How To Use Visuals To Avoid Death
Got your attention? Good. I'm talking about Death By PowerPoint. Don't roll your eyes at me. This is serious business! After all, killing your students gets you out of a job. And besides... Death sucks.
So next time a student tells you she's a visual learner tell her duh! She's right. Vision kicks major ass in the Department of Receiving Information. Having said that, it's important to recognize we learn best when we use all five senses. Still... Vision's the shit. So use it. Here's how:
Destroy all the wordy presentations you have. C'mon. Right Click. Delete. Yes.
Find images, diagrams, icons etc. that represent the 1-3 concepts you want to teach. Make an (info)graphic or put them on slides.
Use concise labels and brief descriptions.
Avoid long lines of bullet points, lists, and paragraphs.
Replace #4 with your performance. That's right. This is your stage. The classroom is your oyster. Talk, explain, give examples.
Before
After
Voila!
“Professionals everywhere need to know about the incredible inefficiency of text-based information and the incredible effects of images. Burn your current PowerPoint presentations and make new ones. ”
Showing and explaining concepts with images and skipping the typical mini essays or dreadfully long bullet lists does the trick. It prompts kids to pay attention, think, and make meaning. No more busy pencils meticulously transcribing every single line of nonsense written on a slide. Instead, students are forced to process the image, the description, and the explanation. They can practice note taking that requires thinking. As an added bonus, such format encourages questions, as there's more wrestling with ideas going on.
That is what learning in your classroom can look like. Or Death By PowerPoint...
You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.