Today concludes my second last day at the UBC Learning Exchange! During the morning, I was assisting the advanced computer workshop. We covered the basis of PowerPoint – i.e. different templates, different tables and charts, inserting videos and pictures. Next class will be on animations! I discovered that majority of people who attended this workshop are adults and seniors. There were roughly 15-20 learners. Their main reason is to improve the use of PowerPoint for work purposes. Some are learning it for the sake of learning and understanding what different software tools are available. It was a fun and engaging class to be sitting in on the session and assisting the instructor (facilitator) and the learners.

I realized that teaching PowerPoint is just the same as teaching a class of 30 teenagers. The facilitator’s voice level was very clear; the pace (or speed) in which she was instructing was not too fast that people were unable to catch up, and not too slow that the lesson dragged. Her stance was good and she was constantly surveying the class to ensure that everyone is not falling behind. When the noise level is too high, she was quick to let us know when to be quiet. As for the lesson itself, she was able to have a general sense or idea on how comfortable and adaptable learners are in using PowerPoint. If she saw that learners were extremely “fluent” or quick to use it, the pace of the lesson would be faster than if they were first-timers. All in all, I could see a resemblance in teaching a class full of 30 high school students and teaching a class of just 15 adult learners. It was a rewarding experience to be observing and assisting this computer class!