Description and Purpose of SlideShare
SlideShare is a high-tech tool that was invented due to educators’ desire to enhance class work and ensure better communication between the learner and teacher. The tool also came about to lighten up the learning process by introducing more fun in learning and sharing.
Slideshare provides a web-based interface for accessing presentations remotely. Like other upcoming tech tools, over the last couple of years, SlideShare has advanced as a learning tool through the development of newer features that attracted more users. According to Slideshare’s Website (2013), this is a tool that mainly enhances the processes of downloading and uploading of presentations designed in PowerPoint or saved as PDF files.
However, video and music files can also be shared through the site. The tool also enriches the mode of interaction among learners, as well as between learners and teachers, by providing a direct means of sharing or communication. Learners and educators can form social, collaborative communities that encourage individuals’ creativity during spontaneous group activities in topics or areas of interest.
How to use SlideShare
As a web-based electronic tool, SlideShare enhances selective (private) or collective (public) sharing of resources, particularly presentations for educational, commercial or social purposes. A user needs an internet connection to view or download the content and must first sign up for membership to upload pre-developed files or to comment on existing content, and all uploads are free of charge.
SlideShare users also enjoy extra benefits, such as interactive forums and socializing. Furthermore, submitters need to sign up if they aim at searching for preferred resources (Presentations) they would wish to tag, embed on blog sites as well as private websites. The company has no direct control over the content and thus does not screen uploads, comments, or tags.
Usage is highly based on the belief that users will be responsible and respectful to co-users. Being a universal user-platform, SlideShare contains diverse uploads consisting of presentations, audios, and videos, some of which may thus contain objectionable content.
However, all uploads are governed by property rights and policies as stipulated on the sites’ terms of services, and control is achieved via user reports on violations (SlideShare Ltd, 2013). This tool also allows users/audience to comment on slides availed online asynchronously and freely.
Figures 1 and two below demonstrate the samples of screenshots of already posted presentations and shared resources through social sites such as Facebook and Twitter (SlideShare Ltd, 2013).
SlideShare is thus not only a web-based presentation application, but it acts more like Wikipedia, where users can edit, update, improve, or comment on each other’s presentations to ensure accuracy and quality.
Some of the perfectly edited and updated files (Presentations) can be voted for and starred. Students are thus able to pick the best (Highly recommended) presentations. Teachers are also able to track student’s responses through their comments and recommendations they make on the uploaded files.
The application has advanced, and students are now able to access presentations through hand-held devices such as the iPhone(s) and tablets.
Students can equally receive updates anywhere on the go, thus study better and faster. Currently, schools are investing millions of dollars in having all sorts of good, recommended, and approved mobile platforms available for student and teachers. This is the future, and it is only getting better and competitive.
How is SlideShare a resourceful tool for trainers?
SlideShare is a vibrant community tool in the education profession. The tool has in the past been placed among the best education and e-learning tools, and it was incorporated into leading social media websites by the US government for sharing public information (Seeborg & Meyer, 2013).
The resource can thus be of great assistance in teaching and learning depending on how the trainer/teacher utilizes different options, in contingent to the target groups.
A younger age-set would require the use of more humorous and creative materials that do not demand a lot of time or economic resources in preparing and uploading. For instance, reading materials that involve more visual and audio elements as opposed to text data that requires users to download, edit, or comment.
The teacher must thus make such presentations brief and visually appealing to the young users through the use of audio and visual elements as opposed to strictly sticking to text data. This means tutors/teachers can make use of SlideShare extensively by all learning age-groups.
Teachers are also able to share their teaching resources, analyze each other’s uploads, and give feedback to co-workers. Colleagues can share and contribute towards an uploaded presentation and thus improve on its potential usefulness.
Once information is availed on SlideShare, teachers can also be able to embed on personal or company sites and blogs for further comments or later use. Sharing through social sites like Facebook or Twitter is also common among educators.
Educators are today “heard because of their voices.” SlideShare is a tool that enables teachers to share ideas with a large audience. Today it is very easy for a teacher to spread information to a learner who otherwise would not be easy to empower physically.
Educators can prepare and share their lesson plans or post assignments and results within their areas of expertise. Educators also market their products or services, share job posting and investment advisory services through job and advertising sections of the site.
Plenty of materials shared by different educators using SlideShare can also be combined to form the required variety and thus promote anticipation among younger learners. Diversity captures learners’ interest, and they are more eager to download such presentations for future references.
How is SlideShare a resourceful tool for trainers in assisting learners?
Such web-based applications allow students (depending on their age and interest) to create or adjust materials, comment and easily share them with friends. Educators can also take advantage of these factors and extensively use the tool for better output in education.
This will encourage sharing and competition through the uploads. The tool can also increase students’ education awareness through the use of various user-applications strictly based on the web, such as vocabulary awareness demonstrations, color awareness platforms for early ages or grammar usage.
For the young learners, constant reminders and revisions of the material can become more interesting when posts are frequently adjusted to these needs, for instance, in slides for revising pronunciations and spelling, the pictorial illustrations may be adjusted frequently so that the young learners feel they are learning something new or with the aim of avoiding monotony in presentation of the material.
Another example is the use of phrasal verbs in everyday circumstances, and constantly changing pictorial presentations can be of great assistance.
If teachers merge learning activities with entertainment, for instance, use animations and audios in presentations for younger learners, such learners become more interested and anticipate for previewing new uploads. Teachers can thus promote learning by creatively sharing interesting presentations for youth through this tool.
How is SlideShare a resourceful tool for learners?
SlideShare is full of appealing audios and visual resources suitable for all or the majority of learners, regardless of the age-group or learning level. Video and audio aspects get learners more or completely hooked up to the uploaded content.
An interesting and common feature among learners is linkage and synchronization of presentations with audios to create webinars. It is also easy for students to collaborate in revising activities by guiding each other on the most important aspects or providing new presentations. Learners can establish cliques or user groups and share information within such groupings.
Members of a group can easily upload, download, share, comment, or change existing presentations almost in real-time. The rapid and easy access to several presentations makes group work or assignments easy to manage and complete on time. In line with Seeborg & Meyer, today it is not a must that students undertaking a group activity meet physically to share progress or debug a problem (2013).
Conclusion
One of the greatest advantages that SlideShare has over other web-based applications of similar nature is the ability to maintain originality. The owners’ original presentation remains the same even after upload. Regardless of the possible changes, features such as audio or video syncs on presentations are maintained and content is originally styled.
Users, in particular viewers, do not necessarily need to register to discern the poster presentations. Only uploads, comments, and shares require signing in. The flexibility and user freedom also promote uniqueness and diversity, particularly on the location, race, ethnicity, language, and other differences among global users. There is a wide range of diverse presentations on SlideShare today.
The tool is also very similar to other mobile applications because most users, especially learners and teachers, spend a good amount of time using the web-based tool.
Advertisers have also discovered that SlideShare is a great avenue to capture potential clients. The tool enables students to crowd sources where those pursuing similar subjects can create study guides and notes in presentation formats and thus access and compare ideas as well as research findings.
References
Seeborg, K & Meyer, A. (2013). Present Yourself. California: CA. O’Reilly Media, Inc.
SlideShare ltd. (2013). In SlideShare homepage. SlideShare San Francisco. Web.
Additional Resources
PcPro Website contains mobile device and online tools that teachers and learners may use academically particularly white papers, blogs, slides, clouds, education reviews and news.
The following website also contains some of the education technology tools every teacher ought to know about.
