PowerPoint Presentations

Our template uses research-based Universal Design for Learning principles, including those listed below, which capture students’ attention and help them gain a greater understanding of the subject matter.

  • Relevant and captivating images
  • Tables and Charts which increase understanding of content
  • A single font that is clean and easy to read
  • No slide transitions or word animations
  • Limited color usage; colors such as yellow, pink, red, and green are avoided for accessibility.
  • Bulleted lists to help with the organization of information
  • Slide breaks create structured and “chunked” lectures which help lessen student cognitive “overload.”
  • Font cues that direct students to pertinent information e.g. varying text sizes, bolding, callout sections, and the strategic placement of textual and graphic information in your presentation(s).
  • The option for short animations that do not distract but add emphasis and “flair” to the subject matter.

Before faculty create a presentation and-or contact the MM Team, they must know the “scope” of their presentation:

  • What is the length of the presentation? i.e. number of slides and duration of speech ( if any).
  • What will students know or be able to do as a result of the presentation?
  • How many images will be used, and where will the images be sourced from? i.e. Adobe Image Stock, Google, Government.
  • Will the presentation use many animations or be fully static?
  • Know your schools’ copyright practices for citing content.

Slide layout and Structure

  • Avoid using slide transitions.
  • Follow the template slide layouts or use the PPT default predefined layouts if changes are required.

Text

  • Produce content that is written clearly and easy to read.
  • Ensure that all content reads from left to right.
  • Limit the number of words of your slide title and the overall content of your deck.
  • Follow the “Rule of Six” – no more than six bullets per slide and no more than 6 words per bullet.
  • Avoid large blocks of italic, capitalized, and underlined text.
  • Avoid moving, flashing, auto-refreshing text.
  • Do not use the words “click here” or “more” for links.
  • Avoid using a large number of links (less than 10).
  • Do not use text boxes with or instead of the template content boxes.
  • Include copyright information for images on each slide or on a single slide.

Graphics and Images

  • Do not add graphics images that do not pertain to the content.
  • Avoid using small and-or blurry images.
  • Avoid the use of animated images i.e. GIFs

Tables and Charts

  • Limit the use of tables for the presentation of data; do not use for slide layout
  • Do not include large tables or provide a detailed description for understanding the table content
  • Use a simple table structure where data is predictable and easy to navigate

Rights Free Images

Where can rights-free images be sourced?

High-quality images bring life to your presentations. The MM Team can create images for you, but there is also the option of sourcing images from sites.

For more copyright information and image sources, please download the JH Libraries Copyright Tips of Faculty document.

*Collection gallery requires membership. Please contact the multimedia team for assistance in acquiring content.

Our PowerPoint Templates

For assistance with the AAP template and Rights Free Images please contact the Multimedia Team via the Multimedia Request Form.