Performing PowerPoint lectures: examining the extent of slide-text integration into lecturers’ spoken expositions

The PowerPoint assisted lecture (slide-lecture) is a common lecturing approach in Higher Education, in spite of much criticism of its use. Its popularity is facilitated by its affordances for multimodal instructional design, e.g. text with images and speech. Little is known about the integration of different semiotic modalities within the instructional communication practices of slide-lectures, nor the learning conditions that they create. Given that text bulletpoints are ubiquitous in slide-lectures, and may impose linearity into instructional communications (Kinchin et al., 2008), this study explores the extent to which lecturing speech is systematically coordinated with slide-text. Eleven slide-lectures given in psychology departments across the UK were recorded and transcribed. Patterns of semantic matches between speech and slide-text were analysed to produce similarity scores for each lecturer. Lectures were scored using an integration scoring system of 0-1, with 1 indicating a perfect match of speech and slide-text. There was significant departure from a systematic voicing of the slide text (i.e. reading off the slides). Two characteristic speech-slide relationship styles were identified. The ‘referent’ style is one in which the slide is an object of reference for the lecturer to comment on, and the ‘scaffolding’ style is one in which the slide text is blended into the spoken narrative. Consequences of the lecturer’s coordination with presentational slides are discussed in terms of the learning environment it might produce. It is suggested that whichever relationship a lecturer has with their slide-text, students might benefit from the integration being consistent

Creatively re-mediating the integration of visual resources with spoken expositions during slideshows in undergraduate psychology lectures

The research describes the communicational practices of HE lectures employing a PowerPoint slideshow in order to examine the multimodal dynamic of this genre for exposition. Based on pragmatist conceptions of learning and theories of visual/ verbal processing, the research explored how different slide-elements were integrated with lecturers’ speech, and how this integration related to students’ engagement. A two-stage mixed method investigation collected video-recordings of 22 lectures and interviews with 9 lecturers. Additionally, focus groups were carried out with 37 students, and copies of their lecture notes were made and analysed. Using the resulting data, three separate empirical studies revealed; 1) Two characteristic speech-slide relationships were associated with the extent and explicitness of speech-slide integration. In the “referent” relationship, the lecturer addresses and comments on slide-text, and in the “scaffolding” relationship, the slide-text serves to structure their speech. 2) The relationship employed depended on lecturer intentions for the slide-lecture, which predominantly involved elaboration of the lecture outline. Consequently, students regarded slide-text as lecture notes, and expected it to be addressed consistently and explicitly. Owing to their focus on recording the slide-text and accompanying explanation, there was shown to be little opportunity for meaningful interaction with the slide-lecture. 3) Visual elements have the potential to engage students in a meaningful interaction, yet integration of them by lecturers revealed that they were not often exploited to such ends. It is concluded that the integration of text in slide-lectures presents little opportunity for achieving a fully engaging lecture experience. Although visual elements offer a promising alternative, little is known about how text or visuals can best be integrated with speech to this end. Thus slide-lectures might be more pedagogically profitable if lecturers are better informed about how their integration can be used to invite students to engage with evidence on screen. This thesis contributes towards knowledge about such integration

Creatively re-mediating the integration of visual resources with spoken expositions during slideshows in undergraduate psychology lectures

The research describes the communicational practices of HE lectures employing a PowerPoint slideshow in order to examine the multimodal dynamic of this genre for exposition. Based on pragmatist conceptions of learning and theories of visual/ verbal processing, the research explored how different slide-elements were integrated with lecturers’ speech, and how this integration related to students’ engagement. A two-stage mixed method investigation collected video-recordings of 22 lectures and interviews with 9 lecturers. Additionally, focus groups were carried out with 37 students, and copies of their lecture notes were made and analysed. Using the resulting data, three separate empirical studies revealed; 1) Two characteristic speech-slide relationships were associated with the extent and explicitness of speech-slide integration. In the “referent” relationship, the lecturer addresses and comments on slide-text, and in the “scaffolding” relationship, the slide-text serves to structure their speech. 2) The relationship employed depended on lecturer intentions for the slide-lecture, which predominantly involved elaboration of the lecture outline. Consequently, students regarded slide-text as lecture notes, and expected it to be addressed consistently and explicitly. Owing to their focus on recording the slide-text and accompanying explanation, there was shown to be little opportunity for meaningful interaction with the slide-lecture. 3) Visual elements have the potential to engage students in a meaningful interaction, yet integration of them by lecturers revealed that they were not often exploited to such ends. It is concluded that the integration of text in slide-lectures presents little opportunity for achieving a fully engaging lecture experience. Although visual elements offer a promising alternative, little is known about how text or visuals can best be integrated with speech to this end. Thus slide-lectures might be more pedagogically profitable if lecturers are better informed about how their integration can be used to invite students to engage with evidence on screen. This thesis contributes towards knowledge about such integration

Do pictures ‘tell’ a thousand words in lectures?: how lecturers vocalise photographs in their presentations

This article explores how 145 photographs collected from 20 PowerPoint lectures in undergraduate psychology at 16 UK universities were integrated with lecturers’ speech. Little is currently known about how lecturers refer to the distinct types of photographs included in their presentations. Findings show that only 48 photographs (33%) included in presentation slides were referred to explicitly by exploring their features to make a point related to the lecture content, with only 14 of these used to invite student questioning. Most photographs (97 or 67%) represent a case of ‘unprobed representations’, that is, either ‘embedded’ in the talk as ‘illustrations’ of the speech topic or not referred to at all. A taxonomy of uses that lecturers made of the photographs in their slideshows was created through adapting a Peircean semiotic analysis of the photograph–speech interaction. The implications in terms of lecturer and student engagement with the photographic material are discussed, arguing the case for more Critical Semiotic Exploration of photographs in HE practice

Identifying new concepts for innovative lighting-based interventions to influence movement and behaviours in train stations

The disorderly and disrupted movement of passengers within train stations are key concerns in rail transport, especially where there are increasing numbers of passengers, coupled with often out-dated, adapted station spaces. With careful planning and design, different characteristics of lighting can be employed to address problems relating to the movement and behaviour of passengers in railway environments. This study aims to offer an approach to identifying new concepts for lighting-based interventions, to influence passenger movement behaviours within train stations. Behaviourally-orientated lighting literature was reviewed, providing the knowledge base to inform a series of engagement activities with transport stakeholders and lighting technologists, to understand problematic behaviours and how these might be resolved through targeted lighting design. In combining findings from the literature with insights from rail and transport related industry stakeholders and lighting specialists, a number of potential opportunities for novel applications of lighting have been identified. Six scenarios are developed that illustrate these opportunities for potential lighting-based interventions to influence train passenger movement and behaviour. These scenarios can be used to inform the direction of further research and consideration of how different lighting characteristics can affect rail passenger behaviours

Play&Tune: user-feedback in the development of a serious game for optimising hearing aid orientation

Many hearing aid (HA) users are dissatisfied with HA performance in social situations. One way to improve HA outcomes is training users to understand how HAs work. Play&Tune was designed to provide this training, and to foster autonomy in hearing rehabilitation. We carried out two prototype evaluations and a pre-release evaluation of Play&Tune with 71 HA users, using an interview or online survey. Users gave detailed feedback on their experiences with the app. Most participants enjoyed learning about HAs and expressed a desire for autonomy over their HA settings. Our case study reinforces the importance of user-feedback during app development

Dartanan: Prototype evaluations of a serious game to engage children in the calibration of their hearing aid functionalities

Introduction: It is notoriously difficult to obtain a perfect fitting of hearing aids (HAs) for children as they often struggle to understand their hearing loss well enough to discuss the fitting adequately with their audiologist. Dartanan is an ‘edutainment’ game developed to help children understand the functions of their HA in different sound contexts. Dartanan also had elements of a leisure game for all children, in order to create an inclusive activity. Methods: Game prototypes were evaluated during two formative evaluations and a summative evaluation. In total 106 children with and without hearing loss in Italy, Spain and the UK played Dartanan. A built-in virtual HA enabled children with hearing loss to use headphones to play. Results and conclusions: During the formative stages, feedback was discussed during focus groups on factors such as the audiological aspects, the extent to which children learned about HA functions, accessibility and usability, and this feedback was presented to the developers. After redevelopment, a summative evaluation was performed using an online survey. It was concluded that the game had met the goals of helping children understand their HA functionalities and providing an inclusive activity. User-evaluations were crucial in the development of the app into a useful and useable service

Creatively re-mediating the integration of visual resources with spoken expositions during slideshows in undergraduate psychology lectures

The research describes the communicational practices of HE lectures employing a PowerPoint slideshow in order to examine the multimodal dynamic of this genre for exposition. Based on pragmatist conceptions of learning and theories of visual/ verbal processing, the research explored how different slide-elements were integrated with lecturers’ speech, and how this integration related to students’ engagement. A two-stage mixed method investigation collected video-recordings of 22 lectures and interviews with 9 lecturers. Additionally, focus groups were carried out with 37 students, and copies of their lecture notes were made and analysed. Using the resulting data, three separate empirical studies revealed; 1) Two characteristic speech-slide relationships were associated with the extent and explicitness of speech-slide integration. In the “referent” relationship, the lecturer addresses and comments on slide-text, and in the “scaffolding” relationship, the slide-text serves to structure their speech. 2) The relationship employed depended on lecturer intentions for the slide-lecture, which predominantly involved elaboration of the lecture outline. Consequently, students regarded slide-text as lecture notes, and expected it to be addressed consistently and explicitly. Owing to their focus on recording the slide-text and accompanying explanation, there was shown to be little opportunity for meaningful interaction with the slide-lecture. 3) Visual elements have the potential to engage students in a meaningful interaction, yet integration of them by lecturers revealed that they were not often exploited to such ends. It is concluded that the integration of text in slide-lectures presents little opportunity for achieving a fully engaging lecture experience. Although visual elements offer a promising alternative, little is known about how text or visuals can best be integrated with speech to this end. Thus slide-lectures might be more pedagogically profitable if lecturers are better informed about how their integration can be used to invite students to engage with evidence on screen. This thesis contributes towards knowledge about such integration.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Persona-Scenarios in Game Development: Communication Tensions Between Hearing Aid Users and Communication Partners

The 3D Tune-In project developed serious/leisure game applications to educate hearing aid (HA) users about how HA functionalities could improve hearing in different sound environments. The application development team had little prior experience catering for end-users with hearing loss. HA users and their communication partner were consulted regarding their communication difficulties and communication strategies in different environments. Participants reported many hearing problems; affective issues; problems with their HA; tensions in their relationship caused by hearing issues; and they noted a need for training in how best to use HAs. Persona-scenarios were created outlining user needs and goals and a user-requirements table detailed how end-users might interact with proposed applications, both of which were presented to developers during the initial application design period. Game developers identified that these resources positively influenced the development of their application. They were able to produce a useful and useable application for their new target user

A field evaluation of an in-ground lighting intervention for safety at a road crossing

There are limited numbers of naturalistic studies of behaviours in response to safety interventions, such as novel lighting products at road crossings. The study used a theory-based approach to evaluate behavioural responses to a novel, ground-mounted lighting intervention at a zebra crossing at a university campus. An evaluation framework was developed to explore the extent to which the intervention was implemented in practice and collect a range of data types to assess the outcomes and impacts of the lighting intervention, in terms of the responses and behaviours of crossing users.The study was primarily observational, collecting and analysing video recordings of the road crossing episodes for people alone or in small groups (n = 269). This was supported by a small consultation exercise to help understand user-perceptions, achieved through an online questionnaire of crossing users (n = 59).The observations contributed to understanding crossing behaviours in this location, generally demonstrating safe crossing behaviours, such as looking for traffic and walking within the marked crossing features. There was no observable indication of users noticing or responding overtly to the lighting. However, 29% of the small sample responding to the questionnaire stated that the lights had influenced the way that they used the crossing. The survey responses indicated that users understood the intention of the lighting and cited positive attributes and perceived benefits, which may improve behaviours and safety for both pedestrians and drivers. It is concluded that the lighting intervention has the potential to improve safety-related behaviours at crossings, but further investigation of its efficacy would be recommended.Guidance is provided on how to respond to various methodological and situational challenges that have been encountered in this study, such as how to improve observational data collection for field studies in this type of context. Future development of the intervention might involve sensor-based activation and variation in the lighting (e.g., differing flash rates and colours)