Do we need to be a computer whiz to teach a secondary level classroom?How available resources can be used to their fullest potential

ABSTRACT

Learning takes place when interest is aroused, as learning without interest is

merely reinforcement. With interest comes voluntary attention and with attentiveness

comes the ability to decipher lessons. In this age of computers, secondary students are

constantly developing new schemas related to the Internet, chat-groups and a plethora

of learning software - elements that somehow never fail to entice students’ attention.

Teachers who had noted such change in their students’ needs stepped up to the

challenge by introducing computers as a tool and a learning medium, and this attempt

seemed to envision imminent success. But why do most teachers still get little attention

from students during lessons with computers, especially those involving slideshows

painstakingly created by the teachers themselves? One criterion is lacking. Creativity.

Teachers believe that the common slideshow presentation is enough to satiate

students’ attention. This is indeed a fallacy as students eventually find such forms of

presentation dull and bland. Students crave for flashy animations, sleek designs and

“hip” styles. A somewhat difficult appetite but it is one that could be whetted with an

average computer and a touch of creativity. This paper will discuss on how to maximize

the potential of available resources, in particular the Microsoft Powerpoint application

since it has been gaining popularity among teachers. The methods discussed will be

juxtaposed with visual samples and a proposed guideline on how to be creative when

using slideshows in different classroom scenarios as well as its relevance to Interactive

Whiteboards. The paper suggests that anyone with sufficient knowledge on creating

slideshows and the Internet, with a newfound creativity, can produce sleek, interactive

presentations that veer extremely close to those generated using Macromedia Flash.