5 Key Practices when Building PowerPoint Slides

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Over 97% of Conestoga faculty identify that they use PowerPoint frequently in their teaching, and with good reason. Tried and true, PowerPoint has been the best known presentation software for the last 30 years. Its strength is often the familiarity we have with using it, and many other apps and services are based on its look and feel.

Resources

For the below suggestions, you can visit Microsoft’s PowerPoint support site to support your learning and troubleshooting. 

Conestoga has a downloadable PowerPoint slide template. If it suits your teaching, you are welcome to use and adapt it.

Key Practices

Often, we inherit PowerPoint slide decks in courses and need to update these before teaching with them. These key practices will help you update these efficiently and accessibly.

Use Slide Masters

To make sweeping overall changes to text, themes, and styling, use the Slide Master view. To get there:

• In PowerPoint, click the View tab.
• In the Master Views section, choose Slide Master.
• Once there, select the top-most slide – this is the overall slide master.
• Changes here impact all other slides.

Make changes to:

• the master layout of each slide layout you can build;
• the theme – bring in the template you downloaded or choose something simple;
• the font style (Arial, Calibri, or another sans serif font);
• the font size of each level of text (at a minimum 18 pt);
• any other universal components.

Then, close the Master view. The changes will apply across the presentation.

Design Accessibly

Keep your presentation production process simple. PowerPoint comes with templates, defaults and structures to help build accessible presentations.

When creating slides:

• Choose from the slide templates available;
• Avoid the Blank slide template.
• Adjust the slide layout to suit your need.

Keep types of colour blindness in mind when selecting colours. Choose a slide design that has a simple, high contrast colour combination and design. Safe colour schemes are white, black, blue and orange.

Add alt-text to all images, graphics and videos.

• Right click on an image or video.
• Format Image or Edit Alt Text.
• Describe what the image shows briefly (5-8 words).

Present any text in the images as text in the slide, when it informs learning and participation. Avoid constructing slides that use images as a substitute to text – these will be unreadable to many learners. Plan to narrate, describe and talk about images.

Reduce Text

Decrease the quantity of text on a slide, focussing on key information, activity instructions and a blend of visual and written content. Increase the font to a minimum of 18 pt. and test out visibility in the classroom.

Use the presenter’s notes area to collect notes about key speaking points or questions. Save the slide space for active learning and activity anchors.

To see your notes in class, extend the display on a podium monitor. To do this;

• Right click on the desktop;
• Choose Display settings;
• Scroll down to the bottom of the settings window, and;
• Set the drop down menu to Extend desktop to this display.

Alternatively, refer to the notes on your mobile device, using the PowerPoint app.

Cite Sources

Model the academic integrity you’d like learners to have.

• Use images from the Library or open sources.
• Use videos from the Library and open sources.
• Filter Google searches by usage rights, selecting Labeled for Reuse.
• Cite and reference according to APA @Conestoga.

Check Accessibility

Use the Check Accessibility tool on each presentation. 

• Click on File, then Check for Issues.
• Select Check Accessibility.
• A window will open with any unresolved issues.
• Make sure all Errors and Warnings are resolved; Tips do not need to be resolved.

Learn more about making PowerPoint presentations accessible. 

Explore more

These tips may help you get started with adapting PowerPoint presentations, but you may want to extend your skills.

Check out the LinkedIn Learning course “Redefining PowerPoint in the College Classroom.” This course aims to provide some tips and suggestions for adapting PowerPoint to the college classroom. Sign in with your Conestoga email and password.

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