1	Using PowerPoint in class: PPT lectures Mitchell S. Sommers Dept. of Psychology Washington University
2	Overview Deciding whether to use powerpoint Advantages Disadvantages Personal experiences Most examples from Psychology Appropriate for many fields
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4	Biology Genus Helianthus flower typically 10-12” wide edible seeds yield oil grown primarily in Southern U.S.
5	Spanish Literature-Rhyme schemes
6	Should you use powerpoint Extremely useful for Maintaining organization Highlighting important points Legibility (especially in large classrooms) Integration with the web Keeping people’s attention-
7	Should you use powerpoint Not very good for: Discussion based classes Creative feedback Flexibility
8	Other factors to consider Time New prep: 3-4 hours/1 hour lecture Convert old prep: 2-3 hours/1 hour lecture Previous knowledge Very easy to learn Learn basics in about 1 hour
9	Other factors to consider Do student like the powerpoint presentations Fall course evaluations for Psych 100
10	General guidelines How I’ve used powerpoint As general outline Minimal text General design guidelines How much information per lecture How much information per slide
11	How Much Information? One slide for every 2 or 3 minutes of lecture time 5-6 items per slide For every 50 minutes of lecture time, you can display 15-20 slides (2-3 minutes per slide). If you plan to have too many slides, you will not give your students enough time to read each slide and comprehend what you are trying to teach them. Do not go over 5-6 items per slide, or it will become too crowded to read. The font size has to be reduced due to the amount of information displayed, so legibility suffers with long bulleted lists or text passages.
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13	General design guidelines (36 point) 10 point 20 point 30 point 40 point 50 point 60 point
14	Which Background is Best?
15	Integration of multi-media Real advantage of using powerpoint Can integrate almost any medium Pictures Sound Video Animations Web pages
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18	Adding pictures not always better Too much information Generally one graphic per slide Graphic should be focus Text should complement graphic
19	Sources for pictures Scan from textbook, pictures, or slides Web – ok but very inefficient
20	Integrating sound Useful applications Music or music theory courses Compare same music by different orchestras Language courses Present different dialects General background music Can be distracting Demonstrations Hearing loss
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22	Integrating video Allows for playing short segments Many videos available on Web Leaves lasting image Example Stanley Milgram experiment Telling vs. seeing
23	Milgram experiment-text only Study on obedience to authority Confederate acts as a “learner” Real subject acts as a “teacher” Teacher and learner put in separate rooms Teacher reads lists of words. If “learner” makes a mistake Milgram tells teacher to give next level of electric shock No shock actually delivered but wants to see how far subject will go Finds most subjects will deliver shocks even when the “learner” screams out loud
24	The Milgram study - video
25	Powerpoint and the web Can publish slides to web after lectures Can publish before lecture Especially useful when have many diagrams Convenience of having lecture always available Latest is to use PDA for showing powerpoint lecture
26	Real life example First few slides from initial lecture in Psych 100 Start with film –showing history of mental health in America Show several pictures of early Psychologists Helps make history more realistic
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28	Structuralism – First school of Psychology Founded by Wilhelm Wundt First laboratory for study of Psychology Leipzig, Germany 1879 Basic ideas of Structuralism Components of experience Study through introspection (science?) Integration of components Example
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30	Summary Powerpoint advantages Useful for many disciplines Integration of multi-media Increased student attention Convenience Basic design considerations Avoid having too much information Avoid excessive use of multimedia