INCORPORATING 10 ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN YOUR POWERPOINT!

INTRO: To get back on track and to refresh this blog series that began circa 1959, here again are my TOP 10 BREAK-THE–MOLD POWERPOINT TECHNIQUES:

10. Color
9. Slide Movement
8. Letter and Word Movement
7. Simple Visuals
6. Complex Visuals
5. Sound Effects
4. Music Clips
3. Video Clips
2. Engagement Activities
And the Number 1 Technique
1. Humor

If you missed any of these topics, go back to my previous blogs. Yesterday, I finished up #3 on Video Clips, but I’d like to refer you to 1 more excellent video reference by a colleague, Michael Miller, at University of Texas, San Antonio:

Miller, M. V. (2009). Integrating online multimedia into college course and classroom: With applications to the social sciences. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 395–423. (http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/miller_0609.pdf)

Now we move onto #2 in the list:

2. ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
How do you incorporate engagement in a PowerPoint presentation? If you don't engage them, they'll be comatose in no time. It’s a MUST in presentations and in teaching to keep your audience involved in learning what you have to deliver. The work here is creating meaningful exercises for your audience. Everyone should have a handout of ALL of your content slides so they are not scrambling to write down what you are saying; they can jot down additional points you make.

Below are 10 suggestions and the PowerPoint solution:

1. Classic Fill-in-the-Blank Trick—Leave blanks for REEEAALLY IMPORTANT words on a few key slides the audience will be required to complete. (REMEMBER: The blanks are in the handout; the PowerPoint slide reveals the words for those blanks.) Don’t overdo it. I typically have blanks on 5 slides out of 100.
2. Questions to Be Answered by Hand-Raises—Ask your audience questions throughout your presentation to check if they’re still alive.
3. Survey with a Rating Scale or Checklist—Include 1 or 2 surveys in the handout for the audience to complete related to the topic--1 at the beginning and another later in the presentation. The scale may or may not be on the screen while they are completing it. I have the name of the scale on the screen and then play the Jeopardy! theme as they’re answering the items. That produces laughter every time.
4. Audience Reads Content on Slides—On particular slides, let the audience read some of the lines instead of reading to them.
5. Exercise on the Slide—Describe an exercise on the slide for a think-pair-share or other small group activity. Tell them how much time they have. Give them a 1 minute warning before drawing them back.
6. Audience Provides Answers—After an individual or group activity, ask the audience to shout out answers (if a mike isn’t available). Slide info may prompt answers.
7. Open Q & A—Have an open discussion with the audience at any time you deem it appropriate. Use a black slide so audience focuses on you.
8. Skit or Demonstration—Request members of your audience to participate in a skit to illustrate a concept, to stimulate an individual or group activity, or elicit responses to a problem. Parodies of TV programs, popular movies, and Broadway shows can be unforgettable. Prep the participants in advance. You may have content on the slide or a black slide.
9. Music or Video Clip Reaction—After a clip, ask the audience to circle their answers to multiple-choice questions in the handout or write their answers. They can also discuss answers with others.
10. Answers with Clickers—If your audience has clickers, design questions throughout the presentation and a multiple-choice quiz summary at the end to elicit their reactions and responses. They can see their summary responses in graphic form instantaneously.

There has to be at least 1 of the above techniques you can include in your next PowerPoint. Just Do It. Your audience will love it.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

Misuse of PowerPoint in the Classroom

Based on the results of the survey of students in England, reported in yesterday's blog, the manner in which professors use PowerPoint in their classes contributed significantly to the students' boredom. I don't think those practices are that different in the U.S as well as in most other countries. Lecture with PowerPoint is still the predominant form of information delivery in college classes.
PowerPoint is a perfect example of a technology that is frequently used inappropriately in teaching. Basically, it’s just text material projected on the screen rather than in a book, although graphics and images may be included. If the slides are jam packed with tons of content too small to read from the students' seats and professors just read those slides to the students as if they were three years old, the students should be bored as well as insulted. That practice has been called "death by PowerPoint," and a slow and painful one at that. It may be the simplest and laziest use of the technology, albeit, also an ineffective use. If you post the slides on the course Website, the students don’t have to come to class and, in fact, many of them don’t.
Fortunately, there are effective applications of PowerPoint that some professors are using. They amplify, interpret, animate, discuss, and/or question the slide content to engage the students and/or incorporate music, sound effects, and videos into the slides. In large classes, in particular, some use clickers to solicit opinions or to test their understanding of the content being discussed. ENGAGEMENT is critical to grab and maintain the students' attention. PowerPoint can engage students, even with lecture, when used appropriately.

COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC