The University of Adelaide

Slide Show: PowerPoint for Learning

Peter Murdoch

March 2014

PREPARING GOOD LOOKING DOCUMENTS

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Slide Show: PowerPoint for Learning

Developing PowerPoint slide shows for use in lectures

or online can be time consuming and frustrating.

This session will raise a number of the issues you

need to consider and provide some tips to help you

prepare good looking slide shows.

We will also make time to discuss some of the issues

you have in working with PowerPoint.

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Template design and set-up

Using a template can save time, allow for collaboration and help unify your course presentations

Identify your needs and sketch out a design

Choosing a design and layout

• simple or complex; check colours for accessibility

Setting up masters and basic styles

• choose fonts and set up styles for readability

Setting up for access and output in other formats

• logical, style-based document structure

• how will slides look if printed; reset if needed

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Example layouts

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Use suitable fonts

• Arial

• Arial Narrow• Trebuchet

• Verdana

• Georgia

• Comic Sans

• Algerian

• Magneto

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Condensing the content

Purpose of the slides

• How much information do you need to present – guiding the topic or explaining complex concepts

• structure for effectiveness in the lecture and/or for post-lecture revision

Breaking up the content

• reduce to 'bite size'; don't lose crucial information

• split over multiple slides; repeat the heading or use a joining phrase

• cite and reference copyright material; include copyright warning notice/s

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Controlling type and placement

Visual presentation impacts on the ease of access and on readability; start simple and then experiment

Slide headings

• one line or two; split into main heading & subheading

Text blocks on the slide

• format for information flow and readability

Positioning and alignment

• use align and grouping for positioning items

• Use the arrow keys to move elements; + Ctrl key for finer movements, + shift key to restrict direction

• If adjusting with object 'handles' use the Alt key

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Formatting text blocks

HEADINGIntro intro intro intro introintro intro intro intro intro

SubheadingText text text text text texttext text text text text text

SubheadingText text text text text texttext text text text text text

HEADINGIntro intro intro intro introintro intro intro intro intro

Subheading Text text text text text text text text text text

Subheading Text text text text text text text text text text

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Formatting text blocks

Whole paragraphs set in bold type do not necessarily provide the right amount of emphasis to bring to the reader’s attention the importance of the point being made.Whole paragraphs set in bold type do not necessarily provide the right amount of emphasis to bring to the reader’s attention the importance of the point being made.

MAIN HEADINGSubheading 1Subheading 2Subheading 3

Main HeadingSUBHEADING 1Subheading 2 SUBHEADING 3

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Arranging text

The Align & Group options can be found in Arrange on the Home or the Drawing Tools: Format tabs

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Adding images and transitions

Images and transitions can enhance a presentation, but avoid both their overuse and misuse

Why use images?

• to add 'colour', support a concept, or elicit a response

• is an image a better way to show the information

Prepare suitable images

• rescale images to suit; use bmp, gif, png & jpg

Use transitions appropriately

• to show steps in a process or to reveal responses

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ResolutionPhoto from Stock.XCHNG www.sxc.hu

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Resolution

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Resolution

72 ppi

300 dpi

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JPEG degradationPhoto University of Adelaide

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Adding multimedia elements

Audio grabs | Video clips | Web links

• multimedia should have a purpose for its inclusion

• you can create multimedia yourself or source from elsewhere

• check for any copyright requirements

• check if you need to link to an external 'player’

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Creating packaged learning modules

• features such as audio narration and interactive quizzes can be combined with a PowerPoint slide show to create modules for independent learning

• you can use third-party software to add these features and to export your slides as a packaged learning object e.g. Articulate and Adobe Presenter.

• find examples of audio-narrated slides and interactive modules to see how others have approached their design and creation

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Show time: sharing your slides

Providing access

• what to make available

• in what formats

Copyright and distribution issues

• are there copyright materials to manage

Evaluate for continued improvements

• seek peer and user feedback

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Summary

The features of a well designed PowerPoint presentation include

• having a clear purpose for learning

• having the slides support the presentation or enable engagement

• a clear and thoughtfully constructed visual appearance

Start simple when developing PowerPoint presentations and with experience tackle more complex designs.

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Thank You

© The University of Adelaide 2014