Redefining PowerPoint in the College Classroom

Reimagine what PowerPoint can do. Learn how to leverage PowerPoint in the college classroom to deliver more engaging and modern lessons.

PowerPoint has become one of the most common classroom technologies. But today's college students expect more than bulleted lists. It's time to rethink your presentation style, and redefine what PowerPoint can do. Alan Ackmann shows how to create more interactive and dynamic lessons by reimaging how PowerPoint can be used. Learn what presentation styles are most valuable to students, and how key theories support the use of PowerPoint for cognition and knowledge transfer. Then explore the many different uses of PowerPoint, from archiving to screencasting. Alan reviews principles of effective slide design, including recommended use of color, space, text, and animation. He leaves you with some "before and afters" that show how presentations for different types of college classrooms can be optimized and redesigned for specific audiences.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What you should know about this course

1. PowerPoint in the Classroom: What We Know

• Meaningful origins of slideware
• Popular ideas about PowerPoint
• Student attitudes towards slideware
• Meaningful theory about slideware

2. The Different Uses of PowerPoint in College

• PowerPoint as a supplement to lecture
• PowerPoint as an archiving document
• PowerPoint as a discussion generator
• PowerPoint as a review tool
• PowerPoint and live webinars
• PowerPoint and recorded screencasting

3. Teaching and Slide Design

• Using text in PowerPoint
• Avoiding PowerPoint distractions
• Selecting meaningful images
• Using meaningful charts and diagrams
• Purposeful PowerPoint animations
• PowerPoint design concepts

4. Before and Afters

• PowerPoint in mathematics classes
• PowerPoint in the liberal arts
• PowerPoint in science classes

Conclusion

• Creating a PowerPoint presentation
• Next steps