The range of teaching aids includes: whiteboards
slides
flip charts
Blackboard or WebCT
diagrams
PowerPoint
pictures
video cassettes/DVDs
overhead transparencies
audio cassettes
When designing the structure and content of a lesson, remember to consider all the activities in the lesson and all the possible means of assisting learning. Using a variety of teaching aids helps to maintain student interest.
Preparation A well designed aid should:
promote perception
promote understanding
help reinforce the spoken word
aid memory retention through repetition – but repetition through a different medium
motivate and arouse interest through requiring students to use different senses to learn
make effective use of the teaching time available to learn
Visual aids should be: simple – do not crowd information onto the page or screen to the point, and well related to the lesson plan interesting and attractive. Checklist of good practice for the preparation of overhead transparencies. Remember that overheads should not transmit all the information students need, but be a basis for reminding you of the main points of your presentation and aid students in structuring their notes:
keep design and layout simple – use no more than six bullet points
use one topic for each transparency
use a main heading and subheadings
use simple words or keywords rather than sentences
use upper and lower case
use a sans serif font such as Arial or Comic Sans – they are easier to read
keep lines left justified with a ragged right edge
if you are using colour do not use yellow or light green – they do not show well at the back of a large lecture theatre
use wider spacing between sentences and paragraphs
depending on the size of the room in which you will be using the transparency, the type size should be at least 18 point, preferably 24 point, and some commentators even recommend 30 point
use no more than two font sizes
avoid acronyms and abbreviations
limit use of punctuation marks
For students with dyslexia, colour visual impairments and other visual difficulties there are further recommendations:
be aware of background and foreground colour combinations, as some are very difficult to distinguish for those with visual impairments
do not use colour to convey meaning, as some students may have visual difficulties, for example, colour blindness for red and green
for students with dyslexia ensure that the layout of each slide is easy to understand if inserting a diagram, graph, complex table etc