EDCI 5825 Week 5 Power Point Reflection

Brief description of the lesson/topic presented on the PowerPoint

The lesson plan I created covers Magical Realism, which is a specific genre of literature. The lesson plan is experimental so I played with the Concept Attainment scaffolding to see what might happen. The students explore their own personal definitions of Magical Realism before they research the author - Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his contributions to the Magical Realism genre. (Students will also listen to Columbian music for a cultural feel (experimental idea). In addition, students will study other prominent authors such as: Pablo Neruda, Nilo Cruz and Lin-Manuel Miranda. After they research Don Marquez and the others, they will create their own MYSPACE/FACEBOOK pages 'as an author' The assignment encompasses a number of tasks that are required for instance:
• Add a picture
• Create/fill out bio/info page
• Create/fill out Interests page
• Create a status
• Write on another ‘authors’ (classmates) page
• Birthday
And then optional/extra credit choices like:
- Music/playlist
• Google Map
• Back round or friend list
• Add famous quotes
• Video
The objective would be that students get a real understanding of these authors from a different perspective. The goal of the assignment would be that students discover their own understanding of 'voice' and a perspective of the 'author's voice', as well as a solid back round of events, places and social contexts that may have contributed to the author's writing - as they comment on each other's pages and write their own material to express the information they have learned. Once I learn more about how to use these social-networking sites I would like to better this lesson plan and see if it helps to make the assignment and material more engaging for students.

Brief description of the features used in your PowerPoint. Did you use any "challenge" features? Why/Why not.
Did you learn anything new in the process?

I used the required components as well as some special features that weren't around for my use 6 years ago in the office I worked in NYC!!! Features like for example: SmartArt graphics, Effects for images and content, and sound/music. It truly made the PPt more interactive I believe. I had a lot of fun doing it. Especially experimenting with things like, Custom Animation, where you could make the text of the PPt come alive! All of these were features that I had never had the chance to work with and I was very pleased with how much PPt has changed and become such a wonderful tool.

How can a lesson be enhanced with Presentation Software (e.g. PowerPoint, Google Docs Presentation software, etc.)
I think there is an assumption out there that PowerPoint etc are boring lecture tools that are used in businesses or classrooms but it is quite the contrary. With all of the animation and 'action' tools visual learners and auditory learners might be more stimulated and motivated to participate. I think it could intrinsically motivate students to be more creative in their approach to certain projects or PowerPoint projects of their own because the wide range of tools and options would parallel with their interests and the ever-changing youth culture :)
I really had a lot of fun with this assignment!
Cheers for now,
AA :)