By: Brittany Stewart

People use presentation software to create slide shows and other types of visually oriented presentations that can be displayed on a monitor or projected onto a screen. These programs allow users to insert text, clip art, photographs, and audio into a sequence of slides and to set up custom navigation between slides. Most also include tools for creating animations. The runaway favorites for presentation software were PowerPoint, for older students, and KidPix, and HyperStudio for those in primary and elementary grades.

For younger students, I would definitely suggest KidPix. It's user-friendly, and students get instant results. When using the slide show feature, they enjoy adding their own narration and being creative with the drawing tools and stamps. Its key features are adding pictures to I-movie projects, adding pictures from and to I-photo albums, sharing pictures through e-mail, and importing music from I-tunes, crisper graphics, stretch to fill big screens, and 3d color cursors. http://www.mackiev.com/kid_pix.html

Agnew, P., Kellerman, A., & Meyer J. (1996). Multimedia in the Classroom. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

This is an example of the services that KIDPIX has to offer.

Large colorful 3D cursors.

Bigger buttons for small kid hands.

For students, Kid Pix is the program every elementary school should have available for students of all ages. Students can insert original work, photos, stamps, movies, and text to create curriculum-based presentations. The program is very easy to learn and use. Students at all ability levels can create slide shows to share with their classmates. Slide shows also can be shared via class Web pages, using the Export a Graphic feature in which student slides are saved as GIF or JPEG images. Other useful options include a read-back feature and the ability to change the menu to any language.

HyperStudio is a software application that allows one to create powerful multimedia projects without having to know a computer programming language. Instead, the user simply manipulates objects and easy-to-use dialogue boxes on the computer screen to create graphics, buttons, sounds, animations and other effects. http://www.education.umd.edu/blt/hyperstudio/

Bennett and Diener, (1997). Habits of the mind: Using multimedia to enhance learning skills. Learning and Leading with Technology.

A stack is a collection of cards that make up all or part of a project. A card is basically an index or note card that holds information.

Anyone can do so many simple things with their stacks to help them perform projects.

The difference between a HyperStudio stack and a regular stack of index cards is that the cards in a HyperStudio project do not have to be viewed in a linear manner. The viewer does not have to access the information in a sequential order; but can “jump around” from one card to another.

HyperStudio, a multi-media authoring tool, students at all grade levels can create and enjoy their own experiences in learning. It is useful in creating multimedia presentations where the learner must exercise critical thinking skills, planning, and collaborative team-work. These significant skills are fundamental educational tools that are vital to our children’s future. Developed by Roger Wagner, HyperStudio was particularly designed for educational purposes. Its programs provide text, audio, and video capabilities that allow the user to create brilliant full-color pictures, lively animation, and authentic sounds along with text. Used in combination with computer technology, it is an effective learning tool that allows the user to create interactive presentations for all types of instructional purposes.

You can use Microsoft PowerPoint to create interactive presentations containing text, art, animation, and audio and video elements. It is probably the best-known presentation graphics program available. If your computer arrived pre-loaded with Microsoft Office, you most likely have PowerPoint too. PowerPoint's widespread availability isn't the only reason for its popularity, however. PowerPoint captures the students' attention and helps keep them interested.

Baugh, I. (1994 ). Hypermedia as a performance-based assessment tool. The Computing Teacher.

PowerPoint is both easy to learn (or relearn) and to use. The toolbar tools are easily accessible, clearly labeled, and relatively foolproof. Most important, no action is "undoable," so you can correct your mistakes easily -- even if you save them. In other words, you won't spend several hours creating the perfect presentation only to find you can't correct a typo, insert an additional slide, or add an animation. To look at tutorial visit: http://www.actden.com/pp/

PowerPoint is a wonderful tool for learning in both a student and teacher-directed situation. It can add a new dimension to learning allowing teachers to explain abstract concepts, while accommodating all learning styles. Used properly, PowerPoint can be one of the most powerful tools for disseminating information ever known. Employed inappropriately, PowerPoint could potentially confuse students and make learning a difficult process.

Many students that are exposed to the traditional classroom instruction shows minimum gains. Classrooms that centered on technology reveals significant gains in student performance. Using multimedia to enhance learning, these instructors focused on seven habits of the mind: perseverance, problem-solving skills, cooperation, responsibility, confidence, positive risk taking, and willingness to complete a task. With the immediate feedback from computers and powerful collaborative benefits, students learned to make decisions about what to do next on the computer, gaining the confidence needed to work independently.