An interesting and fun PowerPoint presentation idea is to create a "Today in History" presentation. This easy-to-research topic compares the current state of the world to the past and is interesting for any age group. For example, on Valentine's Day, you can create a PowerPoint presentation about the history of Valentine's Day. Older students can handle harder information, such as the supposed death of St. Valentine. Younger students will love to hear about St. Valentine sending the very first valentine to a girl he was in love with while he was in jail. Journalism students in college can compare today's news stories with headlines from 10 or 20 years ago. By using images of St. Valentine, for example, or actual news stories, a visual presentation can be created.
PowerPoint presentations can aid greatly if you're reviewing for a test. Both your main ideas and detailed information can be included on the PowerPoint. As you're speaking to the class, explaining the information, your class can be jotting down notes directly from the PowerPoint. It will also save you the trouble of having to write on a whiteboard or blackboard and instead you can focus all of your energy on your class. With PowerPoints, you can also create graphs and charts, which may be great study aids for your students. You can also print out these diagrams to hand to each student.
PowerPoint presentations are a great option for accompanying a parent-teacher conference. You can display the student's work and grades, as well as show parents the class' curriculum. The PowerPoint can run by itself, without you prompting it to change slides, so that you don't have to be distracted from talking with the parent. You can also include photos of students participating in the classroom or of the rest of the school if the parents don't have an option to tour.
Don't use PowerPoint presentations too often. For example, a PowerPoint presentation shouldn't be used when you want the class to participate in a discussion. Make sure to not include too many slides, which can get tedious -- you run the risk of losing the attention of your students. While it's tempting to use bright, bold colors to make the slides more visually appealing, remember that your students also have to be able to clearly read any text included on the slides. Test out the slides before class to make sure they're legible. Also, use a clear font.