Using PowerPoint/Prezi effectively in the EFL classroom

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.

-John Dewey-      

Using PowerPoint/Prezi effectively in the EFL classroom  

 

Generative Questions:  

How can PowerPoint and Prezi support language teaching?

What are the best activities teacher can create using PowerPoint and Prezi?

Hi everybody!

This is our penultimate blog and it gives me the goosebumps because the end of the quarter is coming. You know what I mean! There are many assignments to do and to be honest, time flies away. While it is true, I have been doing my tasks to the letter; it is also true that I had to distribute my time in all this in order to accomplish the established dates or at least this is my main purpose. 

But going back to our subject. What we are concerned here is trying to comprehend how can PowerPoint and Prezi support language teaching.

One of the most striking features related to Prezi is that this tool can create stunning visual impact among students. Moreover, learners could import pictures, maps, PDFs documents as well. Apart from this, pupils could use them as a canvas.  As far as the cinematic experience concerned, students are amazed by the zooming function. That is to say, pupils could be submerged into a “magic world”.  

For me, the gist of the matter is that educators can share their knowledge with the class; it is no secret that teachers play an important role in the education system. In fact, Martinez (2012) mentions that: “From the perfective of the teacher, nothing is more rewarding than freely sharing one`s knowledge. As we see in enterprises like Linux, Apache, Wikipedia, Wiki-leaks, Prezi, Google, ext., the freedom of sharing knowledge and the joy of giving away freely are irreplaceable human needs.” (p.288). Besides, Prezi offers more freedom of navigation.

On the one hand, Prezi is a technological tool can which be kept in the public domain and therefore accessed by students on the Internet. On the other hand, students can navigate the Prezi themselves, observe connections of ideas, visualize concepts as well.

It is reasonable to think that   teachers can use Prezi as a great tool for collaborative classroom sessions or group projects. By the way, we must not forget that learners can cooperate in real time with up to ten others; it seems to me that, this tool helps students with their knowledge acquisition. What is more, I think that students could work together in the classroom or at home as well as to brainstorm and create a presentation on one public virtual whiteboard.

Definitely, Prezi is amazing tool, but is time to write about Power Point; for instance, teacher could combine both Prezi and PowerPoint in order to simplify the tasks of the student. Let me to mention how do this! If you already have all your info in PowerPoint, it is not necessary to start from the scratch. 

Students could use the PowerPoint Import feature with the purpose of transferring your content directly into your Prezi presentation.

One should note here that like Prezi, Power Point is a type of presentation software that allows one to show colored text and images with simple animation and sound. Let us consider what the advantages and disadvantage of this tool. The first thing that needs to be said is PowerPoint presentation is a great aid in teaching. In fact, Mayo, Gallagher & Michel (2017) mention that: “Oral presentations are a common practice in foreign language classes, often used to assess student`s speaking skills. Usually, the presentations are delivered by students in front of the class, often with PowerPoint slides or Prezi as support.” (p.79). We live in a world in which technology plays a, important role so, as teacher, it is important to take into account which could be these tools useful to our students.

On top of that, PowerPoint is easy to create and can be emailed as attachment so, it can be posted on or downloaded from website, and can be converted to html web pages. As teacher, I could use this tool to teach new ideas and concepts to my students through practice, drills, games as well.

This brings up to the question of which of the two tool is the best option; well, in order to research about them there are some tutorials on the website like www.prezi.com/learn or www.tutorialspoint.com/powerpoint/. These are clear and easy to follow; nevertheless, the best way to learn about Prezi or Power Point, I think, is to have a go at producing a presentation by oneself!

References

Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo. (2014). English as a foreign language teacher education: Current perspectives and Challenges. Amsterdam, Holland: Editions Rodopi B.V.

Carmen Álvarez Mayo, Angela Gallagher Brett & Franck Michel. (2017). Innovative language teaching and learning at university: enhancing employability. France: Research-Publishing.Net.