Peer Review

PowerPoint Presentations for Spanish Class

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Reviewed:: Jun 21, 2004 by World Languages

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This is a collection of 21 PowerPoint presentations developed by Thomas Duggan,
a Spanish High School teacher. It uses basic sound effects, animation and
visuals to present explanations of some key grammatical points plus a few
language and culture topics. It covers the following topics: nouns, adjectives,
comparatives and superlatives, interrogative words, present tense indicative
of ?ar verbs, regular preterite verbs, reflexive uses of some verbs, the
subjunctive mood, the verbs ir, ser and estar, and gustar. It includes games
like Who Wants to Be a Millionare, First Day Millionaire, and Jeopardy. Also,
it covers basic geography, weather, how to tell time, dates, seasons,
months, basic food items, and a description of the Advanced Placement Exams for
Spanish.

The user can download the presentations and is encouraged to modify and use them
without any restrictions.
Type of Material:: PowerPoint tutorials
Recommended Uses:: The material has been designed to present Spanish grammar, vocabulary, some
aspect of writing, and culture.The presentations may also be assigned as review
exercises to intermediate and advanced students struggling with specific grammar
points.
Technical Requirements:: Microsoft PowerPoint or Download of Microsoft's PowerPoint Viewer. Users need to
be able to access the Internet, preferably via a fast connection in order to
efficiently download relatively large files; they need Microsoft PowerPoint
software, a sound card, and speakers.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The purpose of this site is to teach and provide tutorials on basic Spanish
grammar and vocabulary in introductory and intermediate courses.
Target Student Population:: These materials were developed to help Spanish instructors teach grammar.
Elementary and intermediate level students of Spanish may find these
presentations useful when reviewing grammar.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Prior knowledge is assumed when using a slide presentation that includes grammar
explanations, e.g., the use of the subjunctive in noun, adjectival, and
adverbial clauses. Users need to know how to download files from the Internet
and how to use PowerPoint.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: This site includes a good assortment of slide presentations for grammar review
and vocabulary. While the collection is still in a developing stage, the
existing slide presentations are all practical and useful. The site serves as a
repository of practical and useful slide presentations with contributions made
by resourceful and creative educators.

The use of slides with images for developing vocabulary are quite beneficial in
building vocabulary memory due to the color, images, and context.

An excellent slide presentation in this collection is the "Ensayos para el AP"
with practical suggestions for developing expository writing. The slides
briefly explain the basics of the essay on the A.P. exam. It includes some tips
and hints, as well as some good vocabulary expressions.
Concerns:: The author welcomes the addition of other teacher's Powerpoint slide shows for
use in a classroom. There is no evidence for selecting or rejecting a program
according to a set of criteria for quality of content.

The slide program for the AP exams serves as an excellent orientation for this
assessment. However, the slide program does not reflect if there have been any
current changes in the exam since since it is dated May 2001. While the AP test
may remain unchanged, a current date should reflect that the information is
current.

There are a few typos and perhaps a somewhat simple treatment of some grammar
points.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: An instructor can easily present most or all of the slide presentations
incorporating the material to his/her own individual program. The programs can
easily be imported into Blackboard sites to provide for distance learning
tutorials. The slide presentations are developed simply and logically for a
student's understanding. The rich use of images facilitates learning grammar in
a context, and very valuabe in immersion-type programs even though the
explanations are in English.e.g, the preterite grammar explanation slides.

The slide program of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" consists of one slide.
Yet,it is a template which an instructor or even a group of students can use to
check the comprehension of all types of information. The game atmosphere of
this template can be used very effectively with all ages to review "serious
material" in a "fun" atmosphere.

The importance of creating a visual image for developing vocabulary vs. using
abstract words or translation lists is an excellent technique to promote the
development of language in a context. Mastery of vocabulary exists when a
learner can visualize a word mentally, understand it when heard, and can read,
spell and write it. Therefore these slides are powerful ways in facilitating
second language learning.

This can be an effective tool for those teaching grammar. It provides the
rules, contrasts between English and Spanish, and guided practice.
Concerns:: The author welcomes the addition of other teacher's Powerpoint slide shows for
use in a classroom. There is no evidence for selecting or rejecting a program
according to a set of criteria for sound teaching and learning principles.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The sophisticated use of the author's knowledge with the Powerpoint technology
allows for a beautiful and colorful display of colors and images. These command
the learner's attention. The slides use a variety of techniques to shift from
one topic to another, and the use of sound, at times comical, is very beneficial
to all audiences, especially the younger students.

The author includes a link for downloading Microsoft's PowerPoint Viewer for MAC
and PC users. The link permits the user to select a download that matches their
computer's Microsoft "Word" compatability, or if different software is employed
other than Microsoft's Office Products. This feature allows for software
developers who use PowerPoint to share their presentations with people who do
not have PowerPoint installed on their computers.

Of great value is the author's permission to use and create changes when using
these slides. It generally takes about 45 hours to build a sophisticated slide
program when incorporating the content with web design elements like images,
sound, color, and transitional slides. For example, some of the presentations
use translation exercises incorporating a traditional approach. The instructor
can chose to include these or not according to his/her own perspective on L2
methodology. The great variety of images in the collection is also of great
value when incorporating these into one's own Powerpoint creations. It is often
very time-consuming to search for appropriate images, and these can free-up an
instructor's time to build materials in other areas. The author's attitude to
share and have other authors participate in his use of technology in teaching
and earning reflects a very generous spirit that is welcome at all levels of FL
and L2 instruction.
Concerns:: It is important to point out that the PowerPoint Viewer is available to download
for teachers and students wishing to use the slide presentations even though
they do not have PowerPoint installed in their computers.

Some students at the elementary level may not have the necessary knowledge of
grammatical terminology to make effective use of some of the materials.

Other Issues and Comments:: Teachers and students will welcome more slide presentations dealing with
additional difficult grammatical points, e.g., para vs por and preterite vs
imperfect. For example, the imperfect tense is easy to master, but its usage is
quite complex. This would be another excellet grammar item to include in the
current collection.
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