Student Presentations

Planning your material

  • you could take photos or short video clips while you're working on your project to incorporate into your presentation
  • you don't have to show everything you've done
  • be selective - pick out what you think will be most interesting to the other schools
  • remember that they won't necessarily know anything about the aspects you've chosen to work on, so introduce your presentation fully

How to make the best of your material

Make sure everything you want to show is big enough and clear enough

  • A4 paper is too small, unless there is very little on the piece of paper and what is there is very clear
  • for any size of paper, avoid putting too much on a single piece of paper - use another sheet instead
  • if you produce documents, graphs, diagrams, etc on a computer, use at least 20-point bold font
  • if you produce things by hand, look at 20-point font, and make sure your writing is at least this big
  • use thick black lines - ordinary pens won't show up over the videoconference, nor will light colours
  • if you use colour, use pens which are a good contrast (eg. not yellow or red on white)
  • pictures/text on a white background may not show up if there is too much glare from the white paper when seen by the camera

Make sure everything you want to show can be pinned or stuck to a board or flipchart

  • pieces of paper which move around are difficult to see over the videoconference
  • so having a student holding up a piece of paper is a poor way to show your material
  • remember, the videocamera has to readjust the image everytime something moves

Make sure students speak clearly and audibly

  • give them a chance to rehearse before the actual videoconference
  • tell them to slow down and look up if necessary
  • check sound levels in advance if possible

Using PowerPoint

  • this is a good idea if you have time to do it
  • enables you to show photos of work in progress, or work you couldn't bring with you
  • however avoid flashy presentations with a lot of movement
  • also avoid colours and backgrounds which obscure your material or don't present a good enough contrast
  • make sure each slide is clear and doesn't have too much on it
  • note points above about clarity, movement, etc