Title: Multimedia Authoring

Subject Area: History - To communicate by PowerPoint the Life and times of an Ennis National School Olympian.

Specific Topic: Neil Ryan - Past Pupil of ENS

1. Goals of the Project:

• To familiarize the pupils with the PowerPoint program through a combination of guided instruction and experimentation.
• To incorporate into multi media techniques the knowledge the pupils have learned from their use of IT - word processing, art programs, sound, project design and project work
• To develop in the pupils higher order skills necessary for continuing work in a collaborative learning environment.
  
  2. Age Range This particular project is for pupils between the ages of 10/12.
  
  3. Display
  As this project is a part of Olympics 2000, every class will have a hand out on the Power Point slides to make them acquainted with their school Olympian. The final week of the Olympics the Power Point show will be displayed in the school foyer.
  
  4. Requirements to do the project.
• Instructions on search engines to locate information
• How to incorporate graphics/images found on the Internet into Power Point.
• Give instructions on how to use multimedia features that can be utilised within the project: sounds, recording scanning, graphic management.
  
  5. Technology Resources: scanner, digital camera, clipart, paint shop pro 5, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.
  
  6. Management -
  During this project it was important to have all the pupils involved in all aspects of the Power Point presentation. Some pupils sampled Power Point projects observing the techniques involved. The first week was spent teaching Power Point to all the pupils. The following two weeks each pupil created two slides. Each slide contained text, graphics and buttons with links attached. Power Point was worked on through the day in half hour sessions. Pupils worked in groups of 3. These exercises proved to be of immense value when it came to the actual project.
  
  7. Evaluation: This project forced me to reflect on my role as a teacher. I have always considered myself successful if I manage to get pupils maths/reading scores up but I now realise that this is too narrow a focus. The creativity within each pupil needs to be harnessed and skills associated with the use of Power Point are just as important as literacy/maths skills. The fun and confidence, which the pupils gained from working in groups, was something I did not expect. Usually putting 3 on the computer creates jealousies as to who controls the mouse. With Power Point this did not arise. The second person was so busy with helping with the design, offering constant advice as to what worked and what didn't. The most obvious benefits to the pupils were
• They learned the techniques associated with Power Point
• Being able to collect appropriate resources for such a program and being able to discard inappropriate resources.
• Pupils learned through discussion and deliberation to plan, design and create a multi media project.
• The exercises allow them to become what I would term "Creative Thinkers". The constructivist approach worked well. Though some "scaffolding" had to be given in directing them to this new approach - this being their first time using a multi media package.
• Confidence was gained in particular among the weaker pupils as they felt part of a team in which their ideas and skills were recognised and accepted.