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Case
Studies
Flexible Education With PowerPoint
A case study on PowerPoint usage at the University of Tasmania,
Australia
by Dr. Simon James, December 3rd 2003
Before The Intro
Introduction
How it works
Implications
Support
Screenshots
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 About
Simon James
Dr. Simon James is a Lecturer at the University of Tasmania,
Australia. He has been working on a flexible delivery project
jointly funded by the University through a Major Teaching
Grant and the Department of Education, Science and Technology
through their Science Lectureship Program.
Simon and his talented team (Anna McEldowney and Ruth Osborne)
settled on PowerPoint after trying many different options.
They now offer PowerPoint workshops, promotion, one-on-one
support, and all the other things needed for the effective
implementation of a new teaching tool. Learn more at:
PowerPoint
Multimedia
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 Almost
all of this page except this section has been written by Dr.
Simon James. I should have not put in any words of my own here
- however I'm doing just that since he probably did not want
to praise his own work. Simon sent me a booklet and CD that showcases
much of the work discussed on this page. I showed it to many
people who asked what apart from PowerPoint was used to create
the presentations. Some thought a lot of programming was used
and others opined that some third-party add-ins may have helped.
I had to clear those illusions though by saying that the only
ingredients used for this multimedia adventure were PowerPoint
and imagination. Need I say more? Thank you, Simon for sharing
your thoughts and ideas. - Geetesh
Introduction
At the University of Tasmania, we've been using PowerPoint slideshows
with hyperlink navigation as individual learning resources for
students. It's been a way for lecturers to put together multimedia
content using a program they're already familiar with.
Everybody has been happy with the results. The students like colour
pictures, video, audio and interactivity. Lecturers are glad that
it is easy to create the resources. Administrators are pleased
to support flexible delivery options that don't cost much.
Back
How it works
We produce a PowerPoint presentation and save it as a PowerPoint
show in kiosk mode. Students opening the resource are immediately
presented with a title slide and can only navigate using hyperlinked
buttons and text. We include a wide range of multimedia and formative
assessment methods such as multiple-choice questions. The end result
looks a lot like an interactive, full screen web page.
We use a lot of inserted video and audio so the resources are
generally too large for the internet. We distribute to students
on CD, they take the resource away to work with in their own time.
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Implications
Education theorists and administrators are very excited about
the possibilities of computer-based learning resources. Teachers
and lecturers aren't anywhere near as eager. One reason is that
many computer resources are made with unfamiliar or professional
programs which teachers haven't got time to learn to use.
PowerPoint is already used routinely throughout the University,
and has this untapped capability to include rich content such as
audio files, movie files, and assessment. PowerPoint presentations
can be easily modified and will run on any computer; they can be
delivered through WebCT or via CD-ROM.
Making multimedia computer resources is easy using PowerPoint;
lecturers are able to create resources specific to their
own teaching areas.
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Support
We have an in-house training site at:
http://www.agsci.utas.edu.au/ppmultimedia/
to help lecturers just starting to make their own PowerPoint multimedia
resources. We've put together quite a few resources but only a
couple are available on the site due to Australian digital copyright
issues. Please visit the website for further downloads and support
opportunities.
Back
Screenshots
Each resource has an index page so students can access the different parts
of the slideshow in any order.
Resources are only ever viewed on an individual computer so a lot of content
and instruction can be fitted on each slide.
Multiple choice questions can be used to check understanding before allowing
access to more advanced sections of the resource.
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