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USE OF POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS IN AFRICAN POLITICS CLASS. TO HELP STUDENTS GET IMAGES OF THE CONTINENT (BEYOND TARZAN)

Goals

I submitted a proposal to the Library, Technology and Learning Committee to incorporate the use of images and Outlines using Powerpoint. Africa is an area about which students know very little but have a lot of pre-conceived ideas about. These ideas are accompanioed by powerful images that make it difficult to show them the diversity of the continent. Telling them that the 'jungle' part is actually a very small portion around the equator does not do it as well as showing pictures of the vast continent beyond the small jungle area.

Strategies

I created files for each theme starting wth a frame of the outline, and scanned relevant images in. I had planned the Physical Geography as the first and critical module where I would give them powerful pictures of various parts of the continent that included not only the forest areas, but the other areas as well..

Assessment

Unfortunately things did not work out for me as I had difficulty with equipment and software. The first four lessons were critical and that is where I had put most of my effort and produced elaborate presentations. I called Computing center a lot and I have to say everybody was helpful but several people who looked at it could not help me (several times during class time) I feared the continued problems would affect the course so at the end of the fourth week I abandoned my Powerpoint presentations. The whole enterprise was a failure as far as helping students was concerned but it was a huge successs in terms of getting me to prepare several modules which I plan to use next Fall. I acquired through the library a new CD which had just been released and this turned out to have a lot of the images I needed . I plan to incorporate this CD in the course next year. The program is a learning and teaching tool to communicate basic geographic information about Africa. It inludes sections on Physical Geography, Political Boundaries, Population, Individual Countries, Vegetation, History, etc. Abdul's help in helping me get the CD program to work was invaluable. Now that I've done most of the work required, I look forward to implementing my proposal successfully next Fall.

Dissemination**

At present I have no plans to disseminate knowledge of these projects outside Wheaton.







Last updated on 2/17/99; 11:29:45 AM
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