jueves, 17 de marzo de 2011

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Office Applications in the Classroom

In my case, I've always used PowerPoint and Word to prepare materials and activities for students in the class. However, as it happens to other resources, Office Applications may have their own advantages and drawbacks.

Advantages:

1. You can use multimedia, which is good because it makes it easy to catch the attention of students with different cognitive styles.
2. It is motivating for the majority of learners.
3. You can create printed materials as well as activities or tasks to work on using a projector.
4. Office Applications allow you to save time during the class.
5. Most students know how to work with computers and Office Aplications in general, so they feel comfortable and confident.

Disadvantages:

1. For activities to be done on the computer or with projectors you depend on electricity, so it is advisable to have a plan B all the time.
2. Teachers have to know how to work with Office Applications; otherwise, planning the activities or creating the materials might be very time-consuming and stressful. 
3. Using Office Applications in class might be sort of addictive. Remember that they are just another resource for you to achieve your goals, so don't overuse them.
4. Also, overusing Office Applications  in class may make students get bored. There most be a balance between using them and using other types of resources.
5. If you are not careful with the way you design your activities (i.e. using and combining colors, including photographs, using animation, etc.), these may result distracting instead of engaging for most learners, making them get out of focus during your classes.

3 comentarios:

  1. Yes. Everythig has its pros and cons. From the pros you metioned I like the one on saving time in the classroom (not having to write on the board. From the cons, the importance of using Powerpoint right (Have you ever heard about Death by Powerpoint?)

    ResponderEliminar
  2. Yes.Read about it here: http://www.digitalang.com/2010/06/death-by-powerpoint/

    ResponderEliminar