PowerPoint in the classroom

1. PowerPoint in the classroom

2. Catalyst Services Tools and resources to help you achieve your goals • Learning Spaces • Web Tools • Knowledge Services

3. Help and resources • Web: http://catalyst.washington.edu • Email: catalysthelp@u.washington.edu • Drop-in: Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology Odegaard Library, Room 230 Monday-Friday, 12:00 - 5:00 • Phone: (206) 897-1999

4. Workshop Objectives • Discuss planning issues and pros/cons • Overview of PowerPoint features • Hands-on work with PowerPoint

5. Hands-on work • Choose design template & slide layout • Insert objects • Format text & background • Use various views • Present your slide show • Print handouts

6. Why Use PowerPoint? • Quick and easy visuals for presentations • Easy to modify, annotate & archive • Ability to add links, sound, & video • Web presentations • Many format options

7. Presentation formats • Color or black & white transparencies • Screen-projector presentations • Handouts • Outlines • 35-mm slides • Upload presentations to a Web site

8. Technical Planning • Software considerations • Mac/XP/2000 – compatible? • Package for CD option – files and “player” • Hardware considerations • Verify projector and computer set-up • Verify access to Internet if needed • Have a backup plan

9. Planning • Who is your audience? • What are your time constraints? • What are your goals? • What is the best way to present your material?

10. Pros and cons of screen projectors • Convenience of digital format • Presenter remains at front of room • Lower resolution than 35 mm slides • Tendency to wash out color • Color inconsistency from projector to projector

11. Design considerations • Don’t crowd too many points on a page. It’s really distracting to try to read a lot of text. • Solid blocks of heavy text are hard to look at and counteract all the great visual potential that PowerPoint offers to presenters. • Your audience will end up spending so much time reading the text on your slides that they are going to miss everything that you are saying because they are so busy reading and why not just send them a letter if that’s all you wanted to do in the first place. • Small fonts are hard to read in large lecture halls and can make it very distracting for students to pay attention to your lecture. Use 18 pt font at a minimum.

12. Design considerations • Use a sans-serif font like Arial or Verdana • Serif fonts are best for print materials • 18 pt text at a minimum (this is 32 pt!) • Contrast between text and background

13. Design considerations • Use a sans-serif font like Arial, Verdana • Serif fonts are best for print materials not screen projection • 18 pt text at a minimum (this is 32 pt!) • Be careful of contrast between text and background (light background with dark text is easier to read)

14. Design considerations • Use a sans-serif font like Arial, Verdana • Serif fonts are best for print materials not screen projection • 18 pt text at a minimum (this is 32 pt!) • Be careful of contrast between text and background (light background with dark text is easier to read)

15. The lure of bells and whistles • PowerPoint makes it easy to add bells and whistles • Should you?

16. PowerPoint bells and whistles • Designed for business communication • Goal to entertain, impress, obscure, sell – not necessarily to teach • But studies show students perceive use of PowerPoint positively Are students right?

17. Studies say “No!” • No significant difference in quiz scores (transparencies vs. text PowerPoint) • Students do 10% worse on quizzes that come from expanded PowerPoint lectures. • Adding pictures doesn’t always have a positive effect on student learning. --(Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

18. For example • Unrelated images actually detract from student learning • Even relevant pictures do not help • Notice the interference?

19. Guidelines for use of images • Only use images when relevant to content • When in doubt, leave it out • Images that illustrate complex concepts are beneficial to student learning • Put images on slides separate from information

20. Creating a slideshow • Let’s start creating a slideshow • To open PowerPoint, select Start>Programs>Microsoft Office>PowerPoint

21. Catalyst User Experience Team (CUE) Help us design for your needs Initial and quarterly surveys Invitations to focus groups & interviews 2-3 hours/year Hear from us Semi-annual newsletter 1-3 quarterly emails

22. Thank you for attending! Let us know how to improve our workshop http://catalyst.washington.edu/learning/ppt.html Click “Evaluation” at top of page.