PowerPoint Dos and Donts

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PowerPointDos and Donts
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Graphic Design Issues

• Use Contrasting Colors
• Use Readable Fonts
• Limit Text Per Slide
• Use Bright Background Colors
• Use Simple Muted Background Images
• Avoid Excessive Motion
• Eschew Cutesy Sounds

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Technical Issues

• PowerPoint File Size
• Dont work off of a floppy disk
• Images compress outside of PowerPoint
• Audio embedded or linked
• Video always linked
• Using PowerPoint on the Web

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Pedagogy Issues

• Giving out your PowerPoints yes or no?
• Not just a lecture tool--can be used as a prompt
  with group discussions
  
• Can be used to keep record of group
  brainstorming
  
• Dont overpace your presentations

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Graphic Design Issues
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Use Contrasting Colors
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Use Readable Fonts

• San Serif fonts are most legible on screen
• Cursive fonts fall out of legibility quickly
• Cutesy fonts arent easy to read either
• A different font that has bold letter strokes can
  work well
  
• Serif fonts can be used but are harder to read
  especially from the back of the room
  
• Not all computers have the same fonts

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Limit Text Per Slide

• Large font size increases legibility and forces
  the issue of limiting text per slide

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Use Bright Background Colors

• To sleep perchance to dream
• Dark background colors with the lights off makes
  it hard to take notes and easy to sleep
  
• Light background colors make it easier to take
  notes and harder to sleep
  
• Think about trying to find your seat at the
  moviesin a night scene or day scene

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Use Simple Muted Background Images
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Avoid Excessive Motion

• When your slides have too much motion
• The point your are trying to make
• Can get lost
• In all of the commotion

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Eschew Cutesy Sounds

• I cant even bring myself to make an annoying
  sound to go here.
  
• Nuf said

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Technical Issues
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PowerPoint File Size

• PowerPoints can be very small if there are no
  images, or sounds or video
  
• PowerPoints can be huge if you insert
  uncompressed images
  
• PowerPoints can be small if you insert compressed
  images
  
• Local computer use file size is not an issue as
  long as you can transport the file
  
• Web access file size is a huge issue 1mb 5
  minutes download on a modem

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Dont work off of a floppy disk

• Microsoft Office files automatically make a
  backup as you workthis backup is the same size
  as your file
  
• You need file size x 2 available on your working
  drive
  
• Largest file possible reading and writing from
  floppy is 700kb when this is exceeded the crash
  is often unrecoverable
  
• Floppy disks are prone to lose data independent
  of all else

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Images compress outside of PowerPoint

• PowerPoint does not compress images
• Work in some other graphics package to compress
  your images before inserting them into
  PowerPoint
  
• Microsoft has a tool for Windows XP called Image
  Resizer which will allow you to compress your
  images
  
• The Gnu Image Manipulation Program will let you
  compress and edit your images this is open source
  software and is available for free

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Audio embedded or linked

• Small audio clips will automatically be imbedded
  in PowerPoint
  
• Large audio clips will be linked
• Be sure to include linked clips when transferring
  a PowerPoint with externally linked files
  otherwise your presentation will lack that which
  will not exist on the computer to which the
  presentation has been transferred

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Video always linked

• PowerPoint can run video
• PowerPoint links to video move the video with the
  PowerPoint
  
• Make sure the computer to run the presentation
  has the codec to run the video
  
• Test the PowerPoint before hand to avoid fix or
  be aware of problems

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Using PowerPoint on the Web

• Small PowerPoint files can be linked directly
• Export to HTML doesnt do a good jobproprietary
  XML in frames which is not ADA compliant
  
• UNCW official solutions
• OpenOffice can read and write PowerPoint files it
  creates clean HTML and is easy to use (open
  source)
  
• PDF files are a viable alternative
• Adobe Acrobat
• PDF Creator (open source)
• Open Office (open source)

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Pedagogy Issues
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Giving out your PowerPointsyes or no?

• Personal preference
• Concerns over class attendance
• Learning requires multiple passes at information
• Dont undervalue your performance as a lecturer

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Not just a lecture tool--can be used as a prompt
with group discussions

• Make a slide that poses a question and have the
  next slide answer the question
  
• Can make slides that have multiple choice
  question and link to correct/incorrect answers
  with explanations

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Can be used to keep record of group brainstorming

• Remember the same program that presents was used
  to create
  
• Seek input and record
• Post to the web as a record of class conversation

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Dont over pace your presentations

• Once you have all of your information clear in
  your head and down on slides it is easy to tear
  through at a breakneck pace
  
• Nervous presenters go too fast
• Check your audience for comprehension
• Let their note taking hands have a little rest
• Include time for discussion

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Contributors

• Dr. Charles Ward
• Dr. James Reeves
• Dr. Russ Herman
• Dr. Gabriel Lugo
• Dr. Ron Vetter
• Shane Baptista