Creating Great Presentations!

The workshop was given at Clearpoint Elementary on May 12, 2010. The workshop was based on workshop given by David Jakes at the 2008 NECC conference in San Antonio.

Ten tips for improving presentations:

  1. Teach them biology
  2. Teach them to make it visual
  3. Teach them how to find images 
  4. Teach them about intellectual property
  5. Teach them design
  6. Teach them to see
  7. Color and font choice matter
  8. Teach them to incorporate multimedia
  9. Teach them PowerPoint secrets
  10. Teach them to share

Notes: during the presentation I talked about latest brain theory, cognitive load, using metaphor, Flickr and Flickstorm photo sites. I also mentioned several books and YouTube videos. The references are given below:

Flickr, Flickr-storm and FlickrCC:

During the workshop we worked with two sites Flickr and Flickr-storm as well as Google images. Both sites have amazing photographs that can be used in presentations. As well, I talked about a Creative Commons License as it's important that kids understand copyright and know how to properly annotate their sources. Another great picture site I just discovered is FlickCC.


Suggested Books:

br@in-based teaching :) in the digital age by Marilee Sprenger is an easy read that attempts to make the connection with latest brain theory and technology use in schools. Here's the introduction to the book, the table of contents and the free study guide.



A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink is an amazing book that talks about the Six Senses (design, story, symphony, empathy, play, meaning) and their importance in work and school. Here's the introduction to the book as well as the Amazon book link with chapter excerpts.




Video clips used in workshop:

During the workshop I showed 3 video clips to emphasize the importance of talking with the audience, not at them. I also shared an award winning PowerPoint presentation that told a story few words and NO bullets:



© Sam Bruzzese 2022