PRESENTATION SOFTWARE IN THE GEOSCIENCE CLASSROOM: A PRIMER

The wide spread availability of electronic mediation in the geoscience classroom has lead to the development of lectures and presentations that take advantage of the latest technologies. While some geoscience instructors have been using computer technology to deliver their presentations for over a decade, others are just making the transition to this very productive instructional method. Several publishers offer mediation packages for popular textbooks that include canned PowerPoint® lectures for each chapter. These presentations entice an even greater proportion of geoscience instructors to utilize presentation software. An obvious advantage of mediated presentations is the amount of material that can be covered in a lecture period. Because of the visual nature of geoscience topics, mediation and geology seem like an excellent and enduring partnership. However, there are some critical realities in electronic presentations that need to be considered whether one is preparing his/her own presentation, adapting a publisher's offerings, or using mediation packages just as they are received. Important considerations include slide appearance, use of animation/transitions, and the detail of slide content.