Came across this article on Al Gore’s documentary, and why he chose to use Key Note. It’s an interesting read. It’s revealed in the article that Gore was able to tailor his presentation to suit different audiences. I don’t know too much about the program, but to be able to do this is quite remarkable. The article states: “He decided he wanted to talk for 40 seconds instead of five, he had that control. He could go forward or return to a previous point if he wanted to. Had we gone away from Keynote, we would never have had the versatility that we were able to have.”

Here’s the link:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2006/05/inconvenienttruth/
(there’s also a link to the trailer for the movie on that page).

Also, if any of you are planning to use to integrate some of the technology applications we have learned via this course, though a Mac based platform, then you might be interested in registering for Apple Canada’s “School Night at the Apple Retail Store” program. It basically lets your class come into their store, and exhibit their apple induced technology in the classroom presentations. The added incentive is that you will receive a one year one to one training sessions at the Apple Store.

Tips for Student Presentations

1. Know Your TopicStudents usually want to charge right in and start using the presentation software immediately. Do the research first and know your material. Think through what you will present before beginning the project on the

computer. Creating the slide show is the easy part. The best

classroom presentations are created by people who are

comfortable with what they are going to talk about.

2. Use Key Phrases About Your TopicGood presenters use key phrases and include only the most important information. Your topic may be vast, but choose only the top three or four points and make them several times throughout the presentation in the classroom.

3. Avoid Using Too Much Text on the SlideOne of the biggest mistakes students make in classroom presentations, is in writing their whole speech on the slides. The slide show is meant to accompany your oral presentation. Write in the form of jot notes, called bullet points, on slides. Use simple language and limit the number of bullets to three or four per slide. The surrounding space will make it easier to read.

4. Limit the Number of SlidesToo many slides in a presentation will cause you to be rushing to get through them, and your audience might end up paying more attention to the changing slide than to what you are saying. On average, one slide per minute is about right in a classroom presentation.

5. Layout of Your Slide is ImportantMake your slides easy to follow. Put the title at the top where your audience expects to find it. Phrases should read left to right and top to bottom. Keep important information near the top of the slide. Often the bottom portions of slides cannot be seen from the back rows because heads are in the way.

6. Avoid Fancy FontsChoose a font that is simple and easy to read such as Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana. You may have a really cool font on your computer, but save it for other uses. Don't use more than two different fonts – one for headings and another for content. Keep all fonts large enough (at least 18 pt and preferably 24 pt) so that people at the back of the room will be able to read them easily.

7. Use Contrasting Colors For Text and Background
Dark text on a light background is best. This combination offers the most visibility. Sometimes though, you may want a dark background for effect, to dazzle the crowd. In that case, be sure to make text a light color for easy reading in a classroom presentation.
Text is often difficult to read on patterned or textured backgrounds.
Keep your color scheme consistent throughout your classroom presentation.

8. Try a Slide Design Template to Keep the Look ConsistentWhen you use a design template, choose one that will not detract from your classroom presentation. Test it ahead of time to make sure that the text will be readable and the graphics won’t get lost in the background.

9. Use Animations and Transitions Sparingly in Classroom PresentationsLet's face it. Students love to apply animations and transitions every place they can. This will certainly be entertaining, but rarely will the audience be paying attention to the message of the presentation.

Apply animations to graphics to make a point, not to entertain. Using preset animation schemes will apply action to titles and bullet points, keeping the slide show consistent and interesting. Remember, the slide show is a visual aid and not the objective of the classroom presentation.

NOTES....on PowerPoint Presentations

Presentations for Instruction

Use PowerPoint presentations to enhance the effectiveness of classroom instruction in many ways in every subject area.

· Main points can be emphasized and the presentation itself can be enhanced by
using graphics, animation, or sound.
· Add flair to presentations with slide and bullet transitions and animated effects.
· Presentations can be used to make lessons more organized and flexible.
· Text on a PowerPoint presentation is much easier for students to read than trying to
read notes that are written on an overhead projector or chalkboard.
· Student interest can be stimulated through the use of graphics and cartoons.
· Variety is the key to keeping the attention of students.
· Many tools are available for use with PowerPoint, so experiment to see what works
best for you and your students.


Creative Presentation Ideas
· Flash Cards - Create Flashcard presentations for individual and group
reinforcement. You can create a template and choose whether you or your students
will insert the words or phrases. Topics may include: reinforcing math concepts;
practicing parts of speech; practicing spelling; reinforcing story problems; and
reinforcing numbers, letters, or colors.
· Field Trip Slide Shows - Develop field trip slide shows to review and apply
knowledge learned on a field trip. Students can work together to make a slide show
that presents what they saw, as well as what they learned.
· Autobiographical Stories - Students can create short autobiographical stories about
themselves. Scanned photos can be inserted for interest. Once the slides are
complete, you can put them together in a presentation to show an audience, such as
an open house or parent night.
· Interactive Book Reports - Have students create a PowerPoint presentation about
books they read.
· Music Class Recitals - For music teachers, PowerPoint is a useful tool for creating
slide shows of student recitals. During a recital, take pictures of the students while
they are performing and record a small portion of their music. On slides, include
both each student's picture and music.
· Group Slide Shows - Give your students a topic (such as zoo animals) and tell them
to choose parts of the topic to focus on (such as specific zoo animals). Have
students research their assigned portions of the topic and develop slides to serve
as a part of a group presentation about the topic.
· Poetry Readings - Students can create slides exhibiting their personal poetry along
with a voice recording.
· Science Presentations - Use PowerPoint to teach processes and how things work.
Teachers or students can add additional items to a diagram to illustrate how a
process grows and changes. Science principles work well using this format.
· Student Portfolios - PowerPoint can be used to create portfolios of student work.
· Class Yearbook-Type Presentations - Collect photos; information about special
events; examples of class and student projects, etc. throughout the year and create
a year-in-review presentation.

Useful Sites

Here’s a site that gives you tutorials on powerpoint and explains why it is useful in the classroom:

http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm
(provides PowerPoint slide shows available for download)

A Reply to Christine....

Christine,

As I was reading your article, all I could think about was how important it is for every student to learn the basic skills of Drama. Drama teaches students confidence, eye contact, how to engage your audience, how to use the inflection of your voice (pauses, pitch, tone), body language (which can be very important even in a job interview), how to use props (if necessary) to accentuate a point, how to work individually as well in groups etc. It’s a shame that not enough time gets devoted to this important subject area.

Without getting too in depth about the topic, many political figures gain success due to their presentation/drama skills. Look at Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger and so many others. Weather they can back up their political promises, is a another issue……for another discussion board :)

Reply to David

David,

I totally agree with your view of Power Point presentations not allowing the presenter/instructor to adapt on the fly to the audience. This is the reason, why I am an advocate of Smart Boards. During my math lesson for Grade 8 students, I taught about Sequencing and Patterning. I used a Smart Board which basically acted like a Power Point Presentation, in which all my slides were neatly organized in sequence. During the presentation, a couple students did not understand the central concepts. I needed to think on my feet and address the problem a new way. Luckily with the Smart Board technology, you can quickly and easily create a blank new page and everything becomes freeform in terms of drawing a shape, writing text etc. After I approached the problem a new way and the students understood the material, I could quickly jump back to the exact spot in my presentation that we were previously at. If for some reason, students needed to once again see the information that we “just made up on the fly”, we could quickly switch to that slide.

I’m very impress with this site you posted. The big problem with implementing this is the cost. With the smart board, although it costs a lot of money, schools would only need to purchase 1 per class (in most ideal situations), whereas Classroom Presenter would require 1 per student.

MacroMedia/Adobe Flash

SIDE NOTE:

Yes, I still refer to it as MacroMedia's Flash. It's funny, how Adobe and MacroMedia used to be these huge rivals, and now they are the same company (Adobe bought MacroMedia).

One of the most powerful and widely used presentation software programs on the Internet for the last few years is Adobe’s (MacroMedia’s) Flash. Although it’s been deemed for professional use, it can be used in presentations to the general public. In university, I created/viewed many presentations with this software. It does require some a little programming (that really isn’t too complicated, if you don’t want it to be), and can be time consuming. However it allows you to incorporate text, pictures, audio, movies, and animation in a very creative manner.