Presentations are often welcomed by students with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADD/ADHD. Courses are often very essay, report heavy and a common response to written assignments from the students I support is, "I would be do so much better if I could just tell them what I know."

Many reports that identify students with Specific Learning Difficulties contain reference to the importance of less traditional assessment methods in order for the student to demonstrate their knowledge. Presentations are one step towards a way of being inclusive of all learning styles of students.

However, we cannot expect students to know how to give a good presentation especially when it is often an unfamiliar assessment method. Thus, direction is needed as to presentation protocol but a more open and less prescriptive remit encouraging interaction, visual aids and interaction may engage creativity and allow other intelligences to flourish.

I agree with GONZALO GALILEO RIVAS PLATERO that mind-mapping software is a great way to plan and organise a presentation and very time efficien for students and lecturers and presenterst. Once a plan is done on Inspiration software converts a mind map to a Powerpoint presentation with the touch of a button with or without sections of the mind map on each slide. For a demonstration of the software see http://www.youtube.com/user/uohds

(This podcast uses version 8 and note version 9 has extra functions that can take snapshots of elements of the mind map and impose them on the slide).

Hello, Scott. I think the problem is not the software that students use, but what goes into those presentations. You can use Prezi and even sophisticated e-learning content development tools, but students may be using it in a way that is not very useful or supportive of what they really want to communicate. Also, there are very creative ways in which anyone can use PowerPoint. PPT 2010 allows you to insert videos, and earlier versions also allow hyperlinks and other features to make the presentation non-linear. More often than not, students pack PowerPoint slides with words, and come to the class just to read them to their peers. I recommend you take a look at the following material: http://www.indezine.com/stuff/atkinsonmaye.pdf

My advise is to design a rubric with what you expect them to do, validate it with them (let them contribute their own ideas), and then select a very good presentation (or two, or three...), and use them as models for the next period. Good luck! Edgar, from Costa Rica.

I agree especially with the clear rubric. Also we should be teaching them about ideas that they are the important element in the presentation not the slides. Perhaps based on the Zen Presentation: http://www.presentationzen.com/ maybe?

I think the principles outlined in the Zen of Presentation are excellent and would encourage students to think about images as the dominant model in ppt with the intention that an audience focuses on the speaker articulating the ideas behind the image. Penalise them (if you assess) for reading slides to the audience; otherwise give robust feedback.

I teach a programme which includes How to give a lecture and we recommend attention to Set (including environment), Dialogue and Closure, to provide a good structure. This is explored in more detail in Davis and Forrest "How to teach continuing medical education" (Wiley-Blackwell 2008). The key for me is audience activity - think attention span - so lots of interaction from simple questions (low level cognitive hierarchy) to buzz group activities like analysis or problem solving + opportunity to share personal experience.

Probably the best way is to model for them what an engaging presentation looks like. You can do it yourself each time you lecture, of course, but you could also send them to some resources on the web. There are plenty of fascinating talks to be found on YouTube (e.g., TED talks).

I might encourage your students also to try giving an engaging talk WITHOUT SLIDES. Remember, that's how they used to do it in ye olde days of academia. ;) When they give a presentation, THEY are what matters, not whatever is going on behind them. They want their audience to pay attention to what they are saying. The slides are just decoration. And if they MUST use slides, I'd encourage them to use as few with as little text as possible.

Oh, and there is no shame in referring to notes from time to time. Whoever said we had to memorize a talk? Reading from a script sounds wooden - if they know their stuff they should be able to speak about it effortlessly and organically.

I think of foremost importance is in motivating the students, to get them really interested in the topic under discussion. Then they have to be trained in communciation skills, particularly in addressing the audience needs, eye contact, speaking rather than reading, etc . Finally, providing students with specific presentations skills such as deductive or inductive sequencing, horizontal and vertical logic, and visual effects would be the icing on the cake.

For UG students, it is a part of education in order to teach students to summarize a topic and collected data and present it in limited number of slides. However, is it necessary to encourage students for presentations rather than for group discussions and writing and analysis of scientific articles. I can see that this is an exceptional (in case if there is a conference presentation or graduation presentation). However, I do agree that students should learn how to summarize and present data. Thus, the most commonly and widely tool is using powerpoint. In addition, what is important is that what's inside the presentation (topic and data analysis).

Much value in this discussion. Ask challenging questions. Allow the audience (other students) to ask questions in a role-playing mode (ministerial officials, Congressional committee, judges). Emphasize that the student is the presentation; the slides are a supporting prop. If the audience is focusing on the slides, they are ignoring you.

I recommend reading Susan Weinschenk books on psychological approach on presentations, based on neuroscience cognitive effects and bias. They will be amazed.

One option is to use mind map technique for to make a good discussion. Some software for this XMind, Mind Genius, etc.

I wonder if I could raise a new direction in this discussion: the educational purpose and value of the presentation, either by students or faculty. When we have many potentially much more interactive and engaging modalities available to us, why do we need lectures?

Presentations are often welcomed by students with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADD/ADHD. Courses are often very essay, report heavy and a common response to written assignments from the students I support is, "I would be do so much better if I could just tell them what I know."

Many reports that identify students with Specific Learning Difficulties contain reference to the importance of less traditional assessment methods in order for the student to demonstrate their knowledge. Presentations are one step towards a way of being inclusive of all learning styles of students.

However, we cannot expect students to know how to give a good presentation especially when it is often an unfamiliar assessment method. Thus, direction is needed as to presentation protocol but a more open and less prescriptive remit encouraging interaction, visual aids and interaction may engage creativity and allow other intelligences to flourish.

I agree with GONZALO GALILEO RIVAS PLATERO that mind-mapping software is a great way to plan and organise a presentation and very time efficien for students and lecturers and presenterst. Once a plan is done on Inspiration software converts a mind map to a Powerpoint presentation with the touch of a button with or without sections of the mind map on each slide. For a demonstration of the software see http://www.youtube.com/user/uohds

(This podcast uses version 8 and note version 9 has extra functions that can take snapshots of elements of the mind map and impose them on the slide).

Some considerations for the development of an interesting presentation:

1. Using the synthesis

2. Relying on a concept map or route presentation assertive can help design the same.

3. A lot of slides that your audience will lose interest. Limits the number of these would be needed to convey your information.

4. Special effects used infrequently.

5. Explain when you should have a correct use of intonation and pronunciation in order to achieve the required emphasis.

6. A picture can say a thousand words.

Great ideas. I hadn't thought of using concept or mind mapping as a design tool for presentation, I like those ideas. The Inspiration software looks interesting and for the context it was discussed I can see great value, but for the majority of students should be teaching/developing a reliance on another piece of software to produce presentations?

Scott Turner - I wrote a long reply that began to sound like a bit of a defensive rant so thought I better ask you to clarify this part of your reply first.

" ... but for the majority of students should be teaching/developing a reliance on another piece of software to produce presentations?"

Ok. What I meant was I agree with you that presentations should be used more often in place of reports. I also wondering whether presentation methods should include methods other than traditional powerpoint presentation or even presentations in which the presentation is performed live. I originally became interest in presentations, and actually presentations where the student doesn't have to present it 'live' as a way of dealing with social anxiety - the use of prezi and machinima was about the student have time to refine the way the presentation and how it will be presented whilst not having to be there when it is viewed.

Looking at the video I can see how it can help organise thinking, I personally use mindmaps in meetings to help me see connections and I more likely to look at the notes produced later. I think the idea of using mindmaps and concept maps is great and I plan to use it in an assessment I am currently developing. Thank you for the insights on presentations and their appropriateness for some specific learning needs - it has been food for thought.

All that was meant by the comment was I was concerned about students becoming reliant on a separate pieces of software to prepare presentation that they may not always have especially when they leave university. So I suppose it might be better to put it as a question that most interests me -

How can we prepare students with a wide range of learning needs to produce effective presentations , without building reliance on specific software that they may not always have available?

I know that we can teach students the 'what, why and how' of effective presentations... I usually couple this with a session on positive thinking - because positive self-esteem is also shown to have a positive efffect on academic performance (Bandura et al). We do have resources on these - and a presentations template - from our Study Hub at London Met resources under 'Studying at University'.

Excellent guides the 4 "P" (plan, prepare, practice and present) Sandra posed in the link you referred. Presentations will be effective and sensible to the extent that is made clear, objective analysis of the approach to the topic to present, estoas aspects are addressed in the planning and preparation. The practice of the presentation will be spiked with the test and good diction thereof to achieve the desired impact. In this process, it will be important to the evaluation and counseling by teachers or guides, to overcome those weaknesses are identified in the process. It should also be noted that the essence of a PowerPoint presentation is not the design of it with colors, shapes, and special effects. Brainstorming, concept map, review of literature, understanding, reflection and other key theme will be crucial to the great wise to develop a presentation.

Looking over the previous 20 comments I did not see "rubrics" directly. Though certainly Sandra's 5W and E is leading in the same direction and so is Gonzalo's 4 P technic.

If you take these expectations of well thought out presentations and obvious preparation time and place them in a rubric that is easy to follow students will prepare better presentations. I like http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ this online tool provides examples from other teachers who, invariably, have explained the same expectations that you have in another way.

Rubrics provide a graphical structure to precise textual conditions that students can use to see a progression. They will know that for example that 6 questions are good,or that 3 analytical and 3 with comparisons are better and finally that 1knowledge based, 1 focused on comprehension, one on application, one on analysis, one on synthesis, and one that evaluates earns top marks. In this way, the rubric sets goals, expectations and then goes one step further and supplies a comparative step by step progression. This is much better than saying "don't use cliches and ask questions that require more than one word answers."

If we want to empower learners, we need to provide a scaffold that they can use to measure progression toward producing more interesting/engaging presentations.

Practice and success will build confidence and skill level.

An interesting discussion and one that has equal relevance for corporates, school or tertiary educators...and having watched 36 hours of Prezi offerings by my postgraduate students I strongly agree with the importance of concept mapping - which Prezi does very well...but I dread the day when viewers experience multiple conference presentations with that characteristic Swoop and Focus style that marks the Prezi experience (sorry, Prezi team..I do love the product) .

Simple strong images, symbols and sophisticated diagrams raise the quality of communication and impact. I felt slightly seasick after several hours of Prezi...

I love to work with my students using the concept and mind maps approach. But What i do is offer this tools at first as a learning tool, without using the computer programs. In this first step they learn how to do a concept or mind map on a piece of long paper, they use these according their learning preferences. Later, i invited then to share the learning concepts with their classmates. By doing so, they start to refine their and the others maps in a very bullicious and friendly environment, at the same time I could observe the thinking progress and also the learning needs of each student in order to help them. Only at the end, i could invite them to use the computer programs to do a short presentations, because for me it is more important the learning process and from my experience it is better if you start on a piece o paper.

Thank you for the interesting discussion so far. The discussion around concept mapping made me wonder what people thought about argument maps to help develop presentations?

The argument maps are a valuable tool to stimulate critical thinking. Unlike maps concept maps that relate concepts, but there is no discussion, (can be right or wrong), let very quickly to get an idea about a topic. By contrast, the map of arguments if you pay to the discussion, the counterargument, ultimately the debate. Both of them, helps students learn the concepts and organize them properly to build their own cognitive structures. In short, both help to meaningful learning. In the case of the presentations, you will always need to use the 4Ps (planning, practice and present) for the successful achievement of the same. On the Web tool is available Debategraph www.debategraph.org; which is designed to wiki. Can generate discussions, participate and display it in a format of "argument maps" nodes organized, open to any participant. It is, therefore, a tool that facilitates the structuring of arguments and display dynamic navigation and content sharing. Argument is based on the large-scale asynchronous participants, which can be anywhere in the world. It may be particularly useful to discuss issues within the framework of university education (undergraduate and graduate), within different communities of practice and, broadly speaking, in the context of education throughout life (lifelong learning) .

Building a well-organized discussion will be useful for generating presentations with more substance and interest. This can help to develop critical thinking and thus a better understanding of a particular subject.

A bad presentation is a bad presentation. Death by Prezi is as painful and final as death by PowerPoint.

I didn't see this as I quickly skimmed the answers...if you want students to give good presentations, then the presentations of mid-career folks must be elevated.

All too often at conferences I attend, it's clear many scientists have made some slides on the plane and have put little effort into their presentation. In the end, the career professionals are the ones students will emulate, and if 'engaging presentations' isn't seen as important to achieving in their field, why would a student take such training all that seriously?

I think (and hope) that students view the lecture presentations they receive for class differently...but I can't say for sure.

I agree it is no use teach students how to do better, more engaging presentations if the people teaching them aren't at the very least trying to produce engaging presentations.

Last semester we videotaped presentations and posted them on youtube (with a special access code) so that students of all 3 classes could watch them. The result was amazing. Students put a lot more effort into their presentations when knowing that others might watch them.

Collaborative learning,that I experienced,is likely to be the best approach to conceptualize the learners.I am not criticizing the conventional lecture method or chalk and duster approach or smart class room.In a study I have cited Gonzalo's findings regarding mapping technique and its effect on learners' achievement.Now a day concept mapping is an effective approach to conceptualize the learners.

A strategy to promote and encourage the development of good presentations is motivation to critical thinking. In this approach the teacher should help the student to answer basic questions like why? what for? and how? from there we can use the strategy discussion makes Scott: the map of arguments. These maps goes beyond the concept map, which as expressed Ananta is still a good tool to start learners in construction of thought processes. From it, we can move the debate that led objectively can lead to the construction of reasoned and objective presentations. Done this, also must not forget that good diction and eloquence add impact to presentations.

Boring presentations are often the best way to avoid questions and to avoid harsh criticism. Instead, we should be more critical towards boring presentations.

I agree with people saying the problem is not necessarily the software - zooming in and out from one dull slide to the next wont help. In fact I think what is on the slide is secondary. We're trying to teach people to be engaging enough that the content of the slide is secondary and the presenter is the focus of attention, right? Filmed presentation sessions where people can examine their own performance and get feedback from other can help I find. Scares the hell out of them at first but inevitably gets to be quite fun!

- Oh, and as a dyspraxic I question whether or not my sort prefer presentations to essays as suggested by one response. With an essay i can proof read it to oblivion. With a presentation on a good day the dyspraxia can just make me more animated and engaging. On a bad day it can turn the best rehearsed presentation into a bumbling mess. I dont particularly enjoy that lack of control!

In place of a presentation our students have been asked to create a video. (either individually or as groups depending on the assessment) The videos have then been shared to the group in the format of a mini conference; each student/group introducing the project before it is played. The standard of research was exceptional. Also students have been asked to create a screencast of a presentation, recording the slides and their voice. This allows them time to practice and reflect on what they have spoken about.

I think the answer lies in the use of computer technologies in groups’ activities which goes under the name Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). As mentioned in my paper [Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): Some Comments By

Chukwunonso Franklyn] CSCW is a field that covers anything which has to do with computer support for activities in which more than one person is involved. Software and hardware products which provide support for CSCW are called “Groupware,” and the branch of this discipline takes the name of “Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL).” When supporting collaborative reflections and discussions, computers provide a support for communication known as “Computer Mediated Communications (CMC).” Furthermore, since in the academic and educational world, knowledge artifacts, as well as annotations and discussions usually take the form of writing, we cannot but consider the factors related to “Computer Supported Collaborative Writing (CSCWriting).” Finally, since the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web has changed greatly the technological landscape we must also consider its influences and relations with respect to groupware technologies. Thus, the paper takes both a reflective and analytical approach in looking at all these groupware technologies with intent of finding its implication to e-learning.

By telling them that in poster-presentations setting THEY ARE THE BOSSES ( planning, content, censure, main messages,....) and WE the HELPERS (= no censure, follow their direction giving all the support with knowledge etc...)?

I agree with Alessandro Diana opinion.....in java philosophy, weuse to call it "tut wuri handayani" it means....from behind the students..we help them to built their know-how...

We should discourage students from reading off the LCD slides, its what everyone is doing now ! As far as encouragement is concerned, they should be encouraged to search good and interesting material, present it in a different way, make the talk interesting, act and demonstrate if possible, but be different and interesting !!

I do wonder how many lectures these students attend that have been presented in a way that Jaya describes - reading off slides. I have certainly attended too many so wonder if it is inevitable that when faced with a "presentation" students feel that this is the academic way to do it rather than being more creative such as Sue's suggestion.

I agree with Steve's comments "We're trying to teach people to be engaging enough that the content of the slide is secondary and the presenter is the focus of attention.."

I can think of all the TED lectures I have seen with not a Powerpoint in sight and enjoyed them immensely too.

My original comment, "Once a plan is done on Inspiration software converts a mind map to a Powerpoint presentation with the touch of a button with or without sections of the mind map on each slide" highlighted the SOFTWARE as a useful tool for compiling the Powerpoint presentation - if we must have Powerpoint at all. This is a way of planning and that then links to the Powerpoint seamlessly reducing the time spent on compiling the slides and increasing the likelihood of the content being presented in a more structured/joined up way i.e. as it has been planned first.

Like Steve I am dyspraxic. However, I dislike writing and would much prefer a presentation. I doubt I would use Powerpoint but would prepare using mind mapping, colour coding and make sure would make sure I knew the topic inside out so I demonstrated my knowledge. - the aim of any presentation.

Absolutely True Kerry, the aim behind the presentation is knowing the topic in and out, question basically was, how to encourage students to make presentations more interesting or engaging? There are various wAys to make them so! Many have already been described above.

Thanks sandra.

The material i read on the londonmet univ link is awesome.

I am a professor,have been teaching for more than ten years, and even i learnt a lot.

And i think jaya is right on the button...the topic should be thoroughly understood by the presenter.

We have too many people dependant on slides and when it does not work, they are at a loss.

I think Prezi is entertaining now but in a few years will be as irritating as those corny Powerpoint transitions. In both cases, the temptation is to make the medium the message.

I would encourage students to be visual, using images, music along with words. Encourage interactive episodes, so there are "things" for the audience to do. Make the PPT work for you not the other way, importantly as teachers lead by example!

Scott, I would at first remove all the powerpoint focus, and begin with the visual representation of data. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Regardless of the media by which you get your point across. The focus is more on what you are trying to show. Have them switch formats and medias. How would you best present the data, can you summarise the work in a single picture!!! Then regardless of chalk talk, overhead slides, poster, power-point and interpretive dance get to the nitty gritty of the subject. As a scientist how do I show my data so that my audience can come to the same informed dicision that supports my hypothesis! There are some good books by Edward Tufte on the visual representation of data and power point!

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vdqi

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp

I think introduction of the power point book and everyone sharing in the excercise of displaying the same data may be worthwhile.

I think, first of all, the student presenter should be good in speaking English and he or she should also be a good communicator. That's mean the presenter has to polish one's speaking English if one wants the audience to understand him or her.

In training them to do so, each of them must have an opportunity to present a topic say for 5 minutes without power points. Take for example, a 5 minutes talk on your research topic include a good research question; how you pick your relevant literature review; research methodology, impact and benefits of your study.

In this way, the presentation will be more interesting and rewarding for everybody.

The early, inexperienced presenter typically uses the slide show (visual aid) to divert audience attention away from the presenter -- this dilutes the message and focuses the audiences' attention on the static slide image, which typically is only strong enough to sustain interest only as long as the audience is willing and/or able to process the information there. Typically, the early. inexperienced presenter will read aloud or interpret the slide image, diluting interest in the message further, cutting into the audience's processing. Visual aids should be a "point to which the speaker's and the audience 's attention return" when processing is finished (where is our next point of interest?) or exhausted (where did this all come from?). An effective presentation is a balancing of focusing and parceling out the attention-to-the-message factor by the presenter. The focus on the message should be spread between auditory, visual, and, whenever possible, tactile processing, and this is directed and controlled by the presenter. The presenter must read the audience -- usually (a) confederate(s) -- to determine the rate of processing of the message, and change modes of communicating and focus as deemed necessary to allow most effective message processing. Neither the visual aid nor the presenter should be sole messenger controlling the communication of the message.

Probably the best way to get the students to deliver good presentations is to give them good examples to learn from. I teach international students how to give presentations and i include many of the mistakes as well as the "tricks" that help give the presentation pace and cohesion. You do need to explain how these tricks work and why they are included. How often it is possible to use the various effects available and what happens when they are used too much. In other words you need to know how to give a presentation in order to teach your students how to do it.

Good point about examples. I sometimes have them watch a good TED or RSA talk and take notes on the presentation technique.

I agree with Gary Stobbs.

Presentation is an art and not enough time is given to understanding the psychology nor the crafting of it.

I think it is related to the art of story telling.

I recommend "Presentation Zen" by Garr Reynolds.

You bet presentation is an art! Too many presenters don't understand that "teaching is a performing art" and it is always "showtime" when you stand in front of a group of would-be learners. They also fail to understand that's it's not the technology that makes a strong presentation; it's the way the technology is USED. Try making novice presenters work without PowerPoint or other presentation technologies as a safety net for a while. When they learn to actual ly PRESENT by being well prepared and "working the crowd interactively," then they can gradually add technology back in IF it actually contributes visual enhancement to their presentation. Teach them good graphic design techniques and how to use a VISUAL medium (like PowerPoint) for something other than a bullet list, as well as other types of presentation enhancers. And of course, warn them that if they front up with a PowerPoint show that is nothing but bullet points that they proceed to READ to the audience, you will stop them immediately and send them back to the presentation design drawing board.

I think all the contributors have raised valid points on presentation skills. I just want to add that presentation is a form of communciation. So students should also be taught about non-verbal cues, making a connection and responding to the audience.

In my opinion, we instructors have to start make interesting presentations so our students can follow. Not only the content should be appealing but the use of all the new ICT capabilities should be used. For example; presenting stock market performance, include live coverage from Bloomberg etc. Innovations in presenting are needed. But don't go over the top with all bells and whistlers .

This discussion (in my humble opinion) is headed down the right path. The mechanism is not the issue. PowerPoint is an indeed powerful tool in the right hands; but it is just a tool. I tell my students to keep slides minimal, using visuals to add aesthetic but never diverting the focus from the speaker to the screen.

I agree, even though ppt, prezi or movies can help to illustrate and motive, it will not give you passion and enthusiasm, which certainly are important to engage the crowd. Students usually base on their models, you can work from that giving examples and keynotes. I think you need to include many opportunities to present, maybe start with something simple, to define one concept with little visual aids excluding writing, so they don't just read the slides...

I agree, but I think we also need to be watching out for the bad habits and poor advice the students get before the university. As an example I have seen presentation from new students that are using many different effects (that are distracting) and they claim (whether it is true or not ) that is what they were taught in schools.

I also think there is a training issue for university staff. I whole-heartedly agree that someone passionate about their subject is going to have a bigger impact, but staff need to trained/helped on how to present as well, the ideas of Zen Presentation as a possible example.

An interesting discussion. I have seen/watched literally many hundreds of student presentations ranging from the very poor/couldn't care less to the absolutely brilliant and sometimes mesmerizing!! Instructors should always get up themselves and give a presentation showing what a good presentation can be like. There are too many variables to give a coherent discussion here but presentations where the speaker(s) show enthusiasm for the topic always win out. One tip I got as an student was simply to take a short public speaking course- it was the best advice I have ever had!!!

I agree with Donald, PowerPoint is just a software that helps design the presentation, as is Prezi, etc. The key point is how to add interest and innovation to the presentation. To be honest, most of the presentations are not just interesting, it is he who is interesting. You have the power to turn your topic into an interesting one. If you are enthusiastic about your subject, if you're telling your story, you will transmit that passion to the public, who are immersed in both your content like you. We tend to forget that the oldest and viral form of presentations was that of storyteller. Some of the most fascinating presentations I've seen in my life were on subjects that did not know and / or did not interest me at all, but the presenter told a story, and that's what you hooked! There is a certain energy that passes when a presenter loves content. That's the energy that you should be looking to find when you submit to an audience. Finally, slides, drawings and pictures are only elements that give added value to the essence of the speaker.

Several years ago I read TIS by Frank McCourt in which his main character is an high school teacher disparately trying to think of an agreeable method of teaching his students creative writing. Finding his desk drawer were full of sometimes very inventive excuses, allegedly from their parents, but often actually written by the students themselves, he hit upon the idea of teaching them to write even better excuses. This technique turned out to be a raging success. They enthusiastically wrote excuses for a wide range of public figures but apparently never for Hitler.

From my experience as a student till the Masters program, I saw that the reason us students aren't able to keep up with good presentations is partly caused by the system's lack of orientation and development in the field. Nobody was taught how to present and engage correctly, at least not more than a session's worth or simply theorize about it.

To solve it, students had to rely on self-research, and out of these results came the following:

Follow the 10 20 30 rule of Guy Kawasaki - 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30-point font. I won't delve into the topic much, but you can follow up here: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html

Another way is to find engaging media. Tools such as Prezi, as you have mentioned, have engaged and amazed students and teachers alike, especially since it is content-oriented in all sense.

If you want to stick with Powerpoint, it's going to be mostly about the human factor; how the presenter will be able to make complex ideas simple enough to trigger the audience's thoughts, but not too simple to make them lose interest. Skills such as tone variation of voice, bodily gestures, humor, and questions always increase the odds in favor of a good presentation.

I think POWPOINT is only the supplententary teaching because It can save the blackboard time.So in the course of teaching，we must prepare the course more elaboratery.We should make the connection more closely between blackboard and presentation.Only we can do this, students can accept the teaching mode and have the interest to study.

I like the 10 20 30 Rule that Nicholas mentions.

Also add 5 - for the number of words per slide!

If you put up a word-filled slide. - stop talking to allow these to be read. I found that if you talk on while your audience is trying to read, they will not hear what you are saying or will not understand what you've written because their attention is divided.

I believe that making a good presentation is not just the matter of creativity, but it is more related to the presenters communications skills and ability to keep audience attention on important issues. The most important lesson that the students should learn is how to distinguish between important/relevant and less-important issues, how to define the main flagships, how to discuss, how to defend their opinion, etc. I found that the main problem for most of the students (and this holds even when they are in front of the whiteboard with the marker) is that for them "everything is important" and then they are lost among the thousand facts and they cannot express the main and crucial points and derive conclusions.

The problems highlighted here serve to emphasise the general crisis that is being faced in all aspects of daily life. Students should learn and be taught to express themselves in their earliest years of school. They should be refining these skills in secondary school. If they go out to work at the end of their secondary schooling, rather than going on to tertiary schooling, they should be practiced in these skills. As has been noted, the problem is not the medium such as Powerpoint, but in the person who employes it. The question is 'how articulate is the presenter? Media are tools for presentation, not the content. The content comes first.

So maybe the question is ...why are students not learning to express themselves clearly and succinctly in their first years of school? We know that some people have and do, but why are the majority being 'left out' of the process.. (or it seems so)

I don't think that people are actually being taught these skills.

PowerPoint Karaoke is when a presenter just talks over the PowerPoint presentation. But the presenter failed to follow Mayer's 8 Multimedia Principles to the presentation is an overload of the cognitive functions.

As a PowerPoint instructor I've seen that many times. You can just about phone it in .

You must use imagination when making PowerPoint slides and be brief. No PowerPoint presentation lasts more than 30 minutes.

Irena provides interesting insights regarding how to develop an analysis of ideas to develop a presentation. Through various opinions agree that the art of making a presentation is on the exhibitor's ability to send the message, motivate people and be convincing with its findings. I insist on what the software is just a tool that makes work easier. The key point in any presentation is to create an atmosphere of comfort, confidence, control and integration between the speaker and the audience. If the audience is motivated and in an atmosphere of camaraderie, emerge instantly trust and interest. Obviously this is achieved with a speech defensible, logical and

coherent.

Not only students, but all forms of presenters must learn the parameters of using PowerPoint. PowerPoint is the world's most famous presentation software but only a small percentage know how to use it well.

Teach students to contextualise/condense (mind-mapping is a good idea). Then let them practice the presentation and encourage enthusiasm and passion into the presentation. But most of all: You have to role model the preferred behaviour / presentation-style. When we were novice educators, we originally taught the way we were taught. Would the average students then behave any different?

Teachers do teach the way they are taught. Everyone eventually learns by the examples set by their 'elders'.

Some have had good mentors, while many others have had no mentors at all.

There is the rub.

Why then, are there so many complaints about poor presentations - regardless of whether they use Powerpoint or not? Maybe they have not been actually taught..

Yes Jean, but that is the beauty of Life-long learning and CPD (continuous professional development). We can teach ourselves or identify deficits in our own skill-set, and address it.

Students can be given the choice of how to make presentations. They must be made to feel comfortable in order to do a good job. Many students are not good at expressing themselves verbally so they can dramatise, sing, make posters, power point, use whatever they do best This encourages creativity. One good way is grouping students and let each member do what they are good at. As teachers we must offer guidance as to how presentations are done. Students can explain their method and teacher can guide before the actual presentations. We must remember individual differences and differentiated approach in our classes.

One thing I have tried is banning computer-based presentations for a while. It started out of necessity, as one semester I had very few rooms with projectors, but it really made students think about what they were saying and avoid using a slideshow as a crutch, as well as encouraging them to experiment with other, non-electronic, visual aids. Of course I wouldn't do this all the time - as others have pointed out here, it is also important that students learn the technology - but in a course where students do two presentations, for example, it would be worth making the first one tech-free.

Great idea.

Once, I even told my audience to put their notebooks away and just listen and look!

As an educator and a student (again), I have to agree with the point of the students never being taught how to do a presentation well. I had a few classmates on an online class who had never used Power Point before and had to work with an online group to present at our on-campus day. Making a group presentation that flows well is hard enough without the added problems of distance and lack of understanding. I love the "no-tech" approach for one presentation and also the "do what fits your style". As educators, we need to be willing to step out of the comfort of what we always use and give our students the leeway to add their own flair to a presentation.

I agree with everything, one thing is modeling good practices for students. Almost all of my professors in the EdD program use slides full of text, and I can't stand it. Whenever I have to do a group presentation I spend several hours reformatting my group members slides, but they usually want full sentences, I use keywords and images. There have been several times that I have decided not to have a PowerPoint.

I tell my students to use the 6x6 rule six lines per slide, six words per line, MAX. The most important thing is for them to know what they are taking about, and use the slides to keep them on track, or emphasize their points.

Absolutely agree about overloaded slides being incomprehensible and bad practice. I am experimenting with just using pictures now - using images that I have drawn myself or photographed myself - so no copyright issues!

I do teach presentation practices and positive thinking sessions - for we all need that when we present... But I saw an excellent presentation at an ALDinHE Conference (Leeds 2012) from a tutor who prepared his students with a Presentations improv session. He would prepare a short series of PPT slides - in sets of five - with a few connected key points - and get volunteers to present from them without having seen them in advance. It created a buzz and a sense of fun and excitement - whilst demonstrating how bare a PPT slide should be...

Hi, James & Sandra. You've hit the nail on the head. PPT should be points packed with power and not power packed with points. I agree that slides should be as brief as posible and a picture paints a thousand words.

I’ve been using PowerPoint presentation in my class instructions since 2003 and it works excellent for me and for my students. In fact I have many reasons to using continue using presentations in my college teaching, above all is the flexibility of going back and forth between slides. Every time I need to link or refere a current subject to a previous slide or even a previous presentation it doesn’t take more than few seconds and couple of clicks to have it on board. Anyway, back to the question, I think few points we may consider to encourage students to produce interesting/engaging presentations as follows:

1- Ask for team-work presentations; students enjoy working together

2- Include presentation assessment in their course-work grade.

3- Maintain proper logistics for students’ presentation.

4- Give them freedom to use multimedia and animation to explain.

5- Invite the rest of the class students to attend and participate in the discussion, so the benefit will be public to all.

6- Maintain a presentation bank and a presentation directory for each course in your department. Students feel proud to have achievement record in their department.

I agree with Sera Murugiah, that we should advice students not to just read off slides and to avoid direct translations or copy-and-paste slides. They should understand that they will be criticized by the audience and the faculty. Hence, knowing those facts, students will feel responsible to present their own work and to show their potential and personality in the presentation.

Fouad Jameel Ibrahim - Al-Rafidain University College - Baghdad

One can assume the technology will not work, or stop, etc., so, the awkward silence of watching a presenter struggle with the technology releases the audience's attention from the message, then the presenter has to waste energy and time getting the audience back. It's important for the presenter to keep "plan B" in mind to bridge the awkward silences: although, not everyone is a seasoned stage performer, any educator who expects these kinds of presentations should establish guidelines,expectations, and even some less-than-do-or-die warm-up presentations before the big show. Expecting that any given student is going to walk in the first day of class and be Randy Pausch (see: "The Last Lecture") is just plain "magical thinking".

I've taught – or at least tried to teach – presentation techniques to students as part of business communications courses for many years. It is almost always difficult to get students to understand the most important point of all: each presentation will be different depending on the audience. We do quite a lot of work 'forcing' audience analysis simply to get students to understand this. It should seem so obvious, but Powerpoint and other tools tend to take over and dictate the content as well as the presentation format.

In some situations (probably most) technology can help make the presentation, but it always depends on who you're speaking to, in what environment, what size of group, and then what they're most likely to want to hear.

Some people are natural, charismatic presenters, but there aren't that many. Teaching the remainder means exposing them to many presentation situations and techniques and situations – get them on video and have some peer review built in.

A couple of things I like to do are pecha-kucha/ignite presentations and elevator pitches. Both focus the presenter to impress the audience. I also insist that students don't read, don't look at the screen, always make audience eye contact, and, something I rarely see recommended elsewhere, never hold anything in their hands – no notes, no laser or other pointers (these require looking at the screen).

Takes practice, but even fairly shy people can learn to make an effective presentation I think.

The better master his nerves, the more effective presentation. The best way to do that is rehearsing. Imagine you are an actor who is going to make a representation. To make it not enough to read the slides as they appear on the screen. And unless you are exceptionally chatty and has lots of practice in the art of public speaking, do not try to improvise in the presentation.

What does this mean? Decide which best complement the information that is showing on your slides. Try the full presentation yourself several times, and then rehearse in front of colleagues or friends. Ask them to critique your performance and make suggestions on how to improve it.

Remember to speak clearly, vocalizing well and do so at a moderate speed. Timed presentation during the tests so that they fit the assigned time.

You may find that you must cut your presentation to suit the time given, or you need to add information if you have time. A well-timed should allow time for questions, the audience almost always appreciate this.

Presentation of anything is a performance. Timing is important. The speaker must create a sense of mastery of the subject and an engagement with the audience.

Standing up in front of others and presenting your work [not just citing somebody else's] is hard, as it exposes students to a very public test of the quality of their work. Reading through the comments above I found lots of good observations and advice. Strangely enough, there is one thing still missing. Beyond bad role modelling and never having learnt how to give presentations I find in my practice that instilling the confidence to actually do it is a key factor for the majority of students. Once that is done good students become excellent and those struggling will produce presentations they can be proud of.

= Be accessible to help with the presentation design, offer students to run their plans past you. It will not be needed often but gets students over critical cliffs. Don't do the work for them, but pinpoint problem areas and offer suggestions.

= Help out students who struggle during the presentation, become [in terms of the presentation] their co-conspirator. BUT if at all possible: do not take over!

= Use plenty of both praise and constructive criticism. Make it clear that the only inexcusable issue is being lazy, getting muddled up can happen to everybody and factual errors are learning opportuities. [Big question:should you interrupt when factual errors occur or comment at the end? I think it depends on severity and situation and have done both successfully.]

= Smile, laugh, be friendly and helpful. Simple, but vital. There are few more discouraing things than a long face by the facilitator.

= At the end of the presentation feedback and comments come from the students themselves first, then the othert students and the facilitator last. That way [by the time the facilitator comments] any problems seem much more manageable.

Sorry about this ramble, but there are few more satisfying things in teaching first semesters than having a colleague comment on how well the students you had in the previsous semester learn together and present.

In addition to the above comments, one thing that from my experince that may help, support and encourage the students for presentations is to work in team (group of students sharing the presntation, 2-3 students each presentation), one student gives part and the others give the rest of the shared topic. In this way, the students will, of course, motivate each other and the result will be much better than individual presentations in terms of encouragment and quality...ect.

A good exercise is to build an intuitive, interactive, stimulating and didactic material in Power Point using hiperlinks. This is one of the final works required for the postgraduate discipline named “Medical Education and Special Teaching” for health course.

An information and communication technology activity was introduced in 2001 at the University of São Paulo, with the aim of developing various views and possibilities for training graduate students in teaching at the School of Medicine. The activity provided an opportunity for the graduate students to apply several key information technology resources and learn about the benefits of multidisciplinary approaches, in addition to testing their own creativity and planning skills for developing a virtual class.

There is another aspect that hasn't been mentioned so far. When I first started to teach presentations, I realized that most of the students always looked down to the floor or up to the ceiling. I asked them to look at the audience but most still didn't. They told me, looking at the audience made them even more nervous. So I told them to not look at the faces but in between two people to a desk further behind or even the wall, as long as it was not too high up. And they should not stare at the same spot all the time but look at different "in-betweens" so that the audience would think they would look to different people.

Hi Patrick, that's still too frightening to some of the students because they still need to look at the face of that person. But if they look in-between two people, either of them will think he/she looks at the other person or at someone behind them. However, when they have to talk in front of just a few people, then it may help to look at the forehead instead of the eyes. But in front of a larger audience, it doesn't matter if you look at a person or just in-between two of them - and it's not that frightening

A good rule of thumb about the composition of presentation slides: "visual vocabulary": that is, per slide, strive to have one key word or short phrase fragment paired with a picture that illustrates the presenter's intended interpretation of the word or phrase. Also, keep in mind the principle of "plastic imagery" of Sergei M. Eisenstein -- an image that is abstract, but associative with the intended message of the presentation can stimulate the thinking of the audience, hence -- warm colors = warm thoughts, gloomy colors = gloomy thoughts. Sharp edges, contrasting, conflicting forms, confused organization = can lead the audience to be negatively distracted.

Exactly so. I think that we frequently are unaware of the visual cues we take for granted. We do not realize that what we see in the most banal sense of the word 'see' influences the way we feel about our environment and it in turn sets aspects of our mental state / approach [to life] at every turn.

Almost 30 years ago, my teacher taught us how to color slides so that the words would be yellow and the background blue, because he said that research had shown that this was best for the eyes of the viewers. After having watched so many presentation, I still agree with my professor. Your eyes do not get tired so easily when using yellow on blue. So I also ask my students to prepare slides that follow this rule.

I encourage my students to 1. present something that is of interest to them (of course, it has to be within the parameters of the assignment). 2. To remember, while the audience may know the subject, you will present what you know, how you know the subject. 3. Know what you are talking about...do the homework.

4. If you don't know, say so..."that is an interesting question, I don't know the answer to that but will certainly find out..."

5. Breathe....and slow down...most students are in such a hurry, they speed up, lose their place....5-10 minutes can seem like an eternity.

6. Wait a moment before answering a question, you may even repeat the question to your audience so everyone will know what is being asked and it will give you time to think about the question.When in doubt, ask for clarification of the question.

7. Have fun! You are the expert on what you are going to say..

Providing access to great examples is a good place to start. There are some great tools out there that do fantastic things and use these to inspire your students. www.sliderocket.com is one tool which has some really great presentations that can be used as examples. Visual.ly also has some examples of developing presentations in innovative ways. Have a look at this great example: https://vimeo.com/66475816

Angela tells us a great example that uses a new teaching resource infographics. The formal definition of computer graphics refers to a "combination of visual elements that provides a graphical display of information." This resource type is used to provide complex information clearly and concisely, at the same time more attractive.

Think of images enables (and requires) into play other ways of thinking and communicating, to consider size, shape and inform ways away from "how to think" in writing. Today all are surrounded by a reality that every day becomes more components of the audiovisual world, and we need to educate in a different kind of understanding. In this sense, images can be our partners to encourage and stimulate students.

In a time when the audiovisual is so present in everyday life, through every area and activity, computer graphics is presented as a possibility is not simply to fill an existing gap. Explain with pictures is definitely a challenge for all teachers, but certainly it is a move that the school needs to start doing, taking it from every angle possible for the teacher is not unaware or sits in a world you do not understand.

To undertake such a change, it is important that as teachers receive instruction, tools and training needed. But above all, we should be encouraged from school for daring to implement these new resources. Internet offers endless possibilities to explore new ways of doing and thinking, just have to be willing to try.

One reason for including more than just a few words on a PPT slide, is so that people who didn't attend the workshop/conference can understand what was discussed. Also helps sensory-disabled persons, e.g. deaf persons read the info. No use circulating PPTs with so few words that they mean nothing or too many that the cover the whole slide. There has to be balance - enough words to make sense but not the whole paper on a slide!!