PowerPoint is an excellent, relatively simple-to-use presentation graphics software package installed on most teleclassroom computers.  But presentation graphics (like PowerPoint) have to be prepared differently for video delivery than for delivery over a computer screen. Here are some suggestions to make your presentation graphics look better for both video and computer delivery:

• Colors. Stick to basic colors. Avoid highly saturated hues. In other words, use deep, rich colors, and not pastels. You will also find that subtle differences in color shading often can't be distinguished on video monitors. Moreover, you have absolutely no guarantee that the color adjustments on the distant (remote) classroom monitors will be properly set; therefore, the colors you select may well show up as different colors at the remote sites. We also recommend that you experiment with colors, as the colors on the video monitors may appear quite differently from the colors you see on your computer monitor. This is especially true with reds and oranges.
• Fonts. Try to use sans serif fonts (examples: Geneva, Helvetica, Arial, Monaco) for all important text. Fonts with serifs (examples: Courier, New York, Palatino, Times) add contrast but should be restricted to titles because they are more difficult to read, especially on a video monitor. 
• Font sizes. Use 36- to 48-point fonts for titles and 24 to 36 point fonts for body text; 18 point fonts should be the absolute minimum and used sparingly. The figure below provides a comparison of font sizes. None of the text in the example appears is in bold.
• Amount of text. A related question is how much information to include in a graphic to be viewed on a television screen. We recommend the Six-by-Six Rule: Six words per line; six lines per slide.  This means you'd have about 25-30 characters per line. More text than this leads to overcrowding and makes the screen difficult to read. Each line in the graphic should make a specific point.
• General layout: Try to think "balance" as you prepare your graphics. Use an inverted pyramid shape for the titles. Always left-align bullets. Place graphics to the right of text. And be consistent.

PowerPoint slide with good general layout for teleteaching.

Click on the links below, then click "save to desktop" if a dialogue box pops up, and download these optimized PowerPoint templates for your distance learning instructors:
Teleclassroom_Blue.ppt
Teleclassroom_Green.ppt

In this video, Iowa State University's instructional design specialist Allan Schmidt introduces you to a few simple rules to develop good distance education presentation graphics:

View the Camtasia Flash Movie: Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations (21:19)

(This movie requires the Flash 6 plugin for your browser. If you do not have it you can download it from Macromedia http://www.macromedia.com/)

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