Pedagogical criteria for PowerPoint slides.

1. Introduction

I have been alerting you before that most information on the web on PowerPoint presentations and quality slides relates to business environments, conferences, motivational talks - the presenter wants to sell a product, an idea, a message, wants to convince and win over the audience.

You want to use PowerPoint slides as a tool in facilitation - to assist learners to learn, to achieve the learning outcomes of their course, to become competent in their field of study. Hence you are to think of the educational value of using PowerPoint slides in a session. You will need the pedagogical criteria to 'measure' whether slides that may be technicaly perfect are of any use as resource in a learning session.

You are to design and use, in a session with learners, a set of PowerPoint slides of high educational quality that can be used interactively in a learning session.

Some of the key questions to ask yourself is before using PopwerPopint slides as learning resource is

• What is the advantage of using PowerPoint slides in this topic, in this session with these my learners?
• Can the objective of the session be achieved without using PowerPoint slides?

If using PowerPoint slides has no added educational value to enhance learning – do not use it! Just because you can project something on a screen doesn't mean it’s necessary or even a good idea to do.

2. Educational criteria for PowerPoint slides

What are the criteria each slide and the set of slides should meet for use in facilitation?

Use the web to obtain views, opinions, information on the use of PowerPoint in education. Make notes to answer the questions

1. What are mentioned as the advantages / disadvantages of using PowerPoint slides in a learning session?

2. What makes a good interactive PowerPoint slide set for use in facilitation? What are the criteria each slide and the set of slides should meet?

Use search strings such as 'educational value using PowerPoint in teaching" "advantages and disadvantages of using PowerPoint in teaching"

You may also look at 

• Teaching with PowerPoint
  
• Using PowerPoint Presentations in Teaching 
• How can I use PowerPoint more effectively? 
• Effective use of PowerPoint in asynchronous teaching 

After you feel you have completed your notes, move to the next pages, to compare and prepare your posts to forum 3.2 What makes a good interactive PowerPoint slide set for use in facilitation?

3. Advantages and disadvantages of using PowerPoint in teaching

Compare the list of advantages and disadvantages you made with the list below

Discuss your views, opinion on the forum 3.2 What makes a good interactive PowerPoint slide set for use in facilitation?  Which advantages, disadvantages do you feel are missing in the above table? What do you see as the main advantage / disadvantage?

4. What are the criteria each slide and the set of slides should meet? (1)

Compare the notes you made with the list below. Listed are educational / pedagogical criteria a set of PowerPoint slides used as a resource in facilitation should meet. 

1. have an “added value”

• providing learning with experiences that would not be available otherwise

2. be contextualised i.e. have content that is

• compatible with the learning outcomes of your course / objectives of your session
• appropriate for age, maturity, cultural background and interest of students
• accurate and current
• encouraging different levels of comprehension

3. be in line with equal opportunities policy  

• portray racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity and the contributions of a variety of cultures accurately and adequately;
• promote gender equity;

4. promote objectivity

• present objectively differing points of view
• have content that is unbiased and identifies theories, opinions, and philosophical statements when presented

Continue to next page.

5. What are the criteria each slide and the set of slides should meet? (2)

5. have a high quality technical format and organisation

• using keywords only and avoiding long texts
• low on text, high on visuals supporting the content
• supportive and effective use of images
• supportive and effective use of sound
• supportive and effective use of animations

6. promote a student centred approach, be highly interactive

• do NOT use PowerPoint slide show as a tool of lecturing / entertainment
• use slides that reinforce your words, not slides that repeat your words
• use PowerPoint slide shows in a student centred interactive way
• high level of learners involvement (interactive) during the PowerPoint slide show
• motivating to learners / attracting and holding their attention focused on the top

Compare your notes with the above. What do you feel is missing?

6. Interactive use of PowerPoint

The main feature of a set of PowerPoint slides for use in an educational settings is interactivety. How can we ensure the learners are actively interacting with the slides used? Use web search to find techniques you may use to make a session with PowerPoint as a resource interactive. Here some possibilities:

 At the start / introduction of the session

• Picture / photo “What is this” – to make learners focus on topic of session
• Reaction to question, story, quote that is thought provoking and leads into the topic
• Brainstorm of topic aspect – write down responses i.e. create slide from responses of learners

In the development stage of the session

• Slide with task for small group work (next blank screen, while on task)
• Chart asking learners to interpret the chart
• Blank screen to get attention
• Creating slide with outcomes of discussions, group work

During the closure stage of the session

• Create slide (type-on live) from learner responses on summary “What we learned” •

For assessment

• Slides with multiple choice questions, learners indicate their choice; recorded on the slide (use pen)
• Question and answer session

What other activities did you come across to make a learning session using PowerPoint slides interactive? Do you agree with the suggestions? Can you use them with YOUR learners in YOUR learning environment? Discuss on the week 3.2 forum What makes a good interactive PowerPoint slide set for use in facilitation?

Further reading

• PowerPoint as an interactive teaching tool by Geoffrey Cain

View this PowerPoint as a slide show and in Note page view, notes are very instructive!

• Using PowerPoint as an effective teaching tool