How was it used?

Our Yr 7 pupils used the eChalk interactive games on elements, compounds and mixtures to learn about their properties.

Then, they used the PowerPoint Plex plug-in to create interesting presentations on three substances of their choice. Using PPTplex allowed them to show the internal composition of the substance and present the topic in a more engaging way.

Impact and Outcomes

• Pupils enjoyed the activity and understood the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures
• Pupils could research their topics more independently, because they had been exposed to reliable and relevant information on their topic using eChalk resources
• Boys were particularly engaged in the sorting activity and seemed to create useful molecular diagrams to aid the comprehension of the topics studied
• Learners’ communication skills improved as they were using a very powerful tool such as PPTplex, which allowed them to show fine details of their substance in a very professional way

Learner Feedback

Playing the game online was good fun, because I knew quite a few of the answers and I could also learn new things at the same time!

When Dr Williams showed us the PowerPoint thing I thought it was very difficult, but it was really easy and we had lots of fun doing it

I liked using PPTplex to present our project, because it wasn’t a normal PowerPoint presentation, but it was different and very cool!

Other Resources

The eChalk and NGfL Cymru website and Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 with PPTplex plug-in.

Lesson Learnt

Having a tool that lets me show details at different depths of zoom is really useful in Science and I am looking forward to using PPTplex in other projects too. It only took a couple of video tutorials to understand how PPTplex can be used and I saw on their blog that there is a way to control the presentation with a Wii-mote. I will try to use this method with my classes next time to raise pupils’ engagement even further.