Recap: Beyond the Bulletpoint: How to Design Low-Tech High-Effect Presentations

By: Todd Diemer
Teaching Commons Program Manager

Last Friday, April 30th, Sharon Guan of Instructional Design and Development hosted a Teaching Commons Workshop on how create more effective presentations. The workshop was well attended with faculty and staff from ten different schools/colleges/departments. Sharon covered when Powerpoint is and is not appropriate as a teaching tool and how design can have a significant impact on Powerpoint's ability to aid student learning.

Powerpoint was created with the bullet point in mind and therefore makes it incredibly easy to create bullet pointed slides. The problem lies in that not all information can be presented in a bullet pointed list. Furthermore, slides and bullet points in Powerpoint don't necessarily help a student understand the relationship between ideas and concepts, especially when presented in a linear manner.

Imagine being in a class where ten key scholars from a discipline are presented by using bullet points. For each scholar, one slide contains a brief biography and the next slide is a list of their key achievements. Both slides contain bullet pointed lists. 20 linear bullet pointed slides later, would a student necessarily have a complete picture of how these scholars build on one another, converse/debate within the discipline, or align themselves in relation to one another?

Some of these inherent linear patterns of Powerpoint can be overcome with a little creativity. One of Sharon Guan's central tenants was to create slides using the design principle of flow. One way to create flow is to keep the current slide in the context of the overall presentation's goals. Sharon does this by including, on every slide, a visible index of each section of the presentation. This gives the student a sense of place within the presentation itself, including where they have been and where they are going. It also gives the student a sense of the complete story being presented. You can see an example of this in Sharon's presentation and a how-to video below:

• Beyond the Bulletpoint: How to Design Low-Tech High-Effect Presentations
• Creating an Index in Powerpoint (2 Minute Screencast)

Additional Materials from the Workshop

• Oh, Good Old Powerpoint (Sharon's blog post)
• Powerpoint Heaven
• Stykz (Stick figure animation software)

Further Resources

• Point Counter Point: How to Use (and Avoid Misusing) PowerPoint
• PowerPoint Is Evil (By Edward Tufte)
• Five Experts Dispute Edward Tufte on PowerPoint
• Killer Slide Decks (Inspiration for better Powerpoint presentations)

The "Organic Web" as a Teaching Tool

By: Matthew Dintzner
Department of Chemistry

The future of chemistry education will unquestionably be shaped by new electronic technologies, especially innovative use of the Internet to present and navigate course content. For several years I have been developing an on-line resource, called Organic Web, for teaching and learning organic chemistry.

Organic Web is an interactive web site that allows for presentation of course content through a concept-map interface that encourages students to see the "big picture" while also making detailed information accessible through a series of "clicks." The web-like structure of the Internet allows for a much more logical presentation of the subject matter of organic chemistry (which is itself web-like) than is possible with traditional textbooks (even those that have been converted to e-books). Textbooks are linear in structure, by design, and promote memorization or surface learning of the material, which rarely leads to success. While some authors (Paula Bruice, for example) have developed a more mechanistic approach to presenting the material (as opposed to the classic functional group approach), I think that students still struggle with seeing the "forest" (the big picture) through the "trees" (all of the many details). This is not so much a fault of the student as it is a challenge inherent to the subject matter of organic chemistry. I strongly believe this challenge can be overcome by making use of the Internet to more explicitly and clearly present the big picture while making all the details accessible in a more contextual way.

The main page of Organic Web consists of a map of reactions that represents the big picture of organic chemistry; it shows all of the major types of organic compounds (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alkyl halides, alcohols, ethers, epoxides, carbonyl compounds and aromatic compounds) connected by the reactions that allow for their inter-conversion. Each compound and each arrow in the map can be "clicked" to open a new page with more detailed content (both written and visual) about that particular compound or reaction.

In summary, Organic Web is a web-based system for presenting the subject matter (course content) of organic chemistry in a non-linear way. This has the advantages of: (1) making the "big picture" more clear; (2) making connections between structure and reactivity more explicit; (3) allowing students to access detailed information more contextually; (4) allowing for seamless incorporation of other electronic technology (animations, whiteboard videos, on-line assessment).

2010 Teaching and Learning Conference COLT Luncheon Panel

The 2010 Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference was a great opportunity for numerous faculty members from across all the DePaul schools and colleges to have a discussion on teaching and learning. The COLT Luncheon Panel brought together those who had won Excellence in Teaching awards together to discuss some of their best practices and teaching strategies.

• Expect a lot, but also give a lot. Make your class challenging, but also ask for student feedback to gauge their comfort with the rigor.
• Structure-offer long-term goals at the beginning of the quarter and short-term goals for each class. Make these explicit
• Revision is part of the assignment process. Design assignments that incorporate opportunities for revision.
• Design your delivery to allow space for students to participate and apply their learning. Consider grading students on their participation.
• Model how you think/learn about your field; do not just deliver your content.
• Use readings that help make real world connections and offer a variety of viewpoints rather than relying solely on a textbook.
• Make students active in your classroom- Allow them to work through problems in your classroom.
• Create a classroom environment in which students are doing the thinking and the work and you act as a facilitator of their thinking.
• Give students specific feedback on aspects that will help students grow as learners; Quick and comprehensive feedback.
• We are ALL responsible for evaluating our own practice regarding teaching and learning.
• Try to be involved in the DePaul community-(e.g., become involved in distance opportunities-travel abroad with students to learn along with them).

We also used Wordle to analyze the frequency of words in the Luncheon Panel notes document (See below for the full document). Words are given a size based on their relative frequency to other words in the document.

Be sure to visit the Conference Program page for the full set of notes from the luncheon panel and presentation materials from many presenters.

Recap: 2010 DePaul Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference

In his keynote address, Dr. Lee Shulman asked the audience, "What happens when design meets chance?"

He explained this statement by recalling the story of Louis Pasteur's discovery of a chicken cholera vaccine. One of Pasteur's assistants had given a group of chickens a small dose of the cholera bacteria instead of the prescribed lethal dose. Long after the lethal dose should have killed the chickens, the chickens were still alive. Upon discovering his assistant's mistake, Pasteur took the opportunity to ask, "Now why might this be so? How is it that they could have survived with just a small dose of cholera?" Thus, a vaccine for chicken cholera was discovered.

Dr. Shulman challenged the audience to teach our students to be prepared for a world, which on the whole is routine and designed, where chance allows the opportunity for serendipity to occur. How can we do this? By attending to three key pillars of a higher education:

Habits of mind - Cultivating deep learning of content knowledge.

Habits of practice - Cultivating a routine that can act fluidly in the world.

Habits of heart - Cultivating an understanding of the importance of a discipline and how to be a socially responsible human being.

Dr. Shulman's full keynote will be available on iTunes U within the next couple of weeks. Be sure to check back on this Blog or the Teaching Commons for availability.

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The Committee on Learning and Teaching luncheon panel featured Mindy Kalchman, School of Educationn; Joshua Jones, College of Computing and Digital Media; Zaya Khananu, School for New Learning; and Michaela Winchatz, College of Communication. Key themes that emerged from the panel:

Create learning environments that speak to your students' personal experiences. By helping relate course content to what they already know and experience, students are better able to construct new knowledge.

Giving feedback is important. Make feedback timely and informative and set expectations for yourself and your students.

Strive to challenge yourself to improve your teaching and your skill set. DePaul is a great place to do that with many opportunities available.

Be explicit in communicating strategies that you employ to succeed in a discipline. This goes for note taking, reading, or communication strategies. Students don't always know how to succeed within a discipline and need to be taught these learning strategies as much as the content.

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For more, take a look at the conference presentation materials that many of the presenters have generously made available.

What did you think of this year's Faculty Teaching and Learning Conference? Feel free to send us your reactions in the comments below.

Innovating Online: Environmental Sciences

Dr. James Montgomery and Dr. Margaret Workman see vast potential for online learning in the Environmental Science Program. DePaul's Vision Twenty12 Strategic Plan sets an ambitious course for the University to become a leader in the delivery of innovative, technology-based and flexible high quality educational experiences for its students.

In the fall of 2007 Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Workman were awarded the Quality of Instruction Council (QIC) grant, which will help the Environmental Science Program (ESP) increase its limited online learning experiences for students enrolled in its courses. With the expected increase in both the number of high school graduates in the next two years as well as adult learners, and with the explosion of online learning programs at many American universities, the ESP is poised to develop a variety of online learning experiences for multiple audiences with varying needs.

Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Workman were kind enough to discuss their experiences moving their coursework online.


TC: The Environmental Sciences might be traditionally seen as a field that requires a significant amount physical hands-on work, including field and lab studies. How do you complement this type of learning with an increased online learning presence?

M & W: We are creating an online version of ENV 101 (Introduction to Environmental Science w/o lab). We purposely chose ENV 101 because it does not have a lab, hence, it is easier to design online activities. Despite not having a lab, we are designing this online course to include field experiences for the students, where they have to go to a nearby forest preserve or natural area and make observations and measurements. We may also design some self-guided field trips to the area botanic gardens iTunes site, we decided to extend these types of virtual activities to an online environmental science course. Maggie also saw that podcasting lectures would serve as a "Universal Design" model helping all students, particularly those in the PLuS Program and ESL students.

TC: What has been the student reaction to the increased technology use? Has participation improved, comprehension, retention?

Today's tech savvy students love the use of technology in the classroom. In particular, incorporating technology into the classroom allows students who hate science to feel more comfortable and engaged. The students' reaction in Maggie's Discover class to the iTunes movie assignment has been very positive, with students commenting that they appreciate the opportunity to employ their creative skills in a constructive way. Also, Maggie reports that her podcast lectures (link must be referenced when logged into Campus Connect) have received more hits than Daniel Craig's website! While we have no hard data on participation, the iTunes movie assignment requires all students to be in the movie, so they cannot stand idly on the sidelines and get credit for this assignment. One way we hope to increase student comprehension in our SI Intro Environmental Science class with a lab (ENV 102) is to produce some pre-lab movies demonstrating various types of lab equipment and procedures that the students will be using in that week's lab. They can download the movie onto their iPod and view it before lab while sipping an overpriced latte.

TC: What advice might you give to other teachers, departments, or colleges trying to develop courses with online learning in mind? Is it more effective to think of traditional courses and online learning as mutually exclusive items, if not what is their meeting point?


M & W: We would encourage everyone to consider adopting some aspect of online learning. The important thing to remember nowadays is that students are quite comfy with technology, and they almost have come to expect technology in the classroom (i.e. podcasts, posted powerpoint lectures, chat rooms, blogs, etc). Online learning and traditional courses can be quite complementary, rather than mutually exclusive. Technology is an item in our pedagogical toolbox, and when used properly and judiciously, it can enhance student learning.

TC: Technological limitations aside, imagine a perfect Environmental Sciences online learning environment, what would it look and act like?


M & W: A perfect course would be interactive among the students and the instructor and would incorporate a variety of tech tools including podcasts, blogs, discussion boards, etc. Essentially, such a course would engage students about the world's pressing environmental problems, using a variety of online environmental data that they could model and analyze. However, the best science course involves hands-on investigation. An online course can include this with no drop off in quality.

The Teaching Commons would like to thank Dr. James Montgomery and Dr. Margaret Workman for contributing to the site. If you would like to share your own story, classroom tips, advice, or experiences, please send us an e-mail.

Strategies for Teaching Online

Ron Fernandes
School of Public Service
November 4th, 2008

I would strongly recommend that faculty who would like to teach online first take an online class themselves. This will help put themselves in the shoes of their prospective online students and lead to a better course design. The DePaul Online Teaching Series popularly known as DOTS run by the instructional Design and Development department (IDD) is a great way to do this while learning about online course development. I would also suggest that faculty plan their online course design carefully and in advance in discussion with instructional designers and technology specialists. Complex subjects need strong weekly discussion topics that motivate students to read and actively engage in discussing them. Ideally what happens on threaded discussions needs to duplicate the rich learning experiences our students have in classrooms. For complex courses, get students to apply key concepts while working with software or internet-based tools and then have them post their analyses on discussion boards where they can receive feedback. For example: when teaching finance or statistics online, having students conduct statistical analyses in Excel or SPSS and then posting those results on threaded discussions enables them to learn-by-doing in the supportive environment of their fellow students.

Challenges that come with teaching online

Among the challenges I experienced in teaching online courses is to successfully deal with the new paradigm of online course development: working as a team with instructional designers and technology specialists to develop your course. It is really important to carefully plan all the details of online course in advance and in collaboration with specialists. Also be upfront about your expectations and take control of and responsibility for the course. Instructional designers and technologists are there to support ; it’s still your course. Online courses are a lot less flexible in terms of being able to make mid-course corrections to them. Confusion results more frequently in online courses than in face-to-face courses. In the online learning environment, faculty also need to consider the need to modify their role from being a “sage on the stage” in the classroom to becoming a “guide on the side.” Creating a social presence for students in online courses can be a challenge that can be creatively overcome by careful course design including the selection of instructional technologies (and there are a variety of them), by developing rules for timely responses to student queries, and by incorporating synchronous technologies such as Wimba Live Classroom in online courses.

Taking advantage of available technologies

Wimba Live Classroom is a wonderful addition to online course environments. It allows faculty to add synchronous (real-time) audio and video sessions to online courses. At the School of Public Service Wimba allows us to offer guest lectures, conduct group discussions, demonstrations of software, and engage students in online Q&A sessions in real time. Audio and video interactions enable a richer learning environment for teaching complex topics than asynchronous text-based interactions. Wimba will be incorporated in the Blackboard 8.0 learning management system (LMS) that is being rolled out this winter. I would also recommend that faculty collaborate closely with the Instructional Design and Development (IDD) department and the great instructional design and training support they offer. They should also take advantage of any training on software offered by the Instructional Technology Development (ITD) department.