Classroom 2.0 Live hosted Creating Great PowerPoints without Breaking the Law with Alvin Trusty. In this free webinar, the presenter shared many tips, resources, and pointers for developing great PowerPoint presentations.  The tips shared were not limited to PowerPoint only and could be implemented to better develop any presentation.  His links and resources can be found at http://Delicious.com/atrusty/greatppt and the webinar should be posted in the archives of Classroom 2.0 Live.

Tips to rember when designing a presentation:

• Avoid themes.
• Avoid bullets.
• Never read slides.
• Have high contrast.  Ex. Use white words black background or complimentay colors.
• Cover distractions
• Use repetition.  Show same pics over and over to reinforce ideas.
• Ensure alignment.  Even if picutures are off slightly, this minor imperfection causes an unsettling effect on the audience.
• Use proximity to establish the relationship between graphics on a page.
• Pick the perfect fonts: Use sans serif; never decorative fonts; limit to 2 fonts on a page.
• Select correct font size by measuring the computer screen diagonally in inches.  Walk back from presentation area that same number in feet.   Can you
  see text clearly?
• Use proper capitalization.  Don’t mix LoWEr Case and UpPeR CaSe.
• Limit cutesy transitions to one per page.  More is just distracting
• Do not plan for interact interaction especially at a conference.  It may not work correctly.

Recommended Readings:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Author: Robin Williams
Visual Literacy by Lynell Burmark
Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck byRick Altman

Info on Copyright can be found at: Http://www.ustream.tv/Recorded/1725737

Carol Kordsmeier immediately gained fellow “campers” attention during her ActivLesson presentation as she donned her peers in lab coats while the tune of “The Adams Family” played.  Instantaneously, the atmosphere in the room changed from quiet reserve to obvious excitement and expectancy of what was to come. Carol frequently uses music to make her middle school science lessons come alive and set the tone the classroom.

Research supports the use of music in the learning environment.  In Twelve Benefits of Music Education and Using Music in the ESL Classroom, authors state that music can help increase standardized test scores, foster teamwork, help students think creatively and solve problems, improve concentration and memory, and motivates learning. From Elona Hartjes’ Teacher at Risks: In “Music and the Mind”, author Nina Jackson, calls music the new teaching tool for the 21st Century.  She believes in the use of music to stimulate students’ brains, get pupils ready to learn, and cause their brains to function steady and stronger.  She writes:

 At the Ron Clark Academy, music is used throughout the day as a basis for reinforcing important facts, dates, and ideas.  Teachers and students frequently use the tune of a popular song as a springboard for learning.  Original lyrics strongly focused on curriculum content are composed and sung to a familiar tune.  As the students sing the lyrics,  they are moving, engaging different parts of their brains, enjoying the classroom experience, and LEARNING! So, to sing or not to sing? I would say, definitely, sing away!  Plus, music makes learning FUN!

ClassTools.net: Create interactive flash tools / games for education

Curriculum Camp attendees create original flash games to be utilized with their ActivBoard. ClassTools.net does all of the work on the html code and gaming side. Simply type in the curriculum content to generate a custom game.

Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities and diagrams in a Flash! Host them on your own blog, website or intranet! No signup, no passwords, no charge! Game links are saved to the computer and links can be embedded into the flipchart presentation. Games can be used again and again.
The students absolutely love to “play” games in class. In fact, they beg to continue to work to improve in each challenge! I wonder if they realize that they are reinforcing ideas and concepts along the way?

I am so excited about my job!!!  I know, what’s new?  But, I JUST returned home from at weekend in Atlanta at the Ron Clark Academy and it was AWESOME!  I am so jazzed.  It validated stuff that I was already doing with my students, yet challenged me to do more.
New ideas:
1.  Home Visits- 10 minute chats with students and families in their home.  Set expectations, challenge the child, and, of course, encourage!
2.  Teachers sign a contract that states they will be available to the students until the students reach 21.
3.  Focus on cultural and global studies.
4.  Have students lead the class and then have others critique (lots of positive feedback and one or two things to work on)
5.  Have teachers film themselves and fill out their own observation papers.  One month later, repeat the process and after observation sheet is completed by the teacher, sit down with the teacher and review with them.
6.  Lots of teacher games!  I will share these with photos as I make them.

I hope to implement many ideas with the middle school teaching team.  I think consistency and teacher buy-in will be the keys to success.

Bridget Belardi presented a session and field trip at the DEN National Institute on Geocaching, a treasure hunt for all to enjoy!  We used a GPS and coordinates to locate caches hidden around Silver Spring, MD.  While finding the prize was a thrill, we enjoyed seeing parts of the city we would not have otherwise have visited which was equally nice.  Bridget maintains a website, http://belardi.wikispaces.com/geocaching, full of info. 

Not sure you are ready for a live geocache adventure, try a virtual cache.  Math teachers should checkout www.mathbits.com