Dear PowerPointers,
I hope you are
constantly thinking of ways to improve the effectiveness of your PowerPoints, just as I am.
It’s a battle because it’s so time intensive, but the rewards to your students or
audience are worth it. They receive the benefits in their engagement,
attention, learning, and memory of your message.
CHOOSING A TEMPLATE
My latest PowerPoint
illustration is derived from one of my keynotes on the Net Generation. The
issue is using a basic template throughout your presentation. There are
thousands of FREE templates available, so none of this involves a nickel out of
your pocket.
The artistic configuration of your template can be a boon and bane
to your presentation. It provides an attractive image for text, bullet points, visuals,
graphics, and media, but it can also restrict the placement of that content in
the available space. Only you can weigh the pluses and minuses. You don’t want
the template to pull the focus of your audience away from the key content. It
should not distract.
WHAT'S THE POINT?
With that notion in
mind, once you have drafted the text, how can you add transitions, animations,
music, and videos to increase the impact of your message?
My RULE OF THUMB:
Keep asking yourself, “What’s the point of this slide? How does it contribute
to my message?”
Every element should have a purpose and contribute something UNIQUE to the effect of the slide. If you don’t know the
point of the slide, how’s your audience supposed to know? What should they
remember from what you say about each slide? Does the material on the slide
support your point?
ADDING MEDIA
This PowerPoint
(converted to video) contains only a few opening slides from a presentation. Consider
how the music, especially lyrics, animation, and video clip are used to make
several points about the Net Generation:
Click this link: "POWERPOINT GOES TO BROADWAY"
You can do this with your PowerPoint software and free templates. There are no tricks involved. This entire process can be done by YOU cost-free. Consider your templates without any animation or media; just dead words. Media can create the difference between an unforgettable and forgettable PowerPoint.
Let me know your reaction and thoughts.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Over the past 6 months, I completed a blog series, 3
articles, and 6 YouTube videos on PowerPoint®. It is a challenging
medium for presentations, but it is the industry standard in teaching,
speaking, and business. I don’t know of anyone who is satisfied with his/her PowerPoint®.
It can always be improved.
VIDEO SERIES on PowerPoint®
In the recent video series, I have attempted to create
examples of PowerPoint® formats, particularly with multimedia, that
anyone can do with their version of PowerPoint® for free. You don’t
need a degree in graphic or instructional design or technology to produce
effective PowerPoints®. The latest video is the most basic, demonstrating
how you can transform a simple dead word on a slide and add color, animation,
music, still image, and video to improve the learning from a slide. While there
are tons of tutorials, this is my 3-min. attempt: VIDEO
Let me know whether this is helpful.
HAPPY POWERPOINT!
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
VIDEOS (continued)
Research evidence. The results of Mayer’s research indicate that the contiguous presentation of verbal and visual material as in videos with integrated dialogue or narration is most effective for novices and visual learners (e.g., Ventura & Onsman, 2009). That is, the use of meaningful video clips in PowerPoint® may be most appropriate for introductory as well as complex topics and for lower achieving and/or visual/spatial learners.
The empirical findings of research over the past half century on the effectiveness of videos embedded in multimedia classes or modules are noteworthy. Overall, most of the investigations support the “dual-coding theory” that more is better: multimedia auditory/verbal and visual/pictorial stimuli increase memory, comprehension, understanding, and deeper learning than any single stimulus by itself (Kirschner, Kester, & Corbalan, 2011). Learning in the pictorial conditions tested (video and audiovisual) was superior to learning in the verbal (audio) conditions. This is consistent with the picture superiority effect (Nelson, Reed, & Walling, 1976; Paivio, Rogers, & Smythe, 1968).
CONCLUSIONS: There is a solid foundation of cognitive psychology, learning theory, and physiological research and experience with “rich media” (Ayres, Marcus, Chan, & Qian, 2009; Höffler & Leutner, 2007; Kirschner et al., 2011; Lane & Wright, 2011; Mayer, 2009; Metiri Group, 2008). Including still and animated visuals, especially graphics, and media systematically in your slides with intended learning outcomes will positively affect just about every aspect of your teaching or presentation. Distinctions should be drawn among media that are designed to grab and maintain attention, to improve learning, and/or to increase retention or memory of information.
Despite the multimedia research base, there is still an urgent need to test the range of animation and media applications in the specific context of PowerPoint® presentations to determine their effects and limitations under controlled experimental conditions in the classroom at all levels (e.g., Bartsch & Cobern, 2003; Levasseur & Sawyer, 2006). There are a variety of options and uses of multimedia in PowerPoint® for which evidence does not exist.
Hopefully, the review of research in these blogs will provide you with a justification and some traction in gliding your progress toward media-embedded or streamed presentations with your audience as well as gathering data on their effectiveness. Please let me know your thoughts on the research reviewed in these blogs, particularly if there are glaring omissions. I hope you found some value in the work.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
STILL IMAGES
Much has been written in the basic PowerPoint® references about the power of visuals in PowerPoint®. Pictures, graphs, charts, diagrams, and a variety of graphic designs can stimulate emotional reactions and increase attention and retention of content more than words alone (Markel, 2009; Mayer, 2009, in press; Lane & Wright, 2011). The stronger the images, the more powerful the slides, the more effective your presentation will be.
VIDEOS
Beyond these visuals and infographics are the uses of video clips embedded in PowerPoint® slides (Berk, 2009a) and streaming videos in the presentation (Eddy & Bracken, 2008; Miller, 2009). Since there are few guidelines for videos in the most popular PowerPoint® sources on the topic, this section addresses the value and impact of videos.
Cognitive and learning theories. Several theories of learning have examined the dual coding of verbal communication, including visual, auditory, or articulatory codes, and nonverbal communication, which may include shapes, sounds, kinesthetic actions, and emotions. The theories have been linked to multimedia and the research has tested a variety of applications.
Multimedia typically refers to the presentation of material in two forms: auditory/verbal and visual/pictorial (Mayer, 2009, in press). Strategies have included PowerPoint® (Gellevij, Ven Der Meij, De Jong, & Pieters, 2002; Mayer & Johnson, 2008) and games (Moreno & Mayer, 2004, 2005) in a variety of content areas.
Mayer’s (2009) cognitive theory of learning is activated through five steps: “(a) selecting relevant words for processing in verbal working memory, (b) selecting relevant images for processing in visual working memory, (c) organizing selected words into a verbal mental model, (d) organizing selected images into a visual mental model, and (e) integrating verbal and visual representations as well as prior knowledge” (p. 54). His theory represents an amalgam of Sweller’s (1999) cognitive load theory (Chandler & Sweller, 1991; Kirschner, Kester, & Corbalan, 2011), Baddeley’s (1999) working memory model, and Paivio’s (1986) dual-coding theory (Clark & Paivio, 1991).
WHAT’S NEXT? What does Mayer’s research indicate about the impact of videos on learning? The final conclusions will be presented.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
MULTIMEDIA IS DISCOURAGED BY EXPERTS
Beyond the basics of PowerPoint®, how can multimedia be utilized effectively with PowerPoint® in the classroom? Other than posting “dead words” on a screen, do movement, music, and videos in PowerPoint® facilitate learning or impede it? To date, those elements have been virtually disregarded, dismissed, dissed, and even discouraged by PowerPoint® gurus (in business and industry) when the technology to embed or stream those media is readily available? For example, Duarte (2008) and Reynolds (2008) give them miniscule attention, yet acknowledge the powerful active cognitive processing effects they can have. They usually caution users to integrate them either sparingly or not at all or to “not overdo it.” But most teachers and presenters under do it or don’t do it at all. To engage Net Generation students, in particular, who are bored with traditional PowerPoints®, faculty may need “to do” and, maybe, “over do.”
WHERE’S THE LOVE AND SUPPORT?
With FREE software readily accessible, such as Audacity (music) and Movie Maker (videos), why do so few faculty and presenters incorporate media into their presentations? Even a study of presentations by CEOs of technology companies indicated that multimedia was incorporated typically in the form of photographs and graphics, but no music and very few animations, videos, and online links were used (Kammeyer, 2007).
Granted, in-house IT staff may not have the time or want to be bothered to assist faculty to do the animations or actual media extractions and conversions. They may have other more pressing demands. By default, then, teachers are forced either to learn it themselves or to outsource it to techies who know how to do it; otherwise, it won’t get done. With time becoming a scarcer commodity and job tasks and responsibilities increasing, multimedia in PowerPoint® may be a luxury many professionals cannot afford.
WHY RESEARCH ON MULTIMEDIA?
Do any of those PowerPoint® add-ons, such as movement, music, visuals, and videos, contribute to the effectiveness of instruction? Do they increase attention, engagement, or understanding of the content? Should faculty move literally and figuratively beyond dead words on the screen? They may already have slides with bright, high-contrast, saturated colors, flashy templates, and loads of graphics. That’s great, but what are the words doing? If they’re still cadaver-like, teachers will immediately shift their Net Geners from boring to snoring. Say it with me: “DEAD WORDS ARE BORING!” Got it? Did you actually say those words?
WHAT’S NEXT? The next few blogs will review the research on movement, music, visuals, and videos in PowerPoint®.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Guess what? PowerPoint-wise, do we know for sure what works, when, with whom, how, or why? Do we really have enough research evidence to design simple PowerPoint® slides so that our audience will actually learn and retain the content we present?
There is only a fist-full of studies on the basic features and instructional uses of PowerPoint® over the past decade. One unpublished review by Kammeyer (2007) analyzed some of the findings. Here’s the list.
TOP 10 CONCLUSIONS:
1. Most students prefer PowerPoint® to traditional lecture (Amare, 2006; Hastings & Attila, 2000; Savoy, Proctor, & Salvendy, 2009), despite how boring it might be (Mann & Robinson, 2009)
2. Traditional PowerPoint® doesn’t produce significant differences in learning (review by Levasseur & Sawyer, 2006) compared to several alternatives
3. Reading text verbatim on a slide off of the screen decreases learning and retention (“redundancy principle”) (Mayer & Johnson, 2008)
4. Gill Sans, Souvenir, and similar fonts are more comfortable to read, interesting, attractive, and professional compared to other fonts (Mackiewicz, 2007a)
5. High-contrast colors and easy-to-read text, graphs, and graphics increase learning (Bradshaw, 2003)
6. High-contrast slides are not more effective than medium-contrast slides in learning and satisfaction (Earnest, 2003)
7. Full-sentence headline (written as an assertion) compared to a word or phrase increases retention of slide content, especially with a clear supportive graphic (Alley & Neeley, 2005; Alley, Schreiber, Ramsdell, & Muffo, 2006)
8. Irrelevant pictures accompanying text and sound effects decrease learning (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003)
9. 2D graphs are preferable to 3D graphs for clarity and comprehension (Mackiewicz, 2007b; Stewart, Cipolla, & Best, 2009)
10. Cool color (blue, green, etc.) high-contrast graphs are preferred over warm colors (Mackiewicz, 2007b)
POSTMORTUM RELECTION: Obviously, these results from slightly more than a dozen studies don’t tell us a lot about how to prepare our slides. Most used very traditional text-on-the-screen formats with some graphics, resembling electronic overheads. Although the sheer scarcity of studies is inadequate to guide current PowerPoint® practices in teaching and other presentations, they do suggest certain preferences you might consider in your slide designs.
That's it. Whatta ya think? Any comments? Let me know your thoughts.
WHAT’S NEXT? Beyond the basics, presenters should consider a multimedia approach to their PowerPoints®. The research on the multimedia options will be examined in the next few blogs.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
