BLOG #2

From the readings I learned this week, a popular tool that is used by most of the teachers as a teaching technology, PowerPoint, is being reviewed. The PowerPoint slides are commonly used by people who are doing a presentation. However, as mentioned in the readings, some people sabotage their PowerPoint presentation by falling into a simple and obvious trap that negates the whole concept of dual-coding. This is where everything goes wrong, which make the PowerPoint presentation useless. One obvious mistake of a PowerPoint presentation is that people read off their slides. Read the PowerPoint slides is just something that put audience in very uncomfortable situation. Audience have the ability to understand and get the information they need out of your presentation. Our job is not to codify that for them — we are not their note-taker. Instead, our job is to present that information in a way that lets them anchor it in their mind and process the parts they need. We can do this by “dual-coding”.

1. Use an image to get their attention. Image is a powerful way to get audience attention. Even something that’s not related to the material you are presenting, such as a picture of a cute kitten, your slide will leave a good impression for the audience.
2. Tell an effective story. Instead of telling a big story, tell the story of that slide. The story can be true or it can be metaphorical. We can stand up there with confidence and tell a story to the audience about themselves.

Reference:

Alexander, K. (2017). Dual Coding Theory [Mp3]. https://soundcloud.com/user-433569679/dual-coding-theory