Blog #5

The website I evaluated was one on Abraham Lincoln. This website did not have very many pictures to go along with the information – in fact, it only included one at the beginning of a portrait of Lincoln. Everything was left justified because it was all text, no numbers. The text style remains consistent and it is very easy to read, with one text color as the color scheme and the same font for everything. The headings have been bolded and use a larger font to emphasize the topic of the text underneath. Superfluous items have been eliminated and the page is very simple, however it may be perceived as too simple and therefore boring to read. The author used both upper and lower case letters and single spacing between words. No flashes or stacked text is used. A list at the beginning would have been useful to quickly show the topics that the author is going to address. The text moves chronologically through Lincoln’s life and makes sense.
The biggest advantage of using presentation software in the classroom is for neatness and reusability. Flow charts made on the computer are neater and easier to read because you can format things to look presentable. Students are more likely to pay attention and understand things when they are easy to read and use bold colors to highlight important things. Presentation software is also useful if you are going to be presenting the same chart to different classes at different times of the day. Instead of having to erase the board and redo your chart, you may bring it up on the computer again if it is saved. You can also post it on a website for students to access it at home.
Power point is a useful tool because it helps break up information. A student can visually see the difference between things because they are put on different slides. It also makes the information not seems as overwhelming because they are getting little bits at a time. History is a good subject to use power point with because there is so much information. You can have a slide for each topic you are going to discuss, and include pictures of what you are talking about.