Creating Lesson Plans

This week I had the opportunity to develop a presentation on any tool we’ve learned about within the 12 weeks of my Educational Technology course. I choose to use MS Word Power Point to present a lesson on ways to use blogs effectively in an educational setting. MS Word has many magnificent features that I never knew exist (videos, animations, voice recordings, etc.) All of these additions help one to grasp the attention of all learners if used properly and with consideration. I’ve heard several times about blogs from peers, but never really knew their purpose. After being introduced to them this semester, conducting research, and creating a power point presentation I’ve learned how beneficial this Web 2.0 tool is for everyone. I’ve learned so many things about creating a lesson especially using power point. First, you should always think of your audience and the overall objective/purpose for presenting any topic. Next, make sure to take into consideration that there are all types of learners with different learning styles. In addition, NEVER assume that your audience has gained knowledge of the subject before you began to facilitate the lesson. Furthermore, all the features on power point should not be used all at once. This causes confusion and learners lose interest. Last but not least, there is always room for improvement. The next lesson you create on the same subject should be better than the first.

I enjoyed reading my peers’ lessons this week as well. I’ve seen creativity at its best. The way the brain work is fascinating. What I’ve learned about my classmates’ lesson was that by using information you’ve retrieved from any lesson you can teach others what you’ve learned. Showing student work should be one of our primary goals as educators. This is the best way for progress monitoring and evaluation of skills taught. What I loved the most is that we were able to provide constructive criticism on areas of strengths and concerns. When we are brainstorming ideas and completing presentations there is so much information we want to share that we may forget specific details or add too much information. With peer evaluation you can modify instruction and discuss best practices in order to further assist your students. Overall, I enjoyed creating and reading peer lessons. I can honestly say this semester I’ve gained a lot insight on many subject areas that I can and will implement in my classroom.