Sharing the Sidebar

Annoyed by the whispered conversations that occur between two students during the lecture/discussion/Q&A?

For me, the annoyance derives not from being the center of attention, but rather that the conversation causes the chatting people to miss part of the class activity while interfering with their neighbors’ participation. No matter how I would intervene in the distracting behavior, I would feel awkward, sometimes like I had a major ego problem, sometimes creating a me-against-them situation, etc.

A nifty solution to this vexing problem was demonstrated when I recently attended a conference held on campus. The key note speaker was explaining how sharing information helped make the class a more rewarding experience. He pointed out that whispered conversations, which he called a "sidebar,” between two individuals were also a rich source of information that should be shared with the class. Being a valuable source, the "sidebar" group would be required to share their conversation with the class.

The first time two individuals put their heads together in a “sidebar,” the speaker stopped his discussion and ask the whisperers to share their “sidebar.” It was the last time anyone in the room had a whispered conversation!

More Fun with PowerPoint

Last week’s post titled, “Three PowerPoint 2007 Tips,” generated lots of discussion and apparently changed some PowerPoint use. This week’s post has a bit of fun with the widely-used presentation program.

The fun is brought to us by Don McMillian, stand-up comedian. He has a routine tilted “Life After Death by PowerPoint.” It is a humorous look at how not to use PowerPoint. To view the video on YouTube.com, click here.

Three PowerPoint 2007 Tips

Ready to move your PowerPoint presentations into the 21st century? Here are three ways to leave that pre-Millenium slide show behind.

1. Apply the 10, 20, 30 rule.
No more than 10 slides.

No more than 20 words per slide.
Use at least a 30 point font size.

But, you say, “My information is more than the 10 and 20.”

Not to worry—give the audience a break every ten slides by providing music (PowerPoint 2007 comes with at least two sound clips.), having them take a short stand up break, fiddling with the program while profusely apologizing, etc.

2. Use animation sparingly, if at all. Although fun to put in the presentation while sitting at your desk, it can create a zombie-like reaction in an audience who must sit through things that are dissolving, zooming around the screen, flashing on and off, etc. if you must have animation, strive for no more than two per slide and use the same one(s) throughout.

3. Move beyond bullets (dots, squares, numbers, etc.) in your list. This can be done by employing Microsoft PowerPoint 2007s Smart Art. It is found by clicking the Insert tab. The following Smart Art example is one where its color scheme can be changed, an image can be inserted into the circle, and text placed in the rectangle.

Have a PowerPoint tip you would like to share? Contact Paul Stennett by clicking here.

FINALLY, SOMETHING TO DO WITH A CELL PHONE IN CLASS.*

Are your students really “getting” what you have to say? Although there are various means of determining the level of understanding, i.e. Q&A, tests, clickers, etc., the use of a cell phone in class can create new opportunities for making sure everyone “gets it.”

Here is how it works: The students indicate what they do/do not understand by text messaging to a central place where the results are tabulated and then shown on the classroom screen. The process is similar to the TV program where the audience uses their cell phone to vote. Rather than voting, the students indicate what is unclear, needs repeating, or rephrasing, etc. by using their phone. The cell phone itself is simply a part of an audience response system (ARS) that includes software, Internet connection, graphics, etc.

The campuses have the Internet connection, the students have a cell phone, and the ARS is available from polleverywhere.com. They even offer a free service for classes with less than 30 students. The department will demonstrate the process at the next Teaching Adults class.

Read more about ARS and polleverywhere.com by clicking here.

A video of how it works can be seen by clicking here.

*Abstracted from Inside the School Update. Visit their website by clicking here.

Helping Students Own and ControlTheir Learning Experience

The latest update of Inside the School contains an article by Jennifer Stanchfield titled, “Giving Learners Control and Responsibility for Learning.” It is an excerpt from her book, Tips & Tools: the Art of Experiential Group Facilitation.

Although directed more toward the pre-college student, it contains many suggestions adaptable by Community Learning instructors. Some of the suggestions include:

• Icebreakers that establish commonalities.


• Situations that allow quieter students to participate.


• Helping students gain greater control of their learning.

Read the entire Inside the School Update by clicking here.