Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 22:58:51 +0000
From: "Richard Pisacreta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: powerpoint
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I just started getting into powerpoint slides for my classes and I was
wondering if those of you that use powerpoint attach
sound effects or clipart to some slides.
==================
Rip -
I've been using Powerpoint (and Corel Presentations, which is actually a
superior program but lost the marketing war) for several years, since I
discovered that overhead projectors were never where they were supposed to
be, but multimedia equipment was bolted in place. Anyway...
I've done lots of experimenting with sounds, transitions, and other
"features" and here's my two cents' worth:
Sounds: Having a few sounds, each of which signals some event (e.g., a
specific noise for a summary slide), is OK, but don't overdo it; it
distracts the students. A small noise, like a click, that accompanies a
slide change helps students be less disoriented if they're looking away when
the slide change occurs. I used to go to great effort to get 3-5 sec clips
of songs, famous speeches, etc. that illustrated (or related to or were puns
on) the topic of the slide, and only rarely did any student see the
connection. Mostly it was wasted effort, except that it kept me entertained.
Transitions: Transitions between slides are fine, but you and the students
will be frustrated if you use transitions that take a long time, or if you
overuse the "add one bullet at a time" feature to bullet lists. Unless the
information on the slide clearly builds, and students will be confused by
jumping past where YOU are -- i.e., you need to introduce sub-ideas one at a
time and you want to control what they're reading -- just let the whole
thing appear.
Templates: Some of the templates look great but aren't practical. Likewise,
some of the templates have an animated feature that plays after the slide
appears (like a little glint of light that swoops across the slide). The
program won't even hear a command issued while this is swooping, so you
can't skip a slide. I tend to stick with simpler, more functional templates
that leave maximum area on the slide for words and pictures.
Links to external files (e.g., video clips): Unless you test to make sure
that the PC in the classroom has its drives (like Zip drives and CD-ROMS) on
the same letters as the one you use to make the powerpoint files, it may not
work to include video clips. Powerpoint will go looking for the file at the
address you used when you put it into the slide -- for example, on the D:
drive that's your CD-ROM at home -- and if the CD-ROM isn't the D: drive in
the classroom, it will blow up. If you're taking your laptop to class,
problem solved. Otherwise, test, test, test before you get to class.
Handouts: It's a good idea to make the slides available, as handouts or
downloadable somehow; I use downloads because it's cheaper and half of the
students will take a handout and then throw it away. Without this prop, the
students will be so busy mindlessly copying down every word on every slide
that they won't hear a word you say. Unless the slide IS the lecture -- I
doubt that, having seen many of your posts to TIPs over the years -- you
want them listening and interacting, but they can't leave the slide in a
subordinate supporting role unless you relieve their anxiety that it might
contain something critical they'd miss by not copying it down.
Finally, have a backup plan. There WILL come a day when all the technology
will fail, and you'll turn around to see a sea of semi-amused faces who are
thinking "class dismissed." Printing a set of backup overheads is a huge
expense, but printing out the outline or the 6-slides-per-page handout for
yourself can give you the memory cues you need to grab a piece of chalk and
keep going.
Powerpoint is a great tool, if you remember that it's only a tool and it's
not useful for everything you might want to do in class. Don't fall prey to
Maslow's axiom that "when the only tool you have is a hammer, pretty soon
everything starts to look like a nail."
Good luck, and have fun!
Michael Renner
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Michael J. Renner
Department of Psychology
West Chester University
West Chester, PA 19383
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Telephone: 610-436-2925
Fax: 610-436-2846
"The path of least resistance is always downhill."
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