Ensure that all images are high enough quality so they do not appear to be blurry on the screen.Be consistent and simple with font and color.Real images are generally better than clipart.Images should be bold, clear, and memorable.The other was an example of a strong, well done presentation. One utilized many of the features of what I consider to be a poorly constructed presentation. I created two different Powerpoint presentations to show his ideas. While I did not decide to do this for the class, I did use his work to inspire my Powerpoint lesson. Since I knew that using their ideas would make my point that much more relevant, I chose one of my student’s pieces as inspiration for this lesson (and he was thrilled to have his idea so valued!) He had written a piece persuading me to add an hour of skatepark time into our agenda. We had just finished a unit on persuasive writing, and my kids had all written pieces trying to persuade me to add an extra hour of something into our weekly schedule. Regardless, here is what I decided to do with my students. I know there are many schools of thought on this, and I am happy to be challenged. As a speaker, you use the slide to keep you on track and to leave your audience with a memorable visual. As a listener, I can quickly take in the image and then focus on the speaker. With both of these experiences in mind, I have come to believe that the best Powerpoint presentations are designed to prompt the speaker with a vivid image or phrase. While this saved my hand, it also helped me to check out of the lecture, as everything was already noted down for me. I have also been to many presentations where these slides were kindly printed off for me ahead of time. Rarely did the prof stray from what was on the screen. In many of my college lectures the professor would write all sorts of concepts and definitions on to a Powerpoint, and we spent the hour frantically copying them down into our notes. I am sure many of us (if not all) have sat through some miserable lectures where a presenter read pages of script off a Powerpoint.
With that in mind, I decided to introduce them to the concept of “death by Powerpoint.” While I was not overly concerned with them becoming super skilled at using Powerpoint, I did want them to understand how to use technology to support and enhance an oral presentation. However, I was consistently finding that, regardless of the software, my students needed to learn that technology is meant to support other skills. Sometimes it seems unnecessary to teach kids how to use a specific program. Technology is always complicated, as it is ever changing. This past year I had a goal of helping my students to become more functional on computers.