From eSchool News this week and article on a free addition to
PowerPoint from Microsoft. The article outlines a new tool
called Mouse Mischief which allows students to take part in
PowerPoint presentations. The tool allows teachers to add
multiple choice and other questions to the presentation.
Students can then attempt to answer the questions either
individually or as a class. Teachers can then display the
results and individual student responses are not identified. So
far so good and this could be a useful tool if used creatively
for student learning. The tool is free and can be downloaded
and, according to Microsoft, can help to engage students. On the
other hand, the use of PowerPoint in schools often gives rise
for concern amongst TLs and teachers. Adding this tool to a poor
presentation is not going to actively engage students. OK – they
might answer the questions, but only if they are told to do so.
It also depends on the questions. So can I please ask that no
teacher librarian or school librarian out