slideshare

 

 

 

Objective: To identify effective introductions in writing/blogging and analyze what makes them effective.

 

Web tool: slideshare

 

Brief description of tool: SlideShare is the world's largest community for sharing presentations & slideshows. You can upload your PowerPoint, OpenOffice, Keynote or PDF files, tag them, embed them into your blog or website, browse others' presentations, and comment on individual slides. It's a great way to share your ideas with others, or to learn from other people. And it's completely free. 

 

Use of tool: Students will view the slideshare presentation "Good Introductions". Class discussion will follow and students will contribute their ideas. They will brainstorm good introductions in pairs and then report back to the group. Then students will use photos from Flickr and other sources and practice making effective opening sentences. They will be on the "lookout" for good beginning sentences on blogs and other sources and share with the class and others. Then students will later add to the "Good Introductions" with their own ideas for opening sentences and share their creations on slideshare or another tool.

 

How it facilitates learning: Knowledge is constructed by the student in a social learning environment. Building in the brainstorming and pairing sessions makes for more active learning. Inspiring photographs from Flickr are visual aids that will spark students' imaginations and motivate them to write.

 

Blog posts:

 

• the slideshare blog The official blog for slideshare.
• Podcast + Powerpoint = Slidecast Mashup - This post  explains slidecasting which is a feature added to slideshare. Slidecasting is a new multimedia format for viewing slide decks synchronized with an audio file.

 

Additional strategies to use with students to facilitate learning and thinking:

 

• The sky is the limit here. Anything that you have created for PowerPoint goes. Check through the many slideshare shows that are posted on the site. It will spark your creative side! 

 

How To:

 

• slideshare faqs
• SlideShare - Using SlideShare to publish student work by Mark Woolley
• SlideCasting 101: adding an audio track to a slideshare presentation by from blip.tv
• slidecasting help Tips and tricks on slideshare site.