Getting a Child to Learn PowerPoint

You have been watching your child grow. You'll likely hold on to memories of his first touching attempts of "public speaking", puppet shows, stammering on the stage in drama clubs. He is building self-confidence, winning a challenge by overcoming pressure and tension. Making presentations and projects is an integral part of growing up.

Most children have short attention spans, so giving them a presentation on PowerPoint cannot be an effective way to teach children how to use it. An adult's guidance will help them learn the program and have fun in the process using basic PowerPoint functions. Teaching the PowerPoint technics in a simple and well-defined way enables the kids to retain the obtained skills and apply them to their later projects. A presentation gives the child opportunity to bring out latent talents.

It lets the child to hone the potential within him/her and sports the confidence and:whatever it gives, being technologically savvy is so important for everyone in today's world! Presentation skills learned in early childhood will always be an asset that kids can bank in life anytime they need. Teaching children to use Microsoft PowerPoint for creating simple presentations is a way to help them learn to organize their thoughts by using an important software program.

With kids being around 8-12 it's high time to introduce them to technology, to make the link to prepare them for college. Here are good ideas for teaching your child to create a simple PowerPoint presentation. Ready-steady-go!

Highlighting something specific for presentation.Before teaching your child to create a PowerPoint presentation you need to help him choose a subject. If the presentation is intended to be about dolphins try to narrow the idea to dolphin intelligence, dolphin communication, defense of dolphins etc.

Silent or speech presentation?What's a use? Get your child to choose a mode of presentation. Is it going to be a slide show accompanied by a few commentaries or a speech presentation dressed with PowerPoint slides? Speaking skills are only gained throughout practice so you need to walk your child through a few oratorical tricks like intonation, pauses, volume and tempo, body language and eye contact.

Nervous kids will talk to their shoes, or the ceiling, or hide their mouths behind their hands or papers. What habits do your children have when they are nervous? You'll sure find it interesting for yourself if you compete with your daughter or son for the best way of making speech presentation.

Research stage. Encyclopedias, internet resources, reference books will serve as a good assistance for a young presenter. Explain your child that to make an effective presentation, it's important to be well-versed with the topic. Get her/him to learn how to locate the information for his subject presentation and how to be selective with internet sources. Use only the trusted ones and help your child choose what information to use.

Teaching technical basics. At this stage you introduce your child to some simple PowerPoint technical aspects. Having done the research, with all information collected he/she needs to assemble it in the texts boxes and slides. Get your child to learn the basics of PowerPoint including the ways of developing backgrounds, inserting texts and pictures, adding and excluding slides.

Click the "Home" button in Microsoft PowerPoint. Then click "New Slide" and choose a layout. Let the child use the computer mouse, so he knows where the correct buttons are located. Tell him to click on the top of the slide to insert a title. Help the child write a simple title, such as the name of her friend or favorite sports activity. Click on the slide where the child wants to insert text. Here the child should type a few pieces of information about his subject, such as the name of his favorite sports and one thing he likes about this activity.

Demonstrate the child how to click on the "Design" tab. To keep the procedure clear, let your child pick a background color clicking on the "Colors" drop down menu. Having the child choose from a theme or background style may be too many options at a time. Then show the child how to click on the "Insert" tab. Click "Clip Art" or "Shapes."

Explain the child that he may choose from clip art pictures or simply insert a basic shape. Double-click on a photo or a shape to insert it on the PowerPoint slide. Mind the age of your child, don't overload him/her with too many unnecessary technical details, but let him do some simple tasks independently to ensure the gained skills

Organizing the presentation. The time has come to explain how important it is to organize the PowerPoint presentation the best way to make it audible, readable and perceptible. Help your child choose the font size and talk about the importance of contrast colors. Explain that he needn't place all the text on the slides in case it is going to be a speech presentation. Make your child organize his ideas to be placed in the presentation.

When you have a consolidated product, assemble an audience of friends or neighbors to view the PowerPoint and speech presentation. This rehearsal will help your child let go all fears and no doubt will come in handy in further career when in college or at work.

Happy Weekend! It is gray, cold and drizzly, there is sleet and slush in the streets, a perfect day to sit inside the warm house. Just a perfect day to take your child to PowerPoint! Done a good job? Enjoy the outcome!