Having Kindergarteners Use PowerPoint

After creating my own eBook in PowerPoint and Dr. Baylen showing 1st graders books in class I started thinking if this could be done in kindergarten. I was inspired by the books showed in class from the children Dr. Baylen had been working with. The stories and pictures they came up with were adorable. Then, having them record their voices for the story just topped it off. I loved the outcome of this project and I really want to use it in my kindergarten class. Would it be possible for such young children to complete an extensive project like this?

I began to brain storm about the steps I would take to execute this project. I would first have the children draw and color their own pictures. This would be used as the artwork in the PowerPoint. Then, the students could come up with a story to go with that picture. This would be a great time to get the parents involved. The parents could help them write the story for homework. The parents would fix spelling and grammar mistakes and praise the child's creative ideas. I strongly believe that parent involvement in their child's education can make a huge difference. To continue, I would then have the students practice typing and begin to type their story. I would review their story and split it up in slides and scan their pictures. In class, I would show them the features of PowerPoint and help them pick a background and slide transitions. The next step would be recording their voices.

This project would have to spread out over at least half of the year and require an assistant to help the students on the computers. I think this would be successful but I hope I am not overestimating the students ability to use the computer at such a young age. I would defiantly do this project the second half of the year and work my way up to it slowly. The end result would make the children and parents so proud. I will have to put much more planning and thought into the project before I can introduce it to my classroom. I am very excited and hope it is successful. If anyone has ideas on how to make it easier for the younger children, I will gladly accept them.