Power Point
Almost all of our courses have a premade power point presentations to go along with the lectures. We are able to modify the slides if we feel it is necessary.
How much information should be on one slide in the form of text, and should all slides have a picture or graphic?
Thanks for your help!
Has anyone had the experience of utilizing Flash based presentations within the context of their materials?
I have spoken with some instructors, like myself, that feel PowerPoint is outdated. A still slide of data is similar to television without high definition. I am in the process of taking my slide decks from the publisher and incorporating the data that allows for students to complete problems and solve questions directly in the PowerPoint.
I find it very difficult to lecture to my class when I have a PowerPoint presentation on the screen. I feel students become fixated on the data that is on the screen rather than the concepts discussed within the context of the lecture.
I have attempted several times to use this tool, but seem to fail each time. I am hoping my new approach with Flash/User input will be more interactive and I am curious to see what innovations others are trying to improve the shortcomings of PowerPoint in the classroom.
-Mark
PowerPoint is a great tool to implement in classes. Often times, I print out the slides to use as handouts or note taking tools.
Thank you for this informative explanation.
I use and love Power Points in most of my lecture. I don't read the slides verbatim, students themselves can read them, but I learn as much as I can about the material, and use them as such; "points."
I do agree some of them are much longer than time permitted, and will ask the director if I can shorten them down a bit.
If used correctly, they don't have to be death. :)
I use the PowerPoint presentation as a type of "note card" for my lecture. I include 1-5 points with a supporting graphic or picture. Then I can speak about them without "reading" from the screen.
Gary,
You are offering good change of pace and variety in your delivery of content. I am sure this results in your students being engaged and focused for the duration of the each class session. Keep up this good effort!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Our Power point Presentation is already prepared for the instructor. I try to take breaks approx. 15 to 20 min lectures so the students will not drift off during the lecture. Breaking off to do a lab about the subject we just presented so now the student is getting hands on the subject fresh after the lecture. Breaking up the lecture into sections , then lab back to power point lecture . I review the PowerPoint lecture only after all labs are completed including reviewing all lab. Then review lesson and test subject. I include my life lessons about the lecture and subject. I stay away from reading the power point and focus on outlining and discussing the topic on screen. students can already read.
Christian,
Students like variety and change of pace in instructional delivery. Your comments address that with your use of the word change. We instructors need to be able to adapt and adjust our instructional delivery on a constant basis to keep our students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
So as instructors we need to have a state of
change to keep our students awake and interested.
Pamela,
There are many approaches to using the support of power point. You have found a great way to use the content in the power point to launch discussions and get student interaction. Thanks for sharing this approach with us.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is a very interesting discussion! I rather love power point discussions. Mostly, because I have found a way to make them exciting and interactive with my learners where I do less teaching and more learning. If that makes sense!???? It is true I use my power point as a guide for the discuss in which I would like to have for the class however, it seem to keep my learner more interested and involved in the lesson, they ask more questions, have more input and the classes are more active and lively. So I have found that I can keep a power point discussion not lecture active for a full class. Thanks for sharing!!!
We used PowerPoint to demonstrate and present information to foreign soldiers in a combat environment. It was an effective way to give a quick overview and order-of-procedure methodology and cross the language barrier with the assistance of our interpreters. It was very effective both long term and short. It gave a common reference to all involved.
Greg,
I agree as well. They are to be used to gain attention and share concepts. Text heavy slides benefit no one.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Hugo,
Good point and that is why power point presentations need to be carefully thought out and well done. Otherwise the death is by a thousand slides, slow and painful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with Hugo. I have seen if the slides are too busy the instructors have a tendency to read the slides and quickly lose the students of any learning. With a few bullets the instructor should be knowledgeable enough to expand on the points and drawing the students into a better, engaged learning experience.
Greg
I hate Power Point slides in the military we would call it death by power point
Anthony,
This is a common problem with power point slides. They are text heavy so the students start to drift off from them and don't acquire the knowledge they need for course success. Power point slides need to be brief to the point, colorful and contain a lot of graphics if they are going to be effective.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Our power points last too long and contain to much
information it will be necessary to reduce the time and stretch the content over longer periods.
Jeremy,
You do not want to have more than five points to each slide in terms of text. Ideally if you can make three points that are supported with graphics you will be able to get the attention your students without overwhelming them with text. Power point slides are used primarily for getting the attention of students and to give you talking points rather than being text heavy where students do not listen to you because they are trying to write everything down.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
