Analyzing Kosslyn's Clear and to the Point with NETS Standards

The first chapter of Clear and to the Point by Stephen M. Kosslyn meets several of the NETS standards for teachers. The eight principles attached to Kosslyn’s goals of connecting with the audience, directing and holding attention, and promoting understanding and memory are recognized in the NETS standards.

Beginning with standard one, teachers are required to use their knowledge of subject matter to facilitate student learning in a format that utilizes both face to face and virtual environments. PowerPoint presentations can do this by bringing together a body of information in a format that can make learning interactive as well as informative. By meeting this standard, teachers meet Kosslyn’s first goal of effective PowerPoint use by connecting with the audience through language, displays, and concepts that show knowledge of the subject matter (Kosslyn, 5).

Standard two can be met in the opportunity for teachers to design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning. This standard falls under Kosslyn’s second goal of directing and holding audience attention, by modeling the principals of salience and perceptual organization. Students learn that presenting information that draws attention to the information rather than background, and visual and audio effects guides and holds audience attention. The perks of the PowerPoint program can be fun and innovative tools, but knowing how to use them appropriately is the key to effective presentations.

Standard three can also be connected with the goals and principals that Kosslyn outlines in his book. met when teachers model the use of PowerPoint as a means to effectively utilize digital tools locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. This standard meets Kosslyn’s third goal which is to promote understanding and memory. Gathering and synthesizing information in a format that makes the “form compatible with the meaning” helps the audience to understand and retain the information that is being presented (Kosslyn, 9).