Week 5: Media and Information Literacy

This week’s focus was on the presentation of information and guidelines for instructional media. There are four main aspects to focus on when presenting information. The first guideline is Contrast. This refers to how the foreground and background coordinate. It does not necessarily mean fun colors, but it is the contrast that makes it appealing to the eye and easy to see. Repetition is also very important when presenting information in this form. The consistency makes it easier to understand. Alignment is the third factor to consider. If the alignment does not have a proper format, the information trying to be portrayed could be confused or key concepts could be missed. Proximity, how everything is arranged next to each other is also key in presenting information. The discussion also mentioned appropriate size font, arrangement of graphics, and other guidelines about font, number of words, and amount of space. The next topic of the week was “Web Based Resources“,  an Internet accessible tool of instructional activities. We also compared multimedia to hypermedia. Multimedia consists of presentations with pictures, sound, text, video, etc. Hypermedia is media connected by links to navigate non-linearly. They both have strong attributes like flexibility, developing creative thinking, and improving skills.

In the corporate world, and especially when presenting information or dealing with clients, PowerPoint is highly incorporated. When presenting facts, plans, or ideas, professionals use this tool to present information in a clear and concise matter. To accomplish this, however, there are certain guidelines that are extremely important. The presentation will be ineffective if the contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are not appropriate. The last thing the Board of Directors wants is to have a poorly made PowerPoint that distracts them from the topic on hand.

Here is a business training website that discusses the importance of PowerPoint skills. They give advice and guidelines for students, teachers and business professionals.