using powerpoint in teaching

52
How can I use PowerPoint to TEACH ? a presentation by Moustapha Y. Mneimneh Summer 2005

Upload: moustapha-mneimneh

Post on 19-May-2015

821 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Using powerpoint in teaching

How can I use PowerPoint to TEACH?

a presentation byMoustapha Y. Mneimneh

Summer 2005

Page 2: Using powerpoint in teaching

In this Presentation

We’re going to look at how you can use PowerPoint to teach.

Page 3: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our goals

• Look at the process we all go through as we learn PowerPoint.

• Investigate student perception of PowerPoint in the classroom.

• See if student performance supports that perception.

• Talk about PowerPoint and student note-taking.

• Learn a little bit about PowerPoint usability.

Page 4: Using powerpoint in teaching

PowerPoint is a tool that can be used well or poorly.

Page 5: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our PowerPoint evolution

Simple presentations, ones in which the message is more important than the medium.

Page 6: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our PowerPoint evolution

Focus shifts from the message to “gilding the lily.”

– Content takes a back seat to the new goal of entertaining the audience.

– We spend HOURS looking for the right sounds, pictures, or backgrounds to beautify our presentations.

Page 7: Using powerpoint in teaching

Why?

•PowerPoint’s bells and whistles are downright appealing .

•We (mistakenly) assume that if our presentations look better, so they must be better teaching tools.

Page 8: Using powerpoint in teaching

Keep in Mind

• The primary goal of any classroom PowerPoint presentation isn’t to entertain but rather to teach.

• And there is a HUGE difference between a business PowerPoint presentation and a classroom PowerPoint presentation.

Page 9: Using powerpoint in teaching

The problem with PowerPoint

PowerPoint’s fancy backgrounds, animations, builds, transitions, etc. a businessperson can– Impress you.– Close the sale.– Obscure the facts.

Page 10: Using powerpoint in teaching

Advertisement

Page 11: Using powerpoint in teaching
Page 12: Using powerpoint in teaching
Page 13: Using powerpoint in teaching

So, what ARE the possibilities?

HORRIBLE PowerPoint presentations, ones that actually impede or inhibit learning. For

example…

Page 14: Using powerpoint in teaching

Lorem Ipsum DolorLorem Ipsum Dolor

““Neque porro quisquam est Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit…”velit…”

clicktoaddtitle.comLeslie Harpold – Round 2

Page 15: Using powerpoint in teaching

Lorem Ipsum Lorem Ipsum DolorDolor

Curabitur sedCurabitur sed

Nullam pretium Nullam pretium

Mauris metus Mauris metus

Curabitur sed Curabitur sed 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

X A

Ipso

Facto

Lifto

Lefto

Page 16: Using powerpoint in teaching

Lorem Ipsum DolorLorem Ipsum DolorLorem ipsum Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, dolor sit amet, consectetuer consectetuer adipiscing elit. adipiscing elit. Nam erat justo, Nam erat justo, sagittis vitae, sagittis vitae, commodo ut, commodo ut, rhoncus lacus rhoncus lacus mit nonummy, mit nonummy, ante.ante.

Duis ligula augue, Duis ligula augue, aliquam sit amet, aliquam sit amet, rutrum a, gravida rutrum a, gravida quis, lacus. Mauris quis, lacus. Mauris quam. Phasellus a quam. Phasellus a felis quis ipsum felis quis ipsum tincidunt vehicula. tincidunt vehicula. Morbi elementum Morbi elementum dapibus est. dapibus est.

Page 17: Using powerpoint in teaching

Lorem Ipsum Lorem Ipsum Dolor?Dolor?

Slice 35%

2nd Qtr52%

1st Qtr24%

Slice 412%

Page 18: Using powerpoint in teaching

Lorem Ispum Lorem Ispum Dolor!Dolor!

“Nam erat justo, sagittis vitae, commodo ut,

rhoncus nonummy, ante.

Duis ligula augue, aliquam sit amet, rutrum a, gravida

quis, lacus. Mauris quam.

Phasellus a felis”

Page 19: Using powerpoint in teaching

LOREM IPSUM LOREM IPSUM DOLORDOLORMauris quam. Phasellus a felis . Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere

20

.42

7.4

90

20

.4

30

.63

8.6

34

.6

31

.6

45

.9

46

.9

45

43

.9

0 50 100 150 200

1st Qtr

2nd Qtr

3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

East West North

Page 20: Using powerpoint in teaching
Page 21: Using powerpoint in teaching

What’s the point?

• Powerpointless

• The point I am trying to make is this: The fancier the PowerPoint presentation, the less valuable the ideas being presented. (Lovelace, 2001)

Page 22: Using powerpoint in teaching

Student perception

What do your students feel about you using PowerPoint to

teach?

Page 23: Using powerpoint in teaching

Student perception

• Even with the endless steam of bad PowerPoint presentations we inflict on our students, students still prefer PowerPoint presentations to presentations from transparencies (Cassady, 1998; Perry & Perry, 1998; Susskind & Gurien, 1999; West, 1977) or even from a blackboard or whiteboard. (Frey & Birnbaum, 2002)

• Why?

Page 24: Using powerpoint in teaching

Student perception

• Students believe PowerPoint has a positive effect on lectures, especially in helping them take notes and study for exams. (Frey & Birnbaum, 2002)

• Students perceive professors who deliver PowerPoint lectures as being more organized. (Frey & Birnbaum, 2002)

Page 25: Using powerpoint in teaching

Student performance

Does student perception equal reality?

Page 26: Using powerpoint in teaching

Three types of presentations

According to Bartsch & Cobern (2003), there are three types of teacher-created “multimedia” presentations used in most classrooms: – Transparencies– Basic PowerPoint, which only includes

text information– Expanded PowerPoint, which includes

pictures, sounds, movies, transitions, builds, etc.

Page 27: Using powerpoint in teaching

Ready for a shock?

• There is no significant difference in scores on quizzes that come from transparencies and basic PowerPoint lectures. (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

• Students do 10% worse on quizzes that come from expanded PowerPoint lectures. (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

Page 28: Using powerpoint in teaching

Wait, there’s more!

• Does adding pictures to your presentations have a positive effect on students’ enjoyment or learning of the material?

• NOPE! (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)

Page 29: Using powerpoint in teaching

Interference

• Having related pictures in your PowerPoint presentation is neither beneficial nor harmful to the students’ enjoyment or learning of the material. (Bartsch & Cobern , 2003)

• Unrelated pictures in a presentation, however, have a negative effect on students’ enjoyment and the learning of the material. (Bartsch & Cobern , 2003)

Page 30: Using powerpoint in teaching

For example

• PowerPoint 1.0 was actually derived from a product called “Presenter” that was developed by Forethought Inc. in early 1987.

• Microsoft purchased Presenter in August of 1987 for $14 million.

Image source: albinoblacksheep.com

Page 31: Using powerpoint in teaching

Notice the interference?

• That picture, while humorous, had nothing to do with the real content of the slide.

• But, I’d be willing to bet that an hour from now you’ll remember the “Howard Dean kitten” picture but completely forget how much Microsoft paid for PowerPoint in 1987.

• The slide entertains, but fails to teach. Why? Well…

Page 32: Using powerpoint in teaching

Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

• Students place • relevant words into auditory working

memory and• relevant images into visual working

memory. (Mayer, 2001)

• Students then organize information separately in auditory and visual memory and finally integrate these representations with prior knowledge. (Mayer , 2001)

Page 33: Using powerpoint in teaching

The problem with pictures

• The on-screen text in PowerPoint is processed in visual memory because it is seen, viewed with the eyes. (Bartsch & Cobern , 2003)

• Relevant pictures do not help because they are also stored in visual memory along with the text—no new information is added over a different channel. (Bartsch & Cobern , 2003)

Page 34: Using powerpoint in teaching

In short, only use pictures to teach, not to decorate or

entertain.

Page 35: Using powerpoint in teaching

PowerPoint and student notes

Page 36: Using powerpoint in teaching

Do your students need help?

• Do your students need help taking notes?

• In a word, YES! (Potts, 1993)

Page 37: Using powerpoint in teaching

Notes and student performance

Page 38: Using powerpoint in teaching

Giving students your notes

The problem is that students remember a greater proportion of the information in their own notes than in provided notes. (Kiewra, Potts, 1993)

Page 39: Using powerpoint in teaching

Solving the Notes Problem

Page 40: Using powerpoint in teaching

What is a skeletal outline?

Example

Page 41: Using powerpoint in teaching

Enough about content and note-taking. Let’s talk about

design.

Page 42: Using powerpoint in teaching

Which font should you use?

Page 43: Using powerpoint in teaching

Subjective test results

Is it easy to read?

Is it easy to read?

Is it easy to read?

Is it easy to read?1.56

1.81

2.27

3.11

Page 44: Using powerpoint in teaching

Serif v. sans-serif

• On paper, people prefer reading serif fonts—fonts with a “tail” (like Times New Roman.)

• On screens, however, prefer sans-serif fonts—fonts without a tail (like Verdana).

Page 45: Using powerpoint in teaching

Friends don’t let friends use comic sans!

Page 46: Using powerpoint in teaching

The contrast problem

• Many of PowerPoint’s built-in templates use light text (like a white or yellow) on a dark background (like blue or red).

• The problem is that when light text is placed on a dark background, the text may seem to “glow” (or “halate”), making the text harder to read. (AT&T, 1989)

•Ambient light also tends to wash out PowerPoint presentations with dark backgrounds, totally throwing the contrast (and legibility) out of whack.

Page 47: Using powerpoint in teaching

That’s all, folks!

Page 48: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our key points

• Don’t detract: Stay away from PowerPoint’s bells and whistles like builds, transitions, animations, and sound effects.– The bells and whistles are for selling, not for

teaching.– If you absolutely have to use PowerPoint’s

frills, only add them to slides that contain non-testable content.

• Only use pictures to teach, not to decorate or entertain.

Page 49: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our key points

To maximize student performance on fact-based tests,

– Have your students take notes during your presentation and then give your students a copy of your presentation (and lecture notes) afterward.

– OR give your students a skeletal outline before your presentation (with lots of white space), have your students take notes during your presentation, and then give your students a copy of your presentation (and lecture notes) afterward.

Page 50: Using powerpoint in teaching

Our key points

• Because of diminishing attention spans, front-load the first 10 minutes of your presentation.

• Use a sans-serif screen display font like Verdana for your on-screen presentation, and use a serif print display font like Times New Roman for your handouts.

• Use dark text on a light background.

Page 51: Using powerpoint in teaching

References

The references that follow are formatted for printing, not for

on-screen display.

Page 52: Using powerpoint in teaching

References• AT&T. (1989) Open Look: graphical user interface application style guidelines. New York: Sun Microsystems.• Bartsch, R. A., & Cobern, K. M. (2003). Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures. Computers & Education, 41, 77-86. • Bernard, M. (2003) Criteria for optimal web design (designing for usability). http://psychology.wichita.edu/optimalweb/text.htm• Cassady, J. C. (1998). Student and instructor perceptions of the efficacy of computer-aided lectures in undergraduate university

courses. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 19, 175–189.• Connare, Vincent. Why Comic Sans? http://www.connare.com/comic.htm• Frey, B., & Birnbaum, D. J. (2002). Learners’ Perceptions of the Value of PowerPoint in Lectures. ERIC Document Reproduction

Service: ED467192• Hartley, J., and Davies, I. K. (1986) Note-taking: A critical review. Programmed Learning and Educational Technology, 15, 207.• Hoffman, Robert. (2004) Text Readability. http://edtechfm.sdsu.edu/bhoffman/type/font/intro.htm• Kiewra, K.A. (1985). Providing the instructor's notes: An effective addition to student notetaking. Educational Psychologist, 20,

33-39.• Lovelace, Herbert W. (2001) The Medium Is More Than The Message. Information Week, July 16, 2001. (Online)• Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia learning, p. 53. New York: Cambridge University Press.• Nielsen, Jakob. (1997). Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web). Alertbox, March 15, 1997. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html• Perry, T., & Perry, L. A. (1998). University students’ attitudes towards multimedia presentations. British Journal of Educational

Technology, 29, 375–377.• Potts, Bonnie. (1993). Improving the quality of student notes. ERIC Document Reproduction Service: ED366645.• Russell, I.J., Caris, T.N., Harris, G.D., & Hendricson, W.D. (1983). Effects of three types of lecture notes on medical student

achievement. Journal of Medical Education, 58, 627-636.• Susskind, J., & Gurien, R. A. (1999, June). Do computer-generated presentations influence psychology students’ learning and

motivation to succeed? Poster session presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Society, Denver, CO. • West, R. L. (1997). Multimedia presentations in large classes: a field experiment. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the

American Psychological Society, Washington, DC.