Making BetterPowerPoint Presentations

• Cute clip art

• Too many words on a slide

• Templates with too many colors

• Movement (slide transitions or word animations)

Students Hated TheseStudents Hated These

• Graphs

• Bulleted lists

• Structure lectures

• Verbal explanations

Students Liked TheseStudents Liked These

• Short phrases presented

• Note taking discouraged

• Professor talks to the slide

• Relevant pictures are used

• Slides reviewed ahead of time

Students Learned Students Learned

Baddley’s ModelBaddley’s Model

Episodic Buffer

Phonological Loop

Central Executive

Visual Spatial

Sketchpad

• Leverage modality–Visual–Auditory

• Minimize distraction• Use simple cues• Don’t display every word

Applying the ModelApplying the Model

• K ey Point• W ords that suggest the visual• I n context• C rystal clear• K eep Focus

KWICK MethodKWICK Method

• One and only one• Derived from message• Derived from data• Divided if too complex

Key PointKey Point

Words that suggestWords that suggest

• Age appropriate• Gender appropriate• Synergistic with course

In ContextIn Context

• Call outs• Photos in diagrams• Shading and fading

Crystal ClearCrystal Clear

• Build on ideas• Breakdown complex diagrams• Structure using hierarchy• Review and rehearse

Keep FocusKeep Focus

• http://www.bestpresentation.net/death-by-powerpoint/

• www.fakeposters.com• http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pag

es/making-better-powerpoint-presentations/

ResourcesResources