The document describes a PowerPoint presentation created to accompany an ASSURE lesson plan about the Great Depression and writing formal letters. The presentation follows visual design principles from textbooks on instructional technology. These principles guide the arrangement, balance, color, legibility, appeal, and universal design of the slides. The target learners are a 5th grade class with diverse abilities and backgrounds. The presentation aims to enhance the initial lesson plan and engage students through visual instruction.

1. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
Visual Principles
“Create an instructional presentation for the lesson that you have already prepared for the
ASSURE lesson plan. Follow visual principles and design guidelines introduced in the textbooks
to create your presentation.”
Introduction
To enhance my initial ASSURE lesson plan covering the Great Depression and writing
and formatting a formal letter, I have created a PowerPoint presentation to provide a general
overview when introducing the lesson to the class. According to Smaldino, Lowther, and
Russell (2012), “The design and use of visuals in instruction is an important consideration
because so much learning involves visual imagery” (p. 176). Additionally, most multimedia has
some sort of visual component, and most classrooms have one or more students who are
visual/spatial learners. Diverse learners, special needs, or gifted students can all benefit from the
use of visuals in instruction (Smaldino, et al., 2012). Smaldino, et al., (2012) provide a list of
visual design guidelines that I followed when creating my project (p. 192).
Target Learners This instructional PowerPoint has been created for a fifth grade
class of 22 students at a rural elementary school. There are 12 girls and
10 boys. A number of students (6) are classified as “living in poverty” as
can be seen by the free and reduced lunch rates. The remainder of the
class comes from working and middle class families. Three students
have identified learning disabilities. The school system practices
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2. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
inclusion, so the special education teacher or aide comes in at least once a
day to work with these students and they also have the option of going to
the special education room for guidance on a project or test. No students
have been officially identified as “gifted,” although quite a few (eight)
are reading well above grade level and excel on most all assignments.
Students show an appreciation for the use of visuals in the classroom and
dislike working from a textbook. They seem to be better engaged in
learning when I create the teaching materials myself.
Subject Area Social Studies: The Great Depression
English: Writing and formatting a formal letter
Curriculum and Curriculum: Indiana Academic 5th Grade Language Arts Standards
Technology
Standards Writing: Processes and Features 5.4
Writing: Applications (Different Types of Writing and Their
Characteristics) 5.5
Writing: English Language Conventions 5.6
Indiana Academic 5th Grade Social Studies Standards
Roles of Citizens 5.2.8
Economics 5.4
Technology: NETS-S (2007)
Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media
and environments to communicate and work collaboratively,
including at a distance, to support individual learning and
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3. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
contribute to the learning of others.
Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound
understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
Learning Objectives Given Microsoft Word software, the learner will compose a letter
in block format and score 13/15 or higher on the teacher created “Letters
to Lady Obama” rubric.
The learner will demonstrate a general understanding of the Great
Depression by playing the teacher created PowerPoint version of
“Jeopardy: Great Depression Edition” scoring 5000/6000 or higher when
completing the game individually.
Visual Design Smaldino, et al. (2012) provide “Visual Design Guidelines” to
Guidelines
be followed when designing visuals for instructional or professional use.
(p. 192). Following I will explain how their guidelines were applied to
the PowerPoint I have created for this Visual Principles assignment.
Arrangement. – When planning a series of visuals, one needs to
be consistent when arranging elements because viewers tend to
unconsciously form expectations of where information will
appear in the display (Smaldino, et al., 2012). For this reason,
when using only text, or only an image, I chose to center the
information on the screen. When using a combination of text and
images, I consistently placed text on the left and images on the
right.
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4. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
Balance. – For visuals to catch the eye and serve an informational
purpose, it is best to have an asymmetrical balance (Smaldino, et
al., 2012). I have achieved this by leaving “white” space,
distributing elements evenly but sizing and arranging them in
ways that keep the appearance dynamic and informal.
Color. – When considering color for PowerPoint slides it is
helpful to consider background color, a color for the images or
text, and a color for highlights. (Smaldino, et al., 2012).
Smaldino, et al., (2012) provide a table listing “Effective
Combinations for Background and Images for PowerPoint
Slides…” (p. 193). I chose to go with one of their suggested
combinations, using a light gray background, with blue and black
text.
Legibility. – “A visual cannot do its job unless all viewers can see
the words and images” (Smaldino, et al., 2012, p. 194). In my
PowerPoint I made sure to make the presentation legible by
choosing appropriate color combinations for text and background
and using high quality images that are not blurry and can be
projected large enough for easy viewing without distorting the
image. Additionally, I made sure text was large and consistent
enough for easy reading.
Appeal. – Instructional visuals need to capture and hold learners’
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5. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
attention (Smaldino, et al., 2012). I chose a font style, color
scheme, and wording appropriate for fifth graders. Effective use
of all of the previous guidelines will help to make an overall
appealing presentation. The use of a combination of images, text,
and video in my presentation will help keep learners’ interest by
providing variety in instruction.
Universal Design. – “Universal design accommodates students
with a variety of learning levels, including disabilities and special
talents” (Smaldino, et al., 2012, p. 195). The use of a PowerPoint
presentation helps to meet diverse learners because it can be
played on an individual computer and enlarged for visually
impaired learners, the explanatory text will help hearing impaired
learners, and the age/reading level appropriate text will make
content accessible to students.
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6. Lisa Quraish
CIMT 543
Spring 2012
Dr. Ziaeehezarjeribi
References
Indiana Department of Education (2011). Indiana Standards and Resources. Retrieved from
http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/StandardSearch.aspx
Smaldino, S.E., Lowther, D.L., & Russell, J.D. (2012). Instructional Technology and
Media for Learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). NETS for Students 2007. Retrieved
from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx
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