How to Encourage Student Engagement: Using PearDeck and Interactive Slideshows

Title: How to Encourage Student Engagement: Using PearDeck and Interactive Slideshows

Presenter: Nicholas Norris (RCS- French Program)

Format: Workshop

Date: May 11th, 2023

Time: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

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Description:
Introducing classroom material in a way that encourages student engagement can sometimes present itself as an obstacle that instructors must overcome. Nevertheless, providing a means for students to be engaged in class is not only important to foster their learning, but also to make class time more enjoyable. Over the course of the past year, thanks to a series of student surveys, I have established that, as a result of presenting my lesson plans through interactive slideshow presentations, the platform PearDeck is an essential tool for instructors to maximize student engagement in the classroom. As a part of my workshop How to Encourage Student Engagement: Using PearDeck and Interactive Slideshows, I will present a condensed version of one of my own lesson plans using PearDeck as a means to simulate the student experience for participants. In this way, they will not only witness how the various components can transform a simple presentation into an interactive slideshow (e.g., answering questions, taking polls, dragging and dropping items and drawing), but also they will encounter first-hand how these features helped enhance their own engagement with the material. Following the simulation, I will also instruct participants on how to set up PearDeck with both PowerPoint and Google Slides as well as demonstrate how to apply its various accessories to slides so that they can experiment with producing their own interactive slideshow. In return, participants will leave with a new toolkit to help them facilitate and promote student engagement in their own classroom.