Unit
6: Adding Sound
Dear Blabby: I love the idea of
using sound in my PowerPoint presentation, although I'm just not
sure how to apply it. I really want to impress my students and
their parents with this extra multimedia effect - but I've never
tried it before. I need your opinion. Please help!!!
Dear Keener: Tell
your audiences to just hold on tight and get ready for a big
surprise. Let them know they will be treated to the finest in
information presentation. To help you out, I will reprint some of
the past letters I have received about this issue.
Here's one from Recording Roy on Rhode Island:
1) Portfolios for
Teacher-Parent Meetings
Dear Blabby: I just want to share
my experience with other teachers who are getting ready for
parent-teacher meetings. Parents have been so impressed with this
little trick of mine. Ever since I first did it, I can barely find
room for all the apples that end up on my desk every day. If my
writing this helps just one person, then it's worth it!
Set up a PowerPoint presentation called "Teacher to
Parent" - and dedicate one page of the presentation to each
student. Then do the following for each student:
First, take a photo of the student with a digital camera, or
use a regular, old-fashioned camera and scan the print.
Second, make a sound recording of the student's voice. You can
get them to read poems or stories they've written, or ask them to
explain what they think about school or what they want to be when
they grow up. Attach this sound file to the image, and play it for
the parents when they come in to see you.
Parents will be impressed that you have given so much special
individual attention to their child. It will also teach them
something new about their kids - it may even encourage them to
learn more about computers. This way, you'll be helping parents to
learn as well.
Here's another gem from Language Lilly in Louisiana:
2) Language Flash Cards
Bonjour Blabby! Hola! Hidy-ho! I
just have to tell you how excited I am about all the fascinating
languages dancing through my mind. I want to share my ideas on how
readers can teach languages to their classes using PowerPoint
flash cards. Ever since I tried this, I've been seeing great
improvements in my students. I think anyone could really benefit
from giving this a try - especially people who are teaching
English as an additional language. This multimedia effect makes it
all the more fun for students.
First, record your students pronouncing various words or
phrases.
Second, find images of these words. For example, if you record
the phrase "barking dog " you can attach the sound file
to an image of a barking dog. The image can be a photo, a piece of
clip art or even a drawing by you or one of your students. You can
also use this method for entire sentences. It's usually easier to
find the image and then record the sound file, though. It may be
tough to find an image to go with "The queen licks the green
xylophone." Then again, you never know what you'll find in
this crazy world of ours.
And another from Musical Martin in Manitoba:
3) Music Class Showcase
Dear Blabby: Let's face it.
There's nothing quite like the sound of a classroom full of Grade
2 students playing "Baa-baa black sheep" on their
recorders. Nor is there anything like little Mary's kazoo solo or
the first performance of the Grade 4 band. If you want to showcase
these unique sounds, you can do it by creating a musical
performance in PowerPoint. Don't worry - you can always adjust the
volume!
You can take a picture of the group or solo performers using a
digital camera or you can use a regular camera and scan the print
image. Attach the sound files to these images and - voila! You
have a fabulous little multimedia presentation of musical…
talent? Perhaps you might want to call it New Age interpretive
sound. Whatever you call it, your students will love seeing their
own performances, and this can be a great item to show parents
during parent-teacher meetings.
And finally, this tidbit from Historical Harriet in
Hartford:
4) Music Appreciation Project
Dear Blabby: I write in response
to your reader who was having trouble getting his students
interested in musical composers from the Baroque Period. In my
experience, it's not always easy to transmit my love of Bach,
Handel and Pachelbel to my young Puff Daddy and Spice Girls fans.
If you want your students to listen to music that is new to them,
you have to go about it very carefully.
You can use PowerPoint to make a multimedia presentation on
composers from different time periods. For each composer, collect
some biographical information your students will find interesting.
Composers who started young may be especially intriguing. Write a
short presentation on each one - or get your students to do it -
then record it. You can also collect samples of the composer's
more famous works, find pictures of the composers, and a picture
of the instruments their music is usually played on. Just attach
the sound files to the images and you'll have a lively
presentation, ready to go.
It's also a good exercise to get your students to sit in a
relaxing position while listening to the samples. Ask them to lay
back, close their eyes, and listen to the music. Then, when the
piece is over, ask them to tell you what it reminds them of. You
can even record their responses and add them to the presentations.
