Teaching a 6th grade Multimedia class, I have seen students go overboard with too much information or pictures, odd combinations of color themes and at times pictures being used as backgrounds. And even though these pictures look really great as a background, the problem then lies on choosing the right text colors to make them readable to the audience.
In They Snooze You Lose, Lynell Burmark, (2011) covers three main categories that will help make a better PowerPoint – Templates, Color, and Type. (pg. 5)
Templates
According to Burmark (2011), when creating PowerPoints, one should consider the way our brain works, reading from left to right, (pg. 5) so it is important for the presenter/student to choose their templates with this in mind. Background pictures may only lose the information being presented in their PowerPoint presentation.
According to Burmark (2011), when creating PowerPoints, one should consider the way our brain works, reading from left to right, (pg. 5) so it is important for the presenter/student to choose their templates with this in mind. Background pictures may only lose the information being presented in their PowerPoint presentation.
Color
Even though I went through a lesson about the Color Wheel and the importance of using prominent colors for presentations, students can go “color” crazy by adding the oddest combination of colors. But according to Burmark (2011), color visuals for audiences understanding and retention are in the 80 percentile (pg. 7), but choosing the right colors is most important for your audience captivation. I found it surprising that yellow text on a blue background was the number one choice of color combination.
Even though I went through a lesson about the Color Wheel and the importance of using prominent colors for presentations, students can go “color” crazy by adding the oddest combination of colors. But according to Burmark (2011), color visuals for audiences understanding and retention are in the 80 percentile (pg. 7), but choosing the right colors is most important for your audience captivation. I found it surprising that yellow text on a blue background was the number one choice of color combination.
Type
The choice of text is of utmost importance not only to the presenter, but more importantly to the audience. Using the wrong font could cause a misinterpretation or loss of interest to your audience. Burmark (2011) stated that the typeface you select should match your content to be able to get a good first impression. (pg. 21)
“Don’t bore me with your reading” is all I can say. Students have a habit of reading their slides when presenting in the classroom. I have told them that “less is more”, and that they are the experts of their topic and should be informative without having to “read” their presentation. In Chapter One, it is stated by John Medina that the average PowerPoint should contain no more than forty words per slide. (p12)
I like to imagine my students as “6th graders in training“, as they complete their last and final project for the year. They will be presenting (without reading) this coming week. I look forward to seeing their project as we started exactly three weeks ago.
The choice of text is of utmost importance not only to the presenter, but more importantly to the audience. Using the wrong font could cause a misinterpretation or loss of interest to your audience. Burmark (2011) stated that the typeface you select should match your content to be able to get a good first impression. (pg. 21)
“Don’t bore me with your reading” is all I can say. Students have a habit of reading their slides when presenting in the classroom. I have told them that “less is more”, and that they are the experts of their topic and should be informative without having to “read” their presentation. In Chapter One, it is stated by John Medina that the average PowerPoint should contain no more than forty words per slide. (p12)
I like to imagine my students as “6th graders in training“, as they complete their last and final project for the year. They will be presenting (without reading) this coming week. I look forward to seeing their project as we started exactly three weeks ago.
Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze You Lose: The educator’s guide to successful presentations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
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