SECTION II
DIGITAL RESOURCES
Communication in Our Lives is designed to support diverse instructional approaches to the basic
course in speech communication. This section is designed to help you identify, use, and
incorporate multimedia resources and new technologies into your course. There are resources
here for both novice and advanced instructors, including guidelines for using the technologies
and supplements that accompany the book, some of which include the PowerPoint lectures,
Cognero® computerized testing, MindTap for Communication in Our Lives, and videos in
the Speech Video Library. Many of these resources are available online through the book’s
MindTap or the single sign-in page.
Learning Tools:
Outline Builder. Outline Builder is integrated in the MindTap learning path and guides students
through the speech organization and outlining process. The program also provides links to video
YouSeeU. YouSeeU is an online video upload and grading program that improves the learning
comprehension of public speaking students. Students can upload video files or live-capture
practice speeches, and instructors can live-capture final performances. Students can also
Speech Video Library. The videos in this library include the communication scenarios or
student speeches featured at the end of each chapter under the Experiencing Communication in
Our Lives Case Study feature. There are also suggestions for using these videos with relevant
course topics throughout Section IV.
Resources for Instructors. The Instructor Companion Website provides many resources,
USING THE POWERPOINT LECTURE PRESENTATIONS
PowerPoint presentations can be very useful as a way to efficiently provide large quantities of
information in a short period of time. Used appropriately, presentational software programs can
generate instructional materials that visually reinforce concepts and help students visualize
relationships between ideas.
Please feel free to edit the presentations we’ve provided to suit your particular instructional
purposes. You may decide that the slides we provide are too much or not enough for your
lectures—or you may cover additional topics that you wish to add to a chapter. Or, perhaps you
Despite its convenience and attractiveness, it is important to keep in mind that using PowerPoint
presentations can significantly decrease the dialogue and interaction in your classroom. Using
PowerPoint lectures on a consistent basis as the main instructional resource reinforces a mono
logic “banking model” of education—that is, students are encouraged to think that knowledge
and learning is simply transmitted or deposited from the teacher to the student, who passively
soaks it up. This instructional method doesn’t fully support the idea that knowledge and learning
Another issue to keep in mind when using PowerPoint is to monitor the amount of information
you put on a slide. If you put too much information on the slides, the students will be so busy
writing that they won’t listen to your presentation or respond to questions. It is important to
follow standard guidelines for presentational aids when using PowerPoint as a lecture tool (see
PowerPoint as presentational/visual aid for speeches: Obviously, PowerPoint is a useful
means to provide dynamic and professional visual support to presentations and speeches. If you
have the equipment in your classroom, you can make PowerPoint part of the speech exercise
itself, by requiring its use. However, you will need to specify for students the difference between
a PowerPoint presentation/slide show and PowerPoint as a visual aid for speeches. Be very clear
about your expectations in this regard; otherwise, you will find yourself listening to and
watching a lot of very boring slide shows that do nothing more than click through a visual
outline.
What is the difference between using PowerPoint as a presentation/slide show or a visual aid?
necessarily need a human narrator, and often it can be designed to run on its own from beginning
to end. Presentations serve as the central foci rather than as supplemental materials for public
communication. Presentations tend to contain both written text and images and little oral text.
A visual aid, however, is only a supplement to the speech and speaker—and not the main focus
of the communication or the main source of information. Instead, the speaker and his or her
While both uses of PowerPoint are appropriate to different public communication contexts and
goals, it is important to note the differences and to provide clear instructions about which method
you expect them to use and master in your course.
You might discuss with students the following problems and advantages of using PowerPoint.
Problems Using PowerPoint: What to Avoid in the Future
2. Too much text is always bad—but especially if it is a repetition of what you are saying. If
you need to include text, use key words and phrases.
4. Too many different fonts, colors, images, and or background styles is overwhelming.
6. Students tend to talk to their slides and not the audience—limits eye contact.
7. Sometimes the equipment fails—and if your speech is totally dependent on the slides,
then you’re sunk.
Advantages to Using PowerPoint: Why It’s Better Than Poster Boards and Overheads
2. It looks professional and credible (if you use consistent fonts, colors, and backgrounds).
4. You can include video clips, pictures, and sound bites easily, and this eliminates the need
to have and to manage several different types of equipment.
6. It’s much easier to carry across campus, and it doesn’t get ruined when it rains!