The Do’s-N-Don’ts of Power Point For Both Teachers and Students
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The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
By: Michael Zimmer
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It is assumed in education that students know how to use PowerPoint. It is also assumed that most teachers know how to use PowerPoint. For many, that is far from the truth. Some might know how to use it, but they don’t know how to make their PowerPoint Presentation EFFECTIVE. PowerPoint Presentations need to allow your students to be ENGAGED in your lecture. I have seen some pretty bad presentations in my short tenure in education, and had the same assumptions above about students and teachers. I remember the first time I assigned PowerPoint Presentations as a project for my students. When it was time for presenting the projects, I quickly realized that my students do not know how to make an effective PowerPoint Presentation. I also remember several Presentations of my own that I created. I did not realize how boring they were till I looked at them from the student’s perspective. I was giving information, but they were not engaged in the lecture because it was an ineffective presentation. I also realized that students cared less about the content of their presentation and more about animation, colors, and sound effects. I remember telling my students to insert the content first THEN play around with the other features. In reality, I probably should have set a limit to the colors, animations, and sound effects in the first place. As educators, we really do overuse Power Point. There are several other options out there for creating lecture. You can view my recent publication: “A New Way to Lecture: Using Web 2.0 to Create Interactive Lectures,” for some other ideas other than PowerPoint to create presentations. For those of you who have schools that limit your Internet rights, or just don’t feel comfortable using a new tool, PowerPoint can be a great way to enhance a lecture or project for your students. The purpose of the handout is to help educate you and your students on the proper ways to CREATE and PRESENT a PowerPoint Presentation. Even if you create a great presentation, you have to be able to know how to present it, and so often I see the same mistakes in the presentation. Here is a comical look at how NOT to create a PowerPoint Presentation. Double Click to open video. You will need PowerPoint for the video to work. Press Play. If you do not have Power Point, you can view Life After Death by PowerPoint on YouTube.
The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
By: Michael Zimmer
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Do’s -
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Do create Keyword Slides to discuss definitions students might not understand. o Animate the definition so it appears after discussion. Do keep it simple and clean. Do keep the number of bullets to 5 or less per slide. Do keep the words in each bullet to 10 or less. Do stick to a simple color scheme. Do have a visual theme. Do include a table of contents and bibliography. Do use appropriate charts and tables. Make sure they fit on the slide. Do spend time on knowing the content you are including in the presentation. Do include videos and audio clips (Search Google for “Embedding YouTube Videos in PowerPoint”) if you don’t have a video saved to your computer. o REMEMBER, WHERE YOU SAVE YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU MUST ALSO SAVE THE VIDEO. § You can’t save a PowerPoint with a video on a Flash Drive and save the video on your hard drive. It will not work. PowerPoint searches for the video. Same for audio. Do use animation when it is appropriate for the information being presented. Do choose a font that is easy for everyone to read. Do change background colors and fonts on slides so that the presentation does not become bland. Do avoid templates. Keep your presentation unique. Do try and limit presentation to a certain number of slides. Do include images that are relevant to your presentation. Do use images with a little text and then discuss the correlation. Do create transitions that correlate with what is in your presentation. Do include discussion slides that ask questions of your audience. Do create slides that have fill in the blank or charts that students can come and fill in on the whiteboard if you project on a whiteboard. If you don’t, think about doing so. Do allow time for audience to ask questions. Do practice your presentation. Do write index cards with notes for your presentation. Do time your presentation. Do set timers on your slides if it fits within your presentation style. Do purchase and use a presentation remote to advance slides so you are not stuck at your computer. Do engage your audience in the presentation. Do interact with your audience during the presentation. Do engage the audience with your first slide. Hook them into your presentation Do surprise your audience with something in your presentation. A fun fact, quote, etc.
The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
By: Michael Zimmer
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Don’ts - Don’t use clashing colors and fonts. - Don’t zoom and flip the text too much in the presentation. - Don’t add pictures when the pixels don’t allow you to see what it is. What good is a blurry picture? - Don’t use a picture as a background, but if you do, make sure they are high quality and not overtaking the slide. - Don’t use a font no one can read. - Don’t try and fit everything on one slide. Use more than one if you have too. - Don’t concentrate on color schemes more than content. - Don’t concentrate on animations more than content. - Don’t include clipart. It is only a distraction. - Don’t use sounds on slide transitions. - Don’t use sounds just for the sake of using sounds. - Don’t use the typewriter animation or sound. NO ONE LIKES THAT! - Don’t use a small font and try to fit paragraphs onto a slide. - Don’t always use the same slide layout. - Don’t include all the information on the slide for the audience. YOU need to be the center of attention in the presentation, NOT the PowerPoint. - Don’t read directly from the slides. - Don’t look at the screen while presenting. - Don’t speak in monotone voice. - Don’t include more than one point per slide. Keep it simple - DON’T COPY AND PASTE DIRECTLY FROM THE INTERNET!!
Not all of these ideas are something you might agree with, but many of these are great starting points. Pick your top 5-10 and hand them out to your students. Deduct points for those that have “Don’ts” in The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
By: Michael Zimmer
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their presentation and give points for those that have “Do’s” in their presentation. Take this information and use it to increase the effectiveness of your presentation. Make yours and your PowerPoint and your students presentations an engaging experience for your students. Resources: - Members of my PLN on Twitter – THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!!! - http://spu.edu/depts/its/workshops/staff_training/PowerPoint_ImprovingYourPitch.pdf - http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html - http://www.presentationmagazine.com/10-20-30-rule-powerpoint.htm
About the Author My name is Michael Zimmer and I am currently employed as a Technology Integration Specialist for Hopkins County Schools in Western Kentucky. Before taking the TIS position I taught Social Studies for six years, covering all subject matter as a Social Studies Teacher.
As a Technology Integration Specialist I am supporting high school teachers with the implementation of various technology based equipment, such as Document Camera’s, Airliners, Clicker Systems, FLIP Cameras, etc. I also collaborate with teachers in the development and implementation of technology projects that our students complete using the various equipment and various Web 2.0 tools, several of which are mentioned in this publication. I also collaborate with feeder middle school teachers, showcasing various Web 2.0 tools that they can use in their classroom. “The Do’s-N-Don’ts of PowerPoint” is a free publication and can be used, printed, and distributed in an educational setting without permission from the author. You can read my blog; The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness; for more educational technology resources. You can also follow me on Twitter.
The Do’s and Don’ts of PowerPoint
By: Michael Zimmer
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