In this slide presentation I demonstrate how to replace the brake pads on a Porsche Boxster. I didn’t have any upcoming teaching sessions that needed any new slides so I decided to make this presentation about one of the things I enjoy doing- working on my car. This is well suited for the principles we learned last week because the description of a skill is enhanced by pictures. I couldn’t imagine trying to teach this to someone, especially a novice, by words alone.
This presentation demonstrates the multimedia principle because it includes both graphics and words. The graphics are static. I think video would be better to teach this skill. The words are written in the speaker notes. If I was actually giving this as a presentation to a group of learners I would demonstrate the contiguity principle as I would be talking while the learners are looking at the pictures. The current slides really don’t have any words on them other than the title of each slide. I did wonder if I should have put more labels or text boxes on the slides containing what I have written in the speaker notes.
Philosophically, I am still not sure I buy into the pictures only on slides approach. I think it works well for certain topics but not all topics. I was in a lecture today on anticoagulation in the perioperative period. As I looked at each slide I tried to imaging myself redesigning the talk and I could not think of how I could give that lecture with images alone. So I remain skeptical that these principles apply in all situations. If I had the time and energy I would love to make 2 sets of slides for some of the things I teach; making one following these principles and one in my usual way. Then I could test learners to see if they gained equal knowledge. The logistics of that endeavor make it unlikely to happen.
Direct link to Google slides presentation on how to change Porsche Boxster brakes: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xCz9023w1qPeSQDDELVx9cqqOFuR-Cbt6_AZoXXTGYQ/edit?usp=sharing
Terry Shaneyfelt: EDTECH Learning Log 