colored images.  There is something in particular I want to share with you. Although I was motivated to create a task for my “imaginary” learners and I really liked working with power point presentations, I think I forgot the most important thing in all this, the learners. The learners were supposed to be A1 level and some of the activities in the power point were far more advanced. I believe that we, as teachers, can have many original ideas when using technology but we shouldn’t forget that they are tools meant to enhance teaching and learning. And we should always ask ourselves “is this empowering our students understanding?” Our students’ aims and needs should be the basis for any type of classroom activity. I don’t consider it to be a drawback since I’ve learn so much about me and the profession I’ve chosen.

This is my Power Point presentation: 

Eco's presentation ISPB Santa Fe from Sofi Gaite

These are the sources from which I've gather useful imformation about Power Points presentation in general:

1- Tachnology-the online teacher resource

2-Teaching with Technology: a resource guide for teachers

3-Effective use of Power Point. University of Central Florida