Reflection 3

Welcome

Hello and welcome back to 'D&M's with Brad,' an educational blog where I document 'deep' and 'meaningful' revelations regarding the unit 'Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools.' Today I will be discussing "presentations" and how they can enhance learning in the delivery process of information (i.e. explicit teaching), and in the engagement of such information (i.e. student assessment/activities). I would like to focus particularly on Google Slides; I will thoroughly analyse the pros and cons of the tool, discuss safety/legal protocols, and offer some practical suggestions on incorporating Google Slides into your curriculum.

I would love to hear what you think about my analysis of presentations - in particular, Google Slides. Let me know if you like using Google Slides in your individual teaching context. Please, drop a comment below and I'll back to you as soon as I can 👇😉 All feedback is appreciated.

Generalised Presentations: Analysis

When students use Microsoft Powerpoint or Google Slides in the classroom, their final product usually results in one of two things: (1) a dull and unenthusiastic powerpoint, typically seen in secondary school settings; (2) visual and audio sensory overload, typically created by primary school students or baby-boomer teachers. 

The first presentation mistake can be simply corrected as demonstrated by the below image:

There are numerous websites and tutorials which guide creators in a simplistic, though engaging, approach to presentation design. One article I particularly like is created by SketchBubble, to read it, click here.

The second mistake mentioned above is overloading the presentation, namely unnecessarily using every bell and whistle in every single slide. In his Forbes Magazine Article titled, 'Some prefer no sex to bad powerpoints,' Carmine Gallo suggests a number of ideas. Within the first 10 slides, no more than 40 words should be used. Things like transitions can be effective, but also distracting - choose one that is easy on the eyes. Animations can enhance a presentation, however, making every word or image/shape fly in like a kangaroo is not only a waste of time to create but immensely distracting to view/learn from. Colour schemes should remain simple, with contrasting text to background colours for easy reading (Gallo, 2011).

Ultimately, the purpose of presentations should be kept in mind at all times. Ask yourself, "Am I trying to entertain and have fun?" or, "Am I trying to effectively communicate information to guide learning." In most cases, the latter holds the answer - this goes for teachers and students alike. The purpose of a presentation, according to the CQU Moodle Site, is to persuade, narrate, educate (CQU, 2019). So, when teachers are creating presentations, they ought to remain calm and simplistic when creating Google Slides. If students are asked to create a Google Slides presentation, the first step is to synthesise relevant information. Next, structure the presentation with a clear introduction, overview, key points (1 per slide), conclusion, and references. Lastly, add images, choose a design, and create an engaging (not distracting) presentation. Teachers should always moderate student work and set clear goals for each lesson. This will ensure students are learning, and not wasting time. The purpose of the presentation should always be forefront in students' minds - this is the role of the teacher.

Here is a wonderful article which explains the Dos and Don'ts of Google Slides.

Google Slides: Analysis

I have spent the better part of my weekend playing around with GoogleSlides and I have really started to see incredible potential with this online tool.

Firstly, Google boasts, 'Google Slides makes your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations, and more. All for free.' Similar to Microsoft Powerpoint (PPT), 

Four things I find super cool about GoogleSlides, are (1) that it integrates PPT (2) never requires you to save your work (3) has online and offline capabilities, and (4) allows multi-authorship - anywhere, anytime, anyone (who you permit) can access, and potentially contribute, to your work.

If you are a Google person, you will like how smoothly GoogleSlides communicates with all other Google Applications.

Anyone that has experienced Powerpoint will easily transfer those skills to work in GoogleSlides. But if you are new to this suite of tools, the user-friendly interface is incredibly easy to navigate. Furthermore, the abundance of templates ensures anyone can use this software.

Some other presentation tools:

• Slideshare - Discover, Share, and Present presentations and infographics with the world's largest professional content sharing community.\

• mysimpleshow - an easy-to-create online explainer video software. mysimpleshow transforms any text into an animated video.

• Prezi - a less than ideal presentation medium. Often leaves viewers dizzy and disorientated through the zoom-like transitions

• augmented reality - although very novel, the use of augmented reality in the classroom is impractical due to the headset costs

Legal, Ethical and Safe Considerations

When using Google Slides for teaching, teachers must consider the following in terms of legality, ethics, and safety:

1. Are my text and embedded video/images well referenced (either throughout the presentation or at the end)
2. Am I being discriminatory regarding gender/culture/religion
3. Is what I am showing age-appropriate/relevant
4. Am I demonstrating appropriate online behaviour

When teachers are getting their students to create with GoogleSlides the following should be considered:

1. Cyberbullying - discuss with students that it is not tolerated at this school
2. Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons - teach students how to correctly cite others' work and abide by Australian Law.
3. Students should also be wary not to share personal information/images/school of attendance etc. to keep safe from online predators.

SAMR in Action

I will contextually identify how technology could be integrated into a year 8 science class using the SAMR model, supported by Bloom's Taxonomy and the Explicit Teaching Model.

When discussing SAMR alongside Bloom's Taxonomy, it is important to note that the relationship between each model is not correspondingly sequential in design. Terminology such as 'higher order thinking skills' might confuse one's understanding of this. For example, a student could be using evaluating skills in the substitution level of SAMR, or perhaps applying skills in a redefinition context. The 'level' in one model is not representative of the 'level' of another.

There are so many ways to implement Google Slides into the classroom. By using the SAMR Model, I will suggest a few ways to do this in a Science Classroom. In the end, I will share my own REDEFINED Virtual Museum. 

Substitution

Substitution is where 'technology acts as a direct substitute for the task' (Tolisano, 2014). Google Slides could quite easily substitute the way teachers teach. Rather than using a whiteboard to teach about the Physics of Sound, a teacher could share this information on a Google Slides Presentation.

The highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy harnessed with this level of SAMR would be 'comprehension,' however, the level of thinking will remain at 'understanding' since students are mostly interpreting the information provided by the teacher. Since this tool is online, it is accessible anywhere in the world so students cannot use the excuse "I was sick so I missed your class." The explicit teaching model begins with "I do," which is characteristic of this stage in SAMR as the teacher is the sole source of information.

Augmentation

The phase of augmentation has 'technology [acting] as a direct tool substitute with functional improvements' (Tolisano, 2014). This could be improving the delivery of the topic 'The Physics of Sound' with images to enhance teaching. This would still remain at an 'I do' stage, for the teacher remains the sole source of information.

Modification

This level of the SAMR model moves into transformation within the classroom whereby 'technology allows for significant task redesign' (Tolisano, 2014). In a Grade 10 Science Classroom that is studying the physics of sound, a teacher might organise the class into groups of 3. Once students are in their group, they will collaboratively open a Google Slide to work on. Then, the teacher will  play a video similar to the one below depending on the level of students:

The teacher could either naturally allow students to discuss the content of the video, or pose extension questions on the blog which requires collaboration. This will lead students into a deeper understanding through synthesising and evaluating others' opinions, thus developing higher order thinking skills (Collins, 2019). This would be an example of 'We do' in the explicit teacher model as the teacher guides student discussion.

Redefinition

The highest level, redefinition, brings technology into the classroom and 'allows for the creation of new tasks previously inconceivable' (Tolisano, 2014). This 'creation' corresponds to Bloom's highest level of critical thinking when used properly. There are so many new possibilities to redefine the way science is taught in the classroom. One way is with Virtual Museums. Students would create a Sound Museum, explaining what sound is, how its applications have evolved over the years (e.g. telephone, sonar) and experiments that they have conducted measuring the speed of sound through various mediums (e.g. air, water).

I purchased the above template for just $9.00. If you would like to see an artifact I created, please follow this link to another blog I wrote showing how amazing this tool really is!

Conclusion

GoogleSlides are incredibly versatile and should be used often within the secondary classroom. I strongly believe that teachers should be facilitators in the way they integrate technology within their classrooms. They should create learner-centred spaces that enable true, deep and engaging learning. Robert Baker, in his national report on Pedagogies and Digital Content in Australian Schools, found, 'When students are provided with digital content in technology-rich learning environments they respond positively to the new opportunities for learning and collaboration that are provided.' This understanding is key for teachers so that they realise the potential in technology and act accordingly.

References

CQUniversity. (201). Topic 5: Digital Tools 3 - Integrating learning. Retrieved from Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools: https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=838538

Gallo, C. (2011, June 21). Some Prefer No Sex to Bad PowerPoint. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2011/06/21/some-prefer-no-sex-to-bad-powerpoint/#6e5bdb841edd

Lee, D. (2016, August 7). Virtual Museums with Google Slides. EdTech. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5XNevQHfvjc

Lewis, J. (2010, May 10). Technology in Education: The Legal, Social and Ethical Issues. Retrieved from Slide Player: https://slideplayer.com/slide/5140009/

Baker, R. (2016). Pedagogies and Digital Content in the Australian School Sector. Sydney: Education Services Australia.

SAMR Model. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7MD06Dw13n4/maxresdefault.jpg