Group items tagged

I definitely agree that most online courses are missing the interactivity to hold the learner's interest and clarity of instruction to help the learner know what is expected or the procedure to follow.

Lessons that contain the "voice of the instructor" are key to connecting with the learner. It is important to provide adequate information to answer questions before they are asked. It is also important to give your instructions "personality" so the learner does not feel alone.

Nancy: I appreciate when examples are given by the instructor if there might be questions for clarification. The way Evan and Kristen have given an example in the forum eliminate questions that may have occurred.

I found the mention of being mindful of the budget something I had not considered while developing online lessons or courses. It seems easy to add media to a course without expense until you need to pay for cloud storage.

This is very important. I learned the hard way that you cannot assume participants have what is needed for system requirements. This was evident when teaching the integration of online resources course. I assumed teachers had been using the resources and were taking the class to further their individual learning. I found out most have not even logged in before and the baseline information needs to be provided in the welcome which includes: general login (username and password) along with detailed instructions for set-up of individual teacher accounts for development of unit portfolios. I find myself continually making revisions for ease of understanding and delivery.

I can see the importance of storyboarding every possible item so that you can reduce or eliminate a rough beginning. This may result in working at the lowest level to be assured all participants are starting at the same point. An example: In the introduction there would be general login (username and password) along with teacher account set-up information. If the participant has completed this previously then the step can be bypassed.

My example is in reference to the Online Resources course currently being offered.

The pacing chart has been very helpful especially when time can be a factor. The approximate time allowed at a quick glance to see what could be accomplished during that session. This is something I have started to develop for inclusion in my course to better inform students.

This is a great point and one that I need to incorporate more often. I appreciate they way our instructors have modeled PoodLL and the forums.

Good tip.  I found in looking at many of my presentations I had already highlighted key words.  So why did I add all the other text?

This is a helpful idea, I have never thought to do this before.

I agree - this is a really logical way to pair down my wordy slides without loosing important content. It also encourages note taking in the right way for students.

Occasionally, I have highlighted text on a slide, but I thought I was only putting relevant information on the slide with lots of bullets. Ugh. I could have probably gotten by (I now know I could have) with only putting the hightlighted word and another word or two on the slide, instead.

So much about PP I don't know how to do! I think it's time to take an advance PP class.

I have realized the same. I thought I knew PP pretty well, but starting to work on these new slides (and all the new information) has almost blown me away! I have a friend who just aced a college PP class - I am hoping she can help me work through some of the "new" stuff to me. I don't want PP to be too time comsuming, but I want them to be effective.

Makes sense when trying to tell a story and connect with the audience on an emotional level.

I definitely need to switch over to photography. I tend to use cutesy images. Not really sure why other than I like them. Using photos would bring a point home now if the right image is used.

Good rule of thumb.

3 seconds - will be a challenge.I will really have to try to think about  the audience and what might attract their attention..

If it takes longer, then I think a presenter should be quiet and give them time. It isn't that we can't give some silent time to read... it is just that we don't like to, I think.

Three seconds seems like a good time to transition anyway. 3 seconds of quite between slides, audience gets the glance and then the presenter talks...

I struggle with this when I present charts and graphs. The takeaway is to simplify the graph or chart to highlight what I'm trying to say.

We shouldn't need the time to read with only a few words on the slide. I like to give that "wait time" AFTER I have spoken. Still work work the same way - giving the audience time to comprehend.

When creating and preparing for a presentation, it is important to put yourself in the position of the audience.

I am guilty of including a lot of information on presentations. I need to remember that I can include information that is not a bullet point.

This is a pretty straightforward example of this process. It really isn't too hard once it is laid out like this, but it isn't a natural step for me either.

Great idea if it is possible with the slide content.

In my opinion, the slide would get too cluttered and distracting to do this.

This is a good correlation and great tip.  

I agree, this is one of my favorite tips so far, it made me rethink a couple of my slides!

This is good information and should be done during the 'analog' stage.

This one is tough because some companies demand the logo be placed on slides.

Good guideline for checking up on myself.

I like the steps used in this process.  I think the most challenging part of designing presentations is figuring out what is most important.  This seems so helpful in making those decisions.  

The most challenging part of design would be figuring out what to use to engage the audience (ie photograph). If we have the end design in mind, and know what our main points are, the text should be easily simplified.

Coming from an art teacher, this is GREAT advice!

Even coming from a very non-artistic person... this is GREAT advice! I couldn't make art when I try, but I can make crap... which means I know crappy visuals when I see them :)

This IS great advice, but...I will miss the cutesy graphics. (Just kidding.) Looking for the higher quality graphics that are appropriate is going to take some time.

I teach students about the parallel of white space with rests in music, I never thought about how that should be used in presentations before!

This is helpful to me, as I like to use charts, but have a hard time determining where to stop with information - balancing the need to know with the why do I care.

Again, I like the idea of consistency without the use of the templates. We are often drawn to the templates because they are consistent, but there are so many other ways to create the same effect.

I need to remember that this means relevant to the AUDIENCE!

It's interesting that the software we use to create presentations has bad presentation templates..

The templates were one of my original "draws" to PowerPoint. They made things so easy to get started.

But it made me laugh! :-)

It does. and all the examples here really help me to identify what is quality and what is not..

answer: almost every time i create a powerpoint. :-/

I did this in the past. I actually stopped using powerpoint because students didn't like it. I think I used the slides (as an outline) more than my students. I moved to telling more stories and relating topics to current interests and events. Students are much more engaged.

This is difficult! but it is rewarding once the final product comes out nice and clean...

These words stand out to me: support and supplement.

Good to remember to use no more than 2-3 different types of transition effects. 

Great point! I have seen some images or borders that are overused on PowerPoints! 

Imagining a presentation without visuals would have been crazy to think about before this class! 

This slide is great because it leaves me wanting to know more about the topic. I would really pay attention to the speaker because I would be intrigued by the visual! 

This is good to remember. We need to be okay with letting go of the need to "fill the slide". I know that I personally struggle with thinking I should add more visual appeal.

I never thought about whether an image is your primary or secondary focus on any given slide. The idea of fading the picture to the back for secondary is an interesting technique to make what needs to stand out more do just that.

This is good to note. It is time for us to step away from cliche pictures that will prevent our instruction from making an original, meaningful connection with our audience.

Presenters and teachers get in a hurry to create their visuals and use anything to fill the page. What I'm learning is that these images do more damage than good by distracting our audience.

It's interesting to see how something that can try to make the speaker more comfortable can actually work against the purpose they are speaking for. We need to ask ourselves, what is more important: our audience or our script?

This is a helpful reminder. It really hit me when I read one of the lessons in simplifying that stated we should never have a full sentence on a slide. We only need enough text for it to be memorable when we are sharing on it. In some cases, text may not even be needed to do this.

It's fine to use these images as comps until you decide whether or not the image will work but the high res image should be used in a final presentation.

Have to always keep this in mind.  The audience is the star- how can I make sure they feel satisfied after I'm finished withe my presentation?

This is something I have really learned in this class and had some interesting conversations with some people about this.  From my conversations I have learned that  people in occupations other than teaching have different oppinions about this.

I have to keep this in mind and keep working on keeping text as little as possible.

I need to take my own pictures more often.  My presentation is about history though so this is hard but give lots of presentations where I can take or use my own photographs.

This is hard for me.  I really like some of the templates in Keynote and don't feel like the audiences have seen them- the problem is they aren't always compatible with Powerpoint and sometimes have to present on a computer that only has Powerpoint.

Sometimes I'm like a kid when it comes to fonts and spend lots of times looking for a "cool" one.  I need to always remember that simple is better!

The thing is some kids have trouble with some of the letters in the fonts suggested. I use comic sans because I like the way the a and the g look. For special ed students with moderate disability, it looks more familiar to the way they are learning to print.

I'm not a designer and think I'm not very good at thinking like one- a weakness of mine.  I need to keep the design elements in mind.

Students are often overwhelmed by the work load when they get to college.  It's important for me to remember to acknowledge that they are overwhelmed and give them survival tips!

Good point! Acknowledgement goes a long way towards your end goal of persuasion.

This is a very helpful strategy. Or I build in a pair and share, small group activity, an opportunity to use materials, etc

The pair/share is my staple... when planning, if I can't think of something more profound to put in there, I will put in a rhetorical question and do a pair/share. It does do wonders for keeping the audience engaged.

Well, maybe for a presentation at a conference.  This isn't even practical for daily work in the classroom with the teaching load and preps I have!  

Agree, that might be great if you only give a few different presentations, but I have daily hour long lectures to present just to get all the content in before the AP exam.  I would never sleep!!

This seems like a lot! 

I had to give so many presentations as a principal. It would have been impossible to spend 10 hours for each hour! I know I did early on when I first started my presentation career, but certainly not as it go going!

This is very true! The presenter will keep the audiences attention if they start the first 2-3 minutes strong.

Great idea! This will help you be better prepared when they come up.

I agree it helps to be prepared. With my divided staff, I always tried to play devil's advocate with myself to prepare myself for the inevitable. Sometimes, I won my "argument". Sometimes not, but I always tried to be prepared with facts.

Engage your audience in a hands on activity if possible during your presentation. Keep them active and engaged.

Good suggestions for breaking up the time.  My presentations are always long, I need various activities for keeping the students active.  

Interesting thought. Images that are very busy can take time for the audience to digest, give time for them to comprehend the images and the presentation.

I like the thought of just blacking out the slide show every once in a while using the B. It gives the audience a short time to digest and yet continue with the presentation.

Great tip! You will learn a lot from watching yourself present.

I did this last year when working on my National Board Certification.  It was very eye opening, I noticed everything odd that I did (speech, questions, movements).  

I found this to be the most helpful strategy during my student teaching as well! 

This is something I do a lot as a conductor, but haven't used it in presentations as much as conducting - what a good tip!

I love doing this! I always videoed my student teachers and when I started giving staff presenations, I always had someone tape it for my own review. It's amazing what you notice that you didn't realize took place!

I've been telling my business students this for several years. If you can find something you are interested in, your enthusiasm toward that product or service is evident. I guess it makes sense that it would translate into the things we speak about.

yes, do what you love and love what you do. It matters.

I like this technique. I think it helps create a bond with the group if you make eye contact and hold it for a few seconds before moving on. Scanning without holding eye contact seems awkward to me and insincere.

Scanning the group seems so unnatural to me. I DO make eye contact with different audience members. Granted, I scan to find that individual but it is not a robotic look around and I do settle on someone.

We use dual 42 inch displays in our training rooms. They work very well for freedom of content. Blacks and whites are all reproduced well but text size is critical. The monitors almost force better slide design by becoming illegible when too much text is placed on the slide.

I think they're the norm just because they speed up the preparation side; not because they increase engagement or comprehension.

Some business places require this, I know that my sister who has shadowed me in this venture is forced to follow that outline and she hates it. It is also the format that original note taking strategies were taught decades ago, and we just can't seem to move past it despite all of the evidence that it doesn't work.

I think this is an easy trap to fall into. If we've got a screen full of bullets and text, when we get a bit nervous, we resort to reading.

No doubt everyone in the room can read the slides themselves! This is one of my biggest pet peeves when being an audience member so I am very conscious of it.

So true, I've seen the atmosphere in the classroom change on a day I wear something more casual. On the same note, I think students seem to respect our opinions more when we are more formal. I tend to start a new semester with more formal clothing, then back off to make them feel more comfortable in sharing their opinions once I've earned their respect.

I will be doing more of this.  I have been too dependent on the speaker note function of PPT.  

As technology in the classroom advances, this will be even easier to do.  Presentations done on a large screen TV versus a projector will make all the difference.  

This is a good reminder.  

This would be a good time for a hands-on activity or an activity that involved the audience to move around. 

I have noticed that the most resilient of students are engaged during video clips. If used appropriately and strongly, they can be powerful motivators to vest students in the information being given to them.

Interesting viewpoint! 

I have heard teachers are the worst listeners so I can only imagine what the timeframe would be for professional development! 

A presentation where the presenter really knows their material are the most engaging.

This is true.  It makes me think of sermons in church- my attention span is often short and my mind wanders easily when the minister says something that makes me think of something else.  I find that when the presenter (or minister) holds my attention best when they keep it short and don't repeat themselves.  I also find humor to bring my attention back if I do get distracted.

Getting close to the audience really helps make it feel like a conversation.  

I think this is very true but sometimes we have to make presentations where we don't really have a passion.  For instance, if I were a principal, I might have to present something on safety or some sort of new law or requirement.  I may not have a passion for this but can probably still make it more interesting than it really is if I work at it.

The kids in my class always ask me to turn the lights off when we do anything with a projector.  I think it might be because I have a gigantic window in my classroom that lets in a lot of light.  I usually don't give in and will remember this now and keep the lights on.

I have the same problem. It is almost always a problem to see if we leave the lights on. I like the idea of creating ambiance though. I have invested in some floor lamps to use this year. I guess we will see how well that works? I am second guessing them now with this information.

I try to do this but sometimes people still come up with something I never expected.

This is so true but also hard to anticipate everything the audience will be thinking.

As with anything, the more practice the better!!!

I have noticed in teaching this very same thing. The difference between engaging students or distancing them from the content is how passionate the teacher is about the information and about teaching it. Passion is key for engagement with students.

This is so true! This happens all the time at our church. I love my pastor dearly and wouldn't trade her for the world, but she has a bad habit of saying "in conclusion" about 5 times before actually closing. I do notice these are the times I am most alert during the sermon. Naturally, an audience can only hold focus for so long before drifting. I want to try to get my students to my "in conclusion" before they lose their main focus.

This is so true! When we prepare for opposing viewpoints, we not only have a chance of winning over more of the audience but we also learn our content better. I know that I always seem to learn the most when I am forced to teach it to someone else!

It is so important to remember to be mindful and cautious when we are talking about possibly offending anyone in our audience. If we are not careful, we could lose all credibility as a speaker from being careless with diverse beliefs in the audience.

I think this really applies to the FIRST DAY of class. As I prepare for upcoming lessons and new faces, I am reminded how important this really is in the first days of school. I hope to possibly have a new "get to know you" presentation idea from this class for those first few days!

I think that as teachers we are sometimes really bad at showing kids the amount of work we put in. There is a difference between complaining and being transparent. When my students realize that I spend two hours outside of their extra rehearsals working for them, they work harder for me. It is important to go about this by not acting burdened but by demonstrating that you believe in the work so you are willing to carry the weight - they are more likely to feel the same way too.

This is REALLY true and as a musician, is a great connection I can make for my students to the level of rehearsal we put in for a concert. If they can see that this type of rehearsal is important in the business world too, it may help them to find it more relevant to practice. The problem is, I don't know many people willing to put in this kind of time!

I love this quote!

I'm actually going to purchase one right now!

I generally appreciate when skeptical audience members challenge the topic I'm discussing for exactly this reason. It gives me a deeper understanding of what I'm trying to explain...

True. Just like in practice for sports, if we don't do a live run, the presentation most likely won't go the way we want. And in doing this we prepare ourselves for the unexpected. 

And if we want to sell what we are presenting we need to rehearse. I'm on my 4th round of my current presentation that I will share...

We've purchased Camtasia, which allows for screen and video recording at the same time...

This is a great reminder of what we need to continually ask ourselves. I feel like I should print this out and tape it to my wall.

I say this to my student whenever they write thesis statements, so it makes sense that I need to say it to myself as well.

When I tell a story I feel like I need to keep the three components of a good story in mind. I tend to try to tell the story quickly so I leave out parts which in turn confuses the audience.

These seem to me to be the most important take aways for me today.  Time thinking and brainstorming about the true purpose of the presentation--without technology! I think that we have been conditioned recently to turn to the computer first for information and then figure out what to do with it. 

"Purpose" is a very important and nuanced term. You many times have several purposes, including overt ones (inform your audience of x, y, z) and covert ones (convince them to dot his job they don't want to do, try to cut down on the number of rumors flying around)