“Visual clutter for $200” Help Stop PowerPoint Abuse!
Patrick R. LowenthalSchool of Education and Human DevelopmentUniversity of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center [email protected]
Learning Objectives
1.You will be able to describe some of the issues surrounding the use of PowerPoint
2.You will have a list of strategies that you can use to improve the use of PowerPoint in your classroom or online
3.______________________________
The PowerPoint Critic
Edward Tufte
Cognitive Style of PowerPoint
Edward Tufte’s Criticisms
1.Low resolution
2.Bullet outlines dilute thought
3.Deeply hierarchical and linear structure
4.Fragments narrative and data
5.Preoccupation with format, not content
6.Decoration and phluff
Critiques of Tufte
1.Focused on presentations—not learning
2.Blames the tool
3.Over-emphasis on content
4.Does not offer solutions or strategies to improve the use of PowerPoint
5.________________________________
6.________________________________
Tufte’s Implicit Recommendations
1.Use more useful visuals or give handouts 2.Use clear headings, numbered lists or
very few bulleted outlines
3.Design and leverage PowerPoint’s non-linear and non-hierarchical capabilities
4.Use plain, non-distracting backgrounds; use information rich and relevant images
Four ways to use PowerPoint
1.For presentations
2.To teach a face-to-face class
3.Computer-based learning
4.Student products
Strategies to Improve PowerPoint
#1 Sound Instructional Design
#2 Visual Literacy & Message Design
CARP
CARP: Contrast
Good Bad
CARP: Alignment
GoodToday I went to the store to buy an apple for my grandmother.
BadToday I
went to the store
to buy an apple for my
grandmother.
CARP: Repetition & Proximity
GoodIntroductionxkdkdkdkdkd
Bodykdkdkdkd
Conclusionkdkdkdkd
BadIntroduction
xkdkdkdkdkd
Body
kdkdkdkd
Bad
FONT
Good
Font
Font Matters
Good Bad
Non-linguistic Representations
Some Rules of Thumb
1.PPT should support learning objectives 2.Avoid PowerPoint templates3.Avoid using more than one level of bullets4.Less is better: less words & less slides5.Avoid distracting clip art or unrelated images6.Avoid distracting slide transitions7.Use CARP to improve design8.Avoid using all CAPS9.Leverage the multimedia: visual & audio when
appropriately10.Don’t let PowerPoint control your teaching
Handouts are available
The Rules Change Online
This slide is an example of what a PowerPoint slide online might look like:
More content is better onlineWhen developing PowerPoint presentations for online learning, the rules change. The number one reason is because your audience is now sitting right at a computer screen. Therefore, while the two central principles (i.e., sound instructional design and sound message design) remain important because learners often skim instead of read content online, the actual development of the PowerPoint presentation changes and becomes more like designing a webpage.
ImplicationsThe number one way this impacts faculty is by the fact that one presentation cannot and should not be used for classroom and online courses—that is, unless you are going to include audio or video to supplement the slides.
The Rules Change Online
This slide is another example of what a PowerPoint slide online might look like:
InteractivityWhen developing PowerPoint presentations online, it is important to recognize and take advantage of the fact that your learner is now able to interact with your presentation. Therefore, including URL’s, video, audio, games, quizzes, can all strengthen your presentation as a learning experience.
BandwidthThe size of your files, images that you use, and any video components takes on new importance. As a general rule of thumb, it is hard to email anything over 4mb so you should strive to keep your PowerPoint presentations under 4mb.
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1. Interactivity
2. MS Producer for PowerPoint
3. Articulate Presenter
4. Impatica for PowerPoint
5. Games
6. Digital Stories
We need to think of ways to get students to interact and actively engage in their learning.
Moving Beyond Text
MS Producer is a good tool if you want to add audio and video to your slides.
It is also free!
Articulate Presenter offers a seamless (but expensive) alternative to Producer. Also has quiz making tools.
Impatica is an easy tool to covert PowerPoint slides for the web.PowerPoint can used to create learning games to engage students online
Digital stories can be an effective way to build teacher presence online.
ResourcesResources:
PowerPoint Viewerhttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=428D5727-43AB-4F24-90B7-A94784AF71A4&displaylang=en
PowerPoint Producerhttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1B3C76D5-FC75-4F99-94BC-784919468E73&displaylang=en
Articulatehttp://www.articulate.com/
Impaticahttp://www.impatica.com/imp4ppt/index.html
Gameshttp://it.coe.uga.edu/wwild/index.html or http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm
Digital Storieshttp://www.storycenter.org
Selected References
Gall, J., & Lohr, L. L. (2005). Dancing with the Devil: Can Good People Still Use PowerPoint? Retrieved April 30, 2006, from http://www.coe.unco.edu/JimGall/DevilDancing.pdfLohr, L. L. (2003). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual
literacy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.Norvig, P. (n.d). The making of the Gettysburg PowerPoint presentation. Retrieved
May 5, 2006, from http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/making.htmlNorvig, P. (n.d.). The Gettysburg PowerPoint presentation. Retrieved January 1,
2006, from http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/Norvig, P. (n.d.). PowerPoint: Shot with its own bullets. Retrieved April 1, 2006, from http://www.norvig.com/lancet.htmlTufte, E. (2003a). The cognitive style of PowerPoint. Cheshire, CN: Graphics Press Tufte, E. (2003b). PowerPoint is evil: Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely. Wired Retrieved 11.09, from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.htmlWineburg, S. (2004). Must it be this way? Ten rules for keeping your audience awake
during conferences. Educational Researcher, 33(4), 13-14.Winn, W. (1993). Perception principles. In M. Fleming & H. W. Levie (Eds.), Instructional message design: Principles from the behavioral and cognitive sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
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