Using PowerPoint for Teaching Stephen Bostock Staff Development Keele University ? ? ©Keele

Summary Should we teach with presentations? PowerPoint in/supporting lectures Supporting student activity Refining presentations Some PowerPoint facilities Tips for preparation Advantages and disadvantages of presentation slides

What’s the use of lectures? Donald Bligh 1972 … as effective as other media not effective not very effective His review of research into what (traditional) lectures might be good for: transmitting information ? promoting thought ? changing student attitudes ?

Lecturing to large groups Andreson 1990 Faced with bigger classes and/or more classes, two responses are possible for lectures Refinement as theatre: enhance style, techniques, presentation skills & technology Augmentation with student activity, feedback, dialogue, using other media better presentations less ‘lecturing’

Uses for PowerPoint In “Refinement” Effective delivery of information Structured note-making Efficient for staff (in long run) In “Augmentation” Support student activity in lecture periods with questions, interactive handouts, …

Selecting media Some or all of Displays using (35mm slides) Acetates (LCD panel with overhead projector) Digital projector, fixed or portable Interactive whiteboard Paper handouts in various forms Web pages in various forms - accessibility

Presentation slides Provide clear, readable text In attractive colours, designs The consistency helps understanding Can append during a lecture, make dynamic and responsive Automatic numbering, footers, administrative information helps filing

Pictures, charts

Video/sound

Handouts Note-taking is passive, boring and inefficient - look at their notes! So, for example ... Full handouts of slides for accuracy and to save time, especially diagrams Semi-notes with missing content; unlabelled diagrams, empty tables, bullets - instruct students to complete them Skeleton notes of structure + keywords - students to add detail during the lecture stop after this slide and get them to write down one example they can try, then tell their neighbor about it.

Web versions Make presentation accessible to students before or after lecture (Accessibility required from 2002/3) With full versions of slides for reference, colour, animation, etc. You could include lecturer’s notes As an Acrobat (pdf) file, handouts are ready for printing

Tips for better presentations Prepare: Know your audience, the room, lighting control, equipment Acetates backup (?) Design easily understood charts, graphs, pictures, diagrams Rehearse – use the PowerPoint rehearsal feature for timing

Summary: advantages of presentation software Clear, legible text Information in well structured chunks Images, diagrams, charts done easily Handouts are copies of screens but can have gaps, questions, space for notes Use the same slides on a digital projector, acetates, web pages, handouts Use different selections of slides for modifying presentations, reusing slides

Summary: disadvantages of presentation software Some ready-made designs are too complex and print badly It imposes a modular structure of slides and bullets - can fragment an argument or story Summary: disadvantages of presentation software All content can look the same, boring, death by PowerPoint Learning to use it! Drawings are time-consuming, (but photo images are easy) Keeping versions for handouts and screen, or hiding some slides or objects

The end

References Lee Andreson, Lecturing to large groups, in C. Rust, Teaching in Higher Education, 1990, SCED Paper 57, ISBN 0946815178 Donald Bligh, What’s the use of lectures? Exeter: Intellect, 1998, 5th ed. Phil Race, The Lecturer’s Toolkit, 2001 Kogan Page Paul Ramsden, Learning to teach in Higher Education, 1992, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-06415-5 www.umist.ac.uk/apt/ for presentation technology Designing Slide Presentations for Adults by Raymond W. Barclay Jr. and Nancy G. Wyatt

Some bad reasons for lectures Students expect them To fill up the timetable To keep students under control That’s how I was taught It’s always been done like that …

Some good reasons for lectures Introduce a new topic, relate to other topics, where detailed information comes later Do course administration and changes Provide and introduce reading material Provide a social occasion between students and with staff Engage student interest, stimulate thinking, make memorable demonstrations Some students like lectures Efficient use of staff time with large numbers

What’s the use of lectures? Donald Bligh 1972 … His review of research found that lectures might be good for: transmitting information ? promoting thought ? changing student attitudes ?

Lecturing to large groups Andreson 1990 Faced with bigger classes and/or more classes, two responses are possible for lectures Refinement as theatre: enhance style, techniques, presentation skills & technology Augmentation with student activity, feedback, dialogue, using other media

Handouts – a skeleton Try handouts of slides ‘semi-notes’ ‘skeleton notes’ stop after this slide and get them to write down one example they can try, then tell their neighbor about it.