Projected Message Design Principles General Message Display Guidelines [G] G1. Screen display should follow the horizontal-vertical and left-right organization that is common to the culture of the intended audience (typically left-to-right, up-to-down in American public school culture) Presentation Slide G2. If needed, write short clear headline that explain or label the main idea on sections of related slides (see G3 for more details about this), OR create intro slides that communicate the theme or message of subsequent slides G3. Titles and headers should be worded as conclusions (main points of the slide) rather than statements about the topics or categories of information presented with the slide Original Slide Title: Better Slide Title: Original Slide Title: Better Slide Title: Original Slide Title: Better Slide Title: Assertive Discipline Strategies Be Assertive, Not Aggressive Virginia Standards of Learning for Middle School Teachers What Virginia Middle School Students Need to Learn Mitosis versus Meiosis Cell Division for Reproduction vs Growth & Repair
G4. Break up story into digestible bites [Use Slide Sorter in PowerPoint to help you easily see if the slides, in general, look more visual than textual] G5. Reduce visual load by moving text off-screen and narrating the content
G6. Use visuals with words, instead of just words G7: When possible, visuals should be used to help elicit an emotional response from those viewing the material.
G8. Remove every element that does not support main idea G9. Attention should be drawn to those parts of a message intended to stand in contrast to other screen elements. Contrasts used to draw attention should be abrupt, using one or more of the following display characteristics: Brightness [regular versus dimmed text and pictures) Volume [i.e. bolded font, larger font size etc.] Color Use of graphic devices such as lines and arrows Animation
G10. Messages should not be obscured by too much non-critical detail. The universal rule of design should generally apply: KEEP IT SIMPLE One strategy for keeping it simple is to limit the amount of text on the screen. This can be accomplished by bulleting key ideas, not entire sentences: Full Sentences: Educational Technology At one level, educational technology represents the application of instructional technology within the parameters of an educational setting (i.e. K-12 public education). At another broader level, educational technology refers to a field of education dedicated to studying the effects and interactions among and between instructional technology, classroom management variables, and professional development issues associated with educational media. Key Ideas: [Notice the improvement!] Educational Technology Narrow: Application of instructional technology in K-12 Broader: Field of education Study instructional design + media + classroom management + professional development
But it can be even better IT: Narrow IT: Broader +
G11. Avoid backgrounds that fade from dark to light across the entire slide OR presents a picture or pattern with very distinct light and dark regions.
Using Text Effectively [T] T1. Text and background contrast should be clear (i.e. black text on a white background, white text on a blue background etc.) T2. Use a plain, light-colored background with dark text, or a plain dark background with light-colored text. Bad Contrast Better Contrast [blue font on red background] [white font on blue background] T3. Standard text formatting (mixed upper and lower case letters following standard grammar) should be used throughout, even for titles, headings etc. ALL CAPS ARE HARD TO READ EVEN FOR HEADERS T4. If you must use text, limit the amount of text per slide! A good rule of thumb is the 6 X 6 rule: Six words per line, six lines per slide MAX. A better rule is NO MORE THAN SIX WORDS, period. T5. Usually, complete sentences use too many words. Consider presenting the key ideas as bulleted points (See the illustration for G3) T6. Sans serif fonts are generally easier to read than serif fonts when projected. Serif fonts have little hooks or feet along the edges of each character. Sans serif fonts do not. This is a Times, a common serif font This is a Bookman, a common serif font This is Arial, a common sans serif font. This is Verdana, a common sans serif font.
T7. Try not to use a font size smaller than 16 point. Generally, the bigger the better. This is 10 point Verdana. This is 12 point Verdana. This is 16 point Verdana. This is 20 point Verdana. T8. Use consistent fonts throughout (don t mix too many font types). T9. Keep text away from side edges and borders.
Using Pictures & Illustrations [P] P1. A picture's function on the slide should be clear (conceptual support, graphic organizer, lucid example etc.) P2. Pictures and illustrations should be closely related to the context of the text The picture matches the topic of the slide, and it even helps the viewer understand the meaning of PowerPoint : Cute duck, though it doesn t necessarily match the topic:
P3. Pictures designed to organize concepts & ideas should incorporate devices stressing temporal (time), conceptual, and/or spatial relationships: Storyboard layout Sequence emphasized by arrows, numbers, or labels Pictures in sequence presented one at a time in correct sequence (or video used to achieve same result) Spatial organization utilizes 3-D diagrams or superimposition of features Scientific Method Make Observations Identify Problem(s) Make More Observations Formulate Alternate Hypotheses Maybe Make More Observations Maybe Draw Some Conclusions Compare Predicated Results (Observations) with Actual Results (Observations) Make Observations Design & Conduct Experiments OR Determine if Experiments Have Been Conducted P4. Pad the space around graphics (don t let text get too close to your pictures) This looks better!
P5. Make the picture background transparent if it is different from slide background, or place a border or shadow around picture. Notice that the second picture looks a little better against a white background. Shadow Border
August September October Novermber December January February March April May June August September October Novermber December January February March April May June Using Diagrams, Charts and Graphs [D] D1. Diagrams and charts should be used to concisely communicate the relationship between related variables, especially variables that have numeric data presented in tables D2. BUT concrete ideas might end up too abstract when presented in graphic form: D3. Attention should be drawn to captions Notice how bolded, larger text is used to draw attention to the captions in the left chart: 2002 Average School Attendance (%) by Month 2002 Average School Attendance (%) by Month 100 100 95 95 90 90 85 85 80 80 75 75 Average Attendance (%) Average Attendance (%)
D4. The relative importance of elements should be represented by relative sizes in the diagram, thicker lines for stronger relationships, etc. Experience of Teacher Daily Schedule Access to Computers Factors Influencing Classroom Success SES Class Size Parent Involvement D5. Graphs depicting more precise amounts should utilize a Cartesian graph (x and y axis)
D6. Graphs depicting comparative amounts where precision is not important may utilize pie charts D7. Trends should generally be illustrated by line graphs
D8. Comparisons may be illustrated by bar graphs or pie charts D9. Because chart labels are often presented in smaller font, it is usually best to place graphs and charts on individual slides with completely white backgrounds.
Appendix A: Instructional Use of Graphics Function Decorative Representational Mnemonic Organizational Visuals used to Add aesthetic appeal, humor, or attentiongetting Depict an object in a realistic fashion Provide retrieval cues for factual information Show qualitative relationships among content Examples Art on the cover of a book Cartoons dispersed throughout a dry text A screen capture A photograph of lab equipment A picture of 10 forks stuck in a door to retrieve meaning of Spanish word for fork: Tenedor A twodimensional course Big Picture map Content Supported Facts Concepts Facts Facts Concepts Relational Transformational Show quantitative relationships among two or more variables Show changes in objects over time or space A line graph A pie chart An animation of a weather cycle A video showing how to operate a piece of machinery Process Process Procedural Principle
Interpretive Illustrate a theory or principle A schematic diagram of equipment An animation of molecular movement Concepts Process Principle References & Resources Clark, R. and Mayer, R. (2011). e-learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer Publishing Dale, E. (1969). Audiovisual methods in teaching. New York: Dryden Press. Fleming, M. & Levie, W.H. (Eds.). (1993). Instructional message design: Principles from the behavioral and cognitive sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mayer, R. E. (Ed.). (2005). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.