Purposes for Using PowerPoint Why use PowerPoint? Does our use of technology in the classroom promote student learning? When is PowerPoint unnecessary?

Effective PowerPoint Presentations What makes a PowerPoint presentation effective from a design standpoint? What are characteristics of ineffectively designed PowerPoint presentations?

Why is Design Important? Enhances the effectiveness of your presentations Helps communicate your main points

Best Practices for PPT Design Simplicity Readability Interactivity

Simplicity Notes function vs information overload on screen Studies have shown “More is not better” in terms of using technology to teach Avoid Information Overload o PowerPoint expert Cliff Atkinson, author of Beyond Bullet Points says, "When you overload your audience, you shut down the dialogue that's an important part of decision-making." o He points to research by educational psychologists: "When you remove interesting but irrelevant words and pictures from a screen, you can increase the audience's ability to remember the information by 189% and the ability to apply the information by 109%.”

Simplicity Notes function vs information overload on screen “More is not better” in using technology to teach

PowerPoint expert Cliff Atkinson, author of Beyond Bullet Points: "When you overload your audience, you shut down the dialogue that's an important part of decision-making." Simplicity: Information Overload

Atkinson: "When you remove interesting but irrelevant words and pictures from a screen, you can increase the audience's ability to remember the information by 189% and the ability to apply the information by 109%.” Simplicity: Information Overload

Simplicity: Less is More Keep words at a minimum o 6 x 6 guide 6 points per slide 6 words per point Keep slides at a minimum o 3 slides per minute max

Simplicity: Less is More Keep fonts simple o 2 max per page, including variations on a single font o portability of fonts & substitutions

Simplicity: Less is More White space is your friend Avoid pictures or graphics in background Avoid brightly colored backgrounds

Simplicity: Skip the Tricks Minimize or avoid animated texts, sounds, and fancy transitions Can be effective in certain situations, but often distract your audience from your main points

Simplicity: Graphics Word art: When words become art, and when that’s not necessarily a good thing

Simplicity: Graphics Options for creating graphics, charts, and diagrams: o “Smart Art” in PowerPoint

Simplicity: Graphics site for illustrations & photos

① C ① Contrast ② R ② Repetition ③ A ③ Alignment ④ P ④ Proximity Also known to graphic designers as “CRAP” or “PARC” Principles Readability: Basic Design Theory

Readability: Contrast Strong contrast adds “visual interest” and keeps your students’ attention Makes content more attractive Highlights the most important concepts Difference implies importance

Readability: Contrast Strong contrast adds “visual interest” and keeps your students’ attention Makes content more attractive Highlights the most important concepts Difference implies importance

Readability: Contrast Using colors to create contrast o Black text on white background o White text on black background

Readability: Repetition Repetition involves repeating design concepts on each page Creates unity and consistency Readers take cognitive clues from consistency in design

Readability: Repetition Professional design practice: branding Templates o In PowerPoint o This template on Workshop blog site

Readability: Alignment Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page Creates a clean, fresh, sophisticated look

Readability: Alignment Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page Creates a clean, fresh, sophisticated look

Readability: Alignment Ideally every object (graphics, photos, or text) should be aligned with other objects Includes vertical and horizontal alignment

Readability: Alignment Ideally every object (graphics, photos, or text) should be aligned with other objects Includes vertical and horizontal alignment Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment

Readability: Proximity Group similar items together o Similar to paragraphing in writing Helps readers organize information Using bullets and templates to achieve “proximity” in design

Readability: Type Size Make sure your fonts are legible and large enough “Floor test" for readability

Readability: Type Size Preview your presentation in the classroom Should be able to read the slides from the back of the room

Readability: Type Style Avoid all caps serif vs. sans serif

Interactivity: Student Learning Inquiry-based learning Interactive PowerPoint: An oxymoron? Ideas for interactivity o Pose questions o Fill in responses o Have students take notes responding to questions on PPT o Post notes to Bb site Other ideas to make PPT more interactive?