E-learning resources - using PowerPoint effectively

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Good Practice Guide on Avoiding Death by PowerPoint

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This set of pages includes online and print resources for the effective use of PowerPoint and also a short set of tips.

• PowerPoint resources
• Articles on the impact of PowerPoint
• YouTube clips with useful general PowerPoint tips

PowerPoint resources

• Atkinson,Cliff. Beyond Bullet Points (Microsoft Press, 2007).
• Atkinson, Cliff. Beyond Bullet Points Online Learning Community http://www.beyondbulletpoints.com (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Includes entire selected chapters from his book, Beyond Bullet Points, together with other useful tips and material. Atkinson has developed a particular approach to PPT design. Excellent advice primarily focused on design and incorporating scholarly research on cognitive processing.

• Burke, Lisa A. and Karen E. James. “PowerPoint-Based Lectures in Business Education: An Empirical Investigation of Student-Perceived Novelty and Effectiveness.” Business Communication Quarterly 2008; 71; 277 originally published online Jul 17, 2008. http://bcq.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/71/3/277 (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • This article has a good literature review of studies on the impact of PowerPoint in the classroom and includes a current statistical study. The free text comments from students who took the survey are reported in Table 4 and underline the importance of including student interaction when delivering a lecture using PowerPoint.

• Chen, Victor. Designing Effective PowerPoint Presentations. Authorstream. http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/TechGuy-1511-effective-presentation-entertainment-ppt-powerpoint (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Although this presentation was put together a number of years ago, the advice is still applicable.

• Gabriel, Yiannis. “Against the Tyranny of PowerPoint: Technology-in-Use and Technology Abuse.” Organization Studies 2008; 29; 255 http://oss.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/2/255 (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • This article tells the story of one academic’s experience with PowerPoint over a ten-year period. It highlights strengths and weaknesses of PowerPoint use, and includes good tips on using it effectively. Well-informed by critical theory.

• Middendorf, Joan and Alan Kalish. Teaching Resources Center Indiana University. The "Change-Up" in Lectures. National Learning and Teaching Forum. Jan. 1996 Vol.5 No.2 http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9601/article1.htm (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Article that cites the original research on attention spans.

• Mayer, Richard E., Ed. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge University Press, 2005).
  • Research-based analysis of managing cognitive load effectively when using PowerPoint.

• Narratives Supporting Excellent Teaching. “My Students Look Bored in Class.” http://depts.washington.edu/next/storyID_08953.php (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Excellent case study showing how a large class can be made more effective by including interaction.

• Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Tips http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/index.html (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Although not explicitly aimed at educational use of PowerPoint, the Organisation and Preparation Tips, Slide Tips and Delivery Tips pages on this site give good practical advice that applies to an HEI environment.

• Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen. (Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2008).
  • See the associated blog at http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen (Last accessed 02/12/10).

• Sweller, John. “Visualisation and Instructional Design.” Proceedings of the International Workshop on Dynamic Visualisations and Learning (2002) http://www.iwm-kmrc.de/workshops/visualization/sweller.pdf (Last accessed 02/12/10).

• The Teaching Center Washington University in St. Louis. “Improving Presentation Style.” http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/improving-presentation-style (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Good general tips on presentation with emphasis on PowerPoint.

• University of Minnesota Center for Teaching and Learning. “Tutorial on using Active Learning with PowerPoint.” http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • The Active Lecturing section is particularly useful. Included is a discussion of varied approaches to providing handouts in ways that promote active learning rather than simply printing out the default handouts page from the PowerPoint presentation.

Articles on the impact of PowerPoint

• Adams, C. "PowerPoint, habits of mind, and classroom culture." Journal of Curriculum Studies 38.4 (2006): 389-411. This article is available to the University community through JoEy.
  • Catherine Adams is quite critical of the way PowerPoint is often used. She says that it is conducive to certain habits of mind. Some of the objections raised can be addressed by taking the creative approaches outlined above and being conscious of the habits of mind one chooses to develop.

• Anderson , W., and B. Sommer. “Computer-Based Lectures Using PowerPoint.” Technology Source (November 1997). Available from The Technology Source Archive, University of North Carolina: http://technologysource.org/article/computerbased_lectures_using_powerpoint (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • See other articles in the archive relating to PowerPoint as well. This article was cited in the more recent British article by Nicholson (see below).

• Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota. "Active Learning with PowerPoint." http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • This website has a short tutorial with many concrete tips on using PowerPoint for active participation.

• Clark, Jennifer. "Powerpoint and pefagogy: maintaining student interest in university lectures." College Teaching, 56.1 (2008): 39-45.
  • [abstract from the article] This author discusses the relationship between the use of presentation software and the maintenance of student interest in university lectures. The evidence of surveyed university students suggests that PowerPoint, used as a presentation tool in university lectures, is pedagogically effective only while it provides variety and stimulates interest in the learning environment. That stimulation can be increased if Power Point is used to bridge the direct and constructivist teaching models.

• Griffin, Darren K., David Mitchell, and Simon J. Thompson. “Podcasting by synchronising PowerPoint and voice: What are the pedagogical benefits?” Computers & Education, 53.2 (September 2009): 532-539. Available online http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2009.03.011 (Last accessed 02/12/10).

• James, K., L. Burke, et al. "Powerful or Pointless? Faculty Versus Student Perceptions of PowerPoint Use in Business Education." Business Communication Quarterly 69.4 (2006): 374-396. This article is available to the University community through AU's eLibrary.
  • [abstract from the article] The use of PowerPoint (PPT)–based lectures in business classes across universities is ubiquitous yet understudied in empirical pedagogical research. The purpose of this empirical study was to ascertain whether significant differences exist between faculty and student perceptions with regard to PPT's impact on perceived learning, classroom interactions, and student behaviors. The results indicated that (a) students have a significantly less favorable overall view of PPT's influence on cognitive learning and classroom interaction than faculty members; (b) unlike faculty members, students do not believe that posting notes on the Web will decrease their motivation to attend class; and (c) both faculty members and students perceive that PPT has a favorable impact on notetaking quality, content recall during exams, emphasis on key lecture points, and holding student attention during class. The authors offer implications for instructors and future research.

• Nicholson, D. T. “Lecture Delivery Using MS PowerPoint: Staff and Student Perspectives at MMU”. Learning and Teaching in Action (July 2002). http://www.ltu.mmu.ac.uk/ltia/issue2/nicholson.shtml (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • This article gives a British perspective on the effective use of PowerPoint in the classroom.

• Tufte, E. R. The cognitive style of PowerPoint: pitching out corrupts within. Cheshire, Conn.: Graphics Press, 2006. A portion of the book is available online http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/powerpoint (Last accessed 02/12/10).
  • Click on the link for ‘PowerPoint does Rocket Science' to read a selection from the article with key illustrations and a discussion that arose in response to the article. Edward Tufte, author of several books on the effective visual presentation of information, critiques the improper use of PowerPoint. He attributes the Columbia shuttle disaster to poorly-presented information at NASA that led to minimising the risk of a technical fault.

YouTube clips with useful general PowerPoint tips

Note that some of these clips are humorous but make valuable points.

• Extreme Makeover PowerPoint Edition http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OC1OixM_118

• Death by PowerPoint http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzvb8ELACg A humorous moral tale that also brings out ineffective use of PowerPoint.

• McMillan, Don. Life After Death by PowerPoint http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KbSPPFYxx3o A comedy skit that demonstrates many mistakes that can be made with PowerPoint

• Kapterev, Alexei. Death by PowerPoint and how to fight it http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfFQ9XU7Jw The slide show in this video demonstrates effective use of PowerPoint while making a number of useful points about good presentation skills and PowerPoint design.

• Angelo, Tom. “Lecturing for learning: Deep Learning” University of Sydney. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Rja4nrmIhDg addresses cognitive load and deep learning.

See the University of Sydney video channel uk.youtube.com/profile?user=uniofsydney&view=videos for the set of videos by Tom Angelo called “Lecturing for learning”.