Me and Microsoft

My experience with Microsoft has been a good one. Whilst I have not used all the programs on Microsoft, I have used several different programs these include: Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook. I have had good experiences with all of these programs.

 Microsoft Word.
I use Microsoft word regularly, for essays, lesson planning, and lesson handouts. Word is a very simple and easy program to use by splitting things up into sections you can find what you want easily. Word is a program that even I would use Word to create lesson handouts which would aid my students in the area we were looking at in acting.

 PowerPoint.
I don’t use PowerPoint as much as Word but I find it fairly easy to use, I would only use PowerPoint in my teaching if I felt it necessary and as I do acting it is not always appropriate to use. I might use it if I have to introduce a new practitioner and method and style of acting. The only negative to using PowerPoint is that it can be time-consuming to create but once you have created the PowerPoint then you have the resource to reuse and update for future classes. It can also be presented as a handout for students to use as reference point and to make notes on.

Publisher.
I have used Publisher to create posters for shows that I have done. One module on the BTEC course is “Marketing for the Performing Arts”. This often means that students need to design and produce posters to advertise their final performance. The students are assessed on the quality of their advertising and by default their ability to use ICT. As a lecturer, I have also used Publisher to create templates which I have used to support students who find this aspect of the course difficult.

Outlook.
 I have used Outlook for the last 3 years as it is what we use for our student email. I find it very good as it has storage so you no longer have to send yourself your work, you can just save it onto your drive and pick it up from there.

 Ed Excel
I can see the uses of Excel but I found it really hard to work as I didn’t fully understand it. The programme was really technical to use and I would have to take a lot of time to learn how to use it. I see that it would be good to use for keeping a register and knowing how much absence a student has had. It is essentially an efficient way of keeping records and monitoring students which I need to develop my skills in.

These are the main Microsoft office programs I use or have looked at during the I.C.T module. This part of the course has enabled me to see how certain programs have new applications, for example, using Word to reference texts.