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I struggle the most with technology--just because it is constantly changing and I teach online at several places--all of use different platforms.

With my special education students, aligning assessments with objectives helps us determine what we really need to students to learn if they have modified curriculum.

This is so important to help them help guide their instruction and increase their self-advocacy skills in their classes.

We need to make sure we meet all learning styles, so active learning will help us observe if those skills are being understood.

The flexibility helps students master curriculum.

Weird thought: I've turned my thinking on this to include slides of how I would make up slide for the rules.

I think the real problem is that there are too many words on most power points and this is why we tend to read them to students.

I'm imagining going to a conference and seeing the same type of Powerpoint over and over again! I don't think I would want to continue going to presentations because the boring factor would be too much for me.

I have been witness to something close to this. I was in Las Vegas for a week long PLC Conference and almost every presenter had the same format, slides, clipart. As the week went on I found myself concentrating on the speaker and less on the slides. I fell the message was lost in many presentations.

I too have been to a seminar like this. We checked out early before the snores started.

Many people like to come to presentations with a printed out PP, they take notes on them....then recycle them later.  It is a very boring style to have to sit through and I find myself zoning out.

This happened way too often in my college days! Everything looked just the same!

This is a scary thought. You really don't have much time to catch your audience's attention. I would assume, in students this could be even faster!

I think this line is the most important one in the entire article. We really need to do something different and attention grabbing right away, or we've lost them by slide 2.

Seems like going back to the basics. This is what we used to do before powerpoint.

This is something I am going to do.  I was wondering what the audience would think, but it will help to keep me organized.  In the end, I may not need them much.

I don't use cue cards, but I do use the "notes" component of google slides. It helps me review my talking points before I present, but keeps me from reading from cue cards.

I had always thought this was a good idea. I remember times that I wanted print-outs of a presentation so that I could make notes on them. But, that must be because there are too many words on the slides!

I agree, I always tried to get a copy of the presentation. Taking notes on each slide helped me remember the most important ideas. If I try and take notes with the slide it makes no sense to me later. I am not sure how I would do without the handout.

This seems to be the problem, presenters who just read what is on the screen. I had a teacher who, before Powerpoint existed, would have his entire lesson written on overheads and would stand and read them. So very boring!

Wow... that's even worse that ppt reading. I thought overheads were expressed domain of "filling out the worksheet as a class"

I guess that is what we are trying to focus on - using the presentation as a tool for the audience rather than as a crutch for the presenter.

I had not thought about this, but I do find that if I am reading the powerpoint, I am missing what the presenter is saying. At our last meeting I asked one of our teachers if he could repeat his question because I was reading something and had heard the answers but completely missed what the question was

I have problems with this as well. Whenever there is a lot of text on the screen and I'm in the audience, I invariably find myself just finishing the passage as the person is moving to the next slide, and I've missed everything that they said.

This is enlightening! I thought for sure I was ADD! I am constantly missing the verbal information is I concentrate on the text of the slide. It can become an exhausting task during a lengthy presentation.

Ditto, I thought that I was reaching all types of learners, but I might have been reaching none. WOW

I think this would be a great way to plan out a presentation. Sometimes you just need to start with good old paper and pencil.

Yes, I think this would keep the technology "in check."  The technology is then just a tool to aid what I am trying to present rather than the technology controlling how I do my presentation.

It occurred to me that the act of using pen and paper in an analog way, makes the activity more active and therefore more exciting for the brain.

This speaks to me! I think some presenters try to make their presentations unique which translates into complicated, wordy, unfocused. And yes I amone of them! This makes me think of the old saying "Keep It Simple Stupid!"

I guess I knew this, but hadn't really thought about it.  Many times in the past when presenting with PowerPoint I have just stopped mid-talk and allowed my students to copy what was on the screen before I continued speaking.

Great point here for educators.  Great idea to think of the presentation in terms of the students' brains.  In the past for me the focus of the presentation has been purely on the content.

I have experienced this first hand. I will work at taking this advice and I know I should have better results than in the past.

This will really help students figure out what is most important in their learning. By keeping things simple, it also helps the teacher prioritize what is most important to focus on.

This is a great way to connect with young elementary students, especially non-readers or low level readers. 

The redundancy effect is something I hadn't ever thought of but it makes sense.  When something can be read off the screen, our brains kind of turn off the listening part...unless it's novel.

The word "power" in power point is misleading. There really is no power in it unless you provide it through an active, engaging presentation.

Trying to surprise or illustrate the holes people have in their knowledge is something that I would like to try. This tactic is something that will keep my staff engaged and motivated.

I see so many experts and successful public people experience so much success with this tactic of Unexpectedness.  It's truly where one can shine by accessing his/her creativity, intuition, and risk-taking courage.  I'm a big, big fan of this one.  

Storytelling is a very powerful way to get a message across. One thing I struggle with is finding stories that illustrate the points I am trying to make. I hope that this is something that we will continue to learn more about.

Exactly!  My favorite part about listening to speakers is when they communicate personal stories to illustrate a point they're making.  "You get to their heart first and then you get to their minds."  - Dr. Raymond E. Morley

I had never thought about the two sides of the brain and how they both need to be activated in order for participants to retain their focus.

When I give presentations I lead the group first in a somatic exercise - alternate nostril breathing.  Not kidding!  I share how it helps marry both hemispheres and activates their motor skills, attention, and sense of calm.  It primes them for learning, and, is an odd but goofy fun way to sort of 'break the ice' at the very beginning of a presentation. 

Creating emotional slides that demonstrate the content not just highlighting key words is something I would really like to focus on. When there is emotion, there is action!

Big take-away here is Seth's use of the word 'proof'.  What a great way to frame my thinking around this.  Also, the word 'reinforce' as opposed to repeating.  Really helpful.  

Reinforce, NOT repeat is a great take away. Emotional connects will make things last in the memory bank when they are long past and another image that is seen evokes that same feeling. 

Reinforce, NOT repeat is a great take away. Emotional connects will make things last in the memory bank when they are long past and another image that is seen evokes that same feeling. 

Leaving the information that I typically would have put in the PowerPoint in "leave behind" handout is a great idea. This way people leave with a document that they can reference when they go back and try things in their classroom.

Great idea (although more work!) This answers my question from the "Time to Ditch PowerPoint?" article.

Back to basics for me with this.  Memory doesn't always work like it used to and this is a quick and simple fix. 

Interesting! Guilty of including more than 6 words per slide.

I am so guilty of this and realize my presentations were BORING!

It is hard to imagine six words! I am going to have to work hard to manage that

Yeah... I don't like the term "rule" here. More like a guideline.

Six words will be extremely hard for me. I think I have mastered using phrases instead of sentences, but this will be a challenge.

I am guilty of doing this, as I think many people would be! 

Never thought of this. It would get audiences attention.

I like this idea for keeping the attention of my students. 

Seems like a no-brainer to me. Music people do this all the time, I NEVER use canned sounds. There is a balance though, between using music as an attention getter and trying to actually connect it to the presentation. I have seen many attempts at this that are more distracting than anything. Making sure the cut of music makes sense is important to.

I like sound in the background when I make an imovie. This could work here too. Again, my audience is middle schoolers and they love to listen to music and do anything else at the same time.

I need to keep working on figuring out what is important and what is a priority!

This is an important idea to remember.  It seems like a difficult task though! 

I love how these words come together to make SUCCESs!  Goes together so well.  

It makes things so much more interesting when we make it something people can visualize- nobody likes to look at a bunch of facts and figures.

This is something I struggle with- I love looking at these pictures in these articles and think they are so useful and relevant but have a hard time thinking of how to pull them into my own presentations.  Hoping this is something I improve on greatly in this class.

My presentations tend to have lots of visuals, but I need to incorporate other visuals that create this effect.  Some of the visuals I use are better at this than others.  

I feel that this is so true.  I try to use stories a lot in my classroom and have realized when I do it really helps my students remember better.

And I like the idea of using a picture to support the story. If you think about Ted Talks this is what most of them do,

I have never heard of the redundancy effect but it makes sense. We want to use multiple modalities but not with identical information...then folks get annoyed

It is so true. I was just talking to a student the other day about this. When information is redundant, that is the exact point they tune out (if they haven't already due to poor communication).

I'm guilty of redundancy. Probably because that's what we are so commonly exposed to in school and in continuing education.

Yes... redundancy. Like when I am talking to my son about mowing the yard and he has his video game on at the same time. And then the yard doesn't get mowed. He can now say... "sorry, dad, you didn't adjust for redundancy". That is something he would say, by the way.

This was interesting to me as I know people do better with memos if you DO use bullets. They scan and look for the content. However, in a presentation this backfires because of the redundancy effect. So bullets have a place, just not in powerpoint!

I agree with this comment.  When I get an email that is several paragraphs long, I rarely make it past the first couple of sentences.  Bullets do help in this situation, but not if someone is just going to read the bullets to me.  

Important take away from this article

Yes, I am guilty of not listening when a presenter puts all of their content on the slides.  Especially when they give you a copy of their presentation.  Why would I expect my students/listeners to be any different?  

I often feel insulted when I am read to and figure that if they give me a copy, I can just figure it out on my own later thanks to them giving me the notes! I zone out too...I think the effort to ditch the current use of Power Point really depends on the purpose of the presentation and the expectations placed on the presenter. My sister works for Nationwide as a project presenter and she is REQUIRED to give a copy of the presentation, and the expectation is that EVERYTHING she will say is in the presentation. She is basically mandated to produce death by Power Point and fears that a change in method will result in complaints and negative feedback. She loved the ideas I shared with her from this article and the course. I think that in both schools, and the business world, there will need to be a lot of pre-teaching and change in the purpose for the presentation. We often combine the detailed notes with the presentation. This approach separates the two.

I find myself catching up on emails when a presenter is reading the PP. I assume if they're reading it, I don't need to look at it.

I gave that up a long time ago. Seems like students are then more interested in the handouts and zone out.

I feel like having a print out of the slides would also allow the audience to tune you out. 

I also stopped doing this a long time ago. I am guilty of "tuning out" when I have the exact same thing in my hand that is on the screen - I don't need someone to read it to me. However, I sometimes like to have the print out at the end as a reminder....

Great strategy.

How to create the curiosity.  

This is so true. We need to re-think the way we are using the tool and realise that it is us that needs to change how we are using the tool. I have recently had this revelation with several apps we use in the classroom on our iPads. We too easily blame the tool and not the brain behind using the tool.

This helps me understand why when we see a visual it is easier to remember the verbal message that came with it. I was surprised to see how many images I remembered when Alvin Trusty showed them at the end of his presentation. Powerful.

This goes along with visual notes.  Traditionally, students are encouraged to take notes using only text.  There is a movement and research that suggests using visuals in the note taking process actually helps students retain more information.  

I recently watched the Sunni Brown Ted Talk on Doodling.  If you haven't watched it, it's worth checking out.  I have been a doodler all my life and this makes so much sense to me. It matches your comments about using visuals on note taking. https://www.ted.com/talks/sunni_brown

I find that this works when you add a kinesthetic movement to an idea as well. The nonverbal cue, even if given by the presenter can be equally effective in triggering a memory later.

This makes me think twice about how I should start a presentation. I think it would be most effective to have a strong visual that hits up the major message you are going to get at. It should evoke emotion from the start.

It is so essential that we get at students' curiosity when we teach! We are the same way as adult learners. What do we take pride in learning? Things we are interested in and genuinely curious about. If we can strike curiosity in our listeners, it will give ownership to the learning and make it personal for them. Curiosity drives innovation and new levels of learning!

Curiosity also engages the higher order thinking that as educators we are always trying to get students to participate in!

When creating presentations, remember this fact.  It doesn't mean the death of PPT, just reinforcing the fact that presenters need to look at the presentation differently.  

Good point! It doesn't mean one is better than the other... just can't do both at the same time via PPT.

I lose students when they take notes during a discussion or story. Fine for facts.

This is an interesting thought.  I wonder how well it would work with high school students?  It's nice that students would be able to focus on what is being said, but at the same time studies show that more information is remembered when actual writing (not typing) takes place. 

This applies to all technology, not just Power Point. I'd say "making a webpage" is not a method either... it should be a medium to a greater purpose. Teaching students this so that they truly understand it, though, can be challenging. I'd say we don't do this very well in K-12 education.

I LOVE this! We actually use a method for creating lesson plans called the "Comprehensive Musicianship Plan" which emphasizes the need for an affective outcome in each lesson. I think that this can be applied to having an affective outcome for every presentation. If you can't connect your audience to the heart of what you are saying, and draw some sort of emotional emphasis, it will never stay with them in the long run.

I think back to presentations I've attended and how many of those actually motivated a change in my behavior. The common theme was that successful presentationsI left me feeling angry, embarrassed, happy, or encouraged.

To "not dumb down" is something to stress. I struggle with the balance of not being overly-technical, and at the same time, avoiding the trap of dumbing down the information. I often try to think the way a news reporter would. How can we get this across in a short number of words, so most people can understand, but so that those who have elevated levels of understanding aren't turned off?

The key is to keep that message in mind as we organize a presentation.

True... even when it isn't really a persuasive presentation, there is still a mindset that you are trying to get your audience to adopt. That is what is difficult for me.

We want to help them to remember- adding the emotion helps with the memory!

I had an instructor use every imaginable transition and sound effect during my undergrad work. It was so loud and frustrating that I found myself focusing on the transitions instead of the material.

I find all these transitions distracting, also. Ugh.

I like to close my eyes when someone is relaying a complex idea. I think if the idea is less difficult to comprehend the effect is less. But by personal experience, i agree.

this seems like a good way to remember to complement ideas verbally with images in the powerpoint - right brain/left brain. people enjoy being fully engaged.

Remember to forget. This is hard. Knowing and meeting your audience where they are is crucial.

This is one of my goals for future presentations. Surprises are exciting and engage your audience.

Good question to remember!

Another reminder to not put EVERY word on the PowerPoint slides.

Keyword to remember: reinforce

What a great acronym to help remember these six key principles.

I wrote this down in the list I am keeping of improvements I know I want to make immediately!!

Hopefully can remember the SUCCESs acronym. I seem to never forget the RICE one!

I don't think I've thought about presentations being presented as a story.  However, stories are usually very memorable so this will be a great strategy.  However, I do see how time consuming it will be!

It's much more interesting listening to someone presenting when it's an actual presentation and  not just reading word for word as what this article has referred to.

This is very true. However, not all speaking is golden. It takes some skill (and confidence) to make that work.

This was an eye-opener for me to read as I'm still use to teaching the 7x7 rule...no more than 7 words in a line and no more than 7 lines on  a slide. Makes perfect sense though as the majority of the time it needs to be more of a presentation instead of a read along.

Yes, the 7x7 rule leads to quite a bit of text still.

I think this largely depends on what you're presenting. I understand what they're saying but this one I say isn't 100% correct. What if you're presenting in Math class???

I think follow up handout is good but it should not be the same as your presentation. Make a cheat sheet of instructions.

This is fun for the younger students and keeps them engaged but I agree, not for presentation purposes.

I am really not sold that even ripped CD sounds have a purpose. I wouldn't use these either. The only sound that should come from your computer is either from a video or a Skype-like live broadcast from someone afar.

Hate the presenters who think the sounds effects are so cool so they put them in on about every slide.

I sure PowerPoint isn't going to go away! I am looking forward to learning the proper way to use it!

This sounds so easy! I keep seeing advice to START prepping for a presentation on paper NOT in a slide show. Makes sense using these four steps!

Love when steps are in easy to remember acronyms!