Microsoft and Me: Students, Teaching and Microsoft Applications

Microsoft applications give the ability to participate in activities that I may never have been able to participate in without their creation.    To begin with I shall discuss my favourite Microsoft application, Microsoft Word.  I am an enthusiastic creative writer, but unlike most people who find the love of the written word, I also suffer from the specific learning difficulty dyslexia.   Microsoft Word for me is not just an application, but a disability aid.   It assists me in making easy corrections, gives me the ability to rewrite work and relieves the frustration created by dyslexia.  It is a good idea to encourage students to use Microsoft Word, as it is an excellent application for assisting students with any written work; it can also prevent the dreaded task of deciphering hand written assignments.   

Excel is an application that I use less regularly than Microsoft Word, and I consider this the least likely application for my present and future needs.

I do however realise the importance of PowerPoint in teaching history, as there is a need when teaching history to bring the period of discussion to life, Microsoft PowerPoint creates the ability to do this.  For example, if I was discussing the child labour acts of the 19^th century, I might discuss numerous education and factory acts, but just describing these acts does not create the most effective learning environment.   But with the use of images, the teacher shows the student why child labour needed to end.  By mentioning the acts with the use of the photographs attached, I would have already made the discussion much more memorable; this is how PowerPoint can assist my students with their learning.  PowerPoint creates an opportunity to use images from the past, highlight key points and create a more effective learning environment for the various learning styles in the classroom.  PowerPoint is a tool that is essential for me create lessons that are visual, memorable and educational.