| dc.description.abstract | The use of digital presentation tools such as PowerPoint® in education is ubiquitous.
There are, however, issues with these tools: poorly designed slides with too much content,
and passive students who have to listen to the teacher drone on and on.
More student active learning is an expressed desire from policymakers, and studies seems
to indicate it can increase learning outcomes. This fits poorly with the large use of presentation
tools, so this project developed a simple prototype of a presentation application
with tools to make students more active and engaged in an effort to explore the possibilities
and challenges surrounding this.
To explore this topic, a convergent mixed methods approach was used. After the prototype
had been developed it was tested by observing it in use and having a group interview
with the test participants afterwards. In addition to these qualitative methods, a
quantitative survey was given before the testing. Later on, another quantitative survey
was given to a more general student public to gain a broader understanding of students
perceptions of presentations and what they do while attending a presentation.
The findings suggests there are possibilities for integrating student active methods in
presentations, but the topic needs to be explored further. Future projects should consider
avoiding having too many surfaces for students to interact with at the same time, some
form of feedback from student to teacher should be implemented, and the established
behavior patterns of students during presentations should be kept in mind. | |