Emphasize design aspects:

At the Instruction level of the module there are links to:

• Design Basics: PowerPoint Tips: a brief slide show with examples for effective presentations
• PowerPoint Do's and Don't's: a brief list of pointers that reinforce the concepts in Design Basics
• How to Use Color: explains how to use color contrast effectively; shows examples of using color to make presentations accessible to viewers with vision limitations

Visit these sites with your class before starting assignments, to emphasize the need for good design--for audience appeal, ease of readability, clarity of purpose, and good communication.

Emphasize presentation skills:

Begin with a teacher PowerPoint presentation. Consult your T: Drive for a sample named Voyager Travel Tours demo.ppt.  You will probably want to create your own presentation, since you will "present" to your class for critique.  Students will use the Grade the Teacher rubric to evaluate your performance.  Some interesting discussion may follow!

The Team PowerPoint Assignment serves as both a classroom ice-breaker and a way for experienced PowerPoint users to refresh their skills and share them with their peers.  Students will use the Team PowerPoint Scoring Rubric to evaluate one another.

As students move toward the Culminating Project requirement in their senior year, they need to develop good presentation skills.  Knowing how to create a PowerPoint slide show is just one piece.   Most students enrolled in the Bellingham School District since grade school are familiar with PowerPoint.  This module reflects a transition in emphasis at the Instruction level: 

• The step-by-step instructions--Create a Practice Slide Show--are available

• In Explore PowerPoint features, students make changes in a prepared PowerPoint slide show.  These instructions are designed to provide an efficient review of PowerPoint features, and not require students to spend time making content decisions. 

Suggestion: Give students many small opportunities to practice making presentations to their peers.  Let these be steps on the way to the "big" presentation of their Personal PowerPoint.

When students have finished "revising" Bellingham.ppt, ask them to:

• Place the slide show--renamed--in a share drive (example: smith.j.bellingham.ppt)
• Stand and use the class computer/projector to show a part or all of their slide show
• Tell about one effect they used and why they chose it for the material
• Options: design template, color scheme and variations, slide transitions, animation effects, etc.