Doing the Decades:
Group Investigations in Twentieth Century U. S. History

Multimedia Presentation Requirements

In addition to General Project Requirements, a multimedia presentation should conform to the following criteria.

Content:

1. Answer all investigative questions about group themes in the final presentation.

2. Use a minimum of 10 secondary and 15 primary sources in each individual's research. The 15 primary sources must be represented in the final presentation, along with documentation of a sampling of the secondary sources.

3. Use a minimum of 10 American Memory primary sources in the final presentation.

4. Hand in a complete works cited list for each individual's section of the presentation on the day of the final presentation.

5. Sources gathered from electronic media (Internet, CD-ROMs, online databases, computer software, videotape, audiotape) must be cited. For Internet sources (photos, maps, audio recordings, documents, movies), use Citing Electronic Sources, Learning Page, Library of Congress.

6. Content must represent accurate information from the time period of your investigation.

7. A multimedia presentation should use a minimum of 10 slides per person.  Each slide should contain both text and graphics, the balance depending upon the purpose of the slide to inform the audience as you answer your investigative questions about your selected theme. Citations should be included in the text component of your slide.

8. Narration of multimedia presentations should not involve reading from the screen.  The presentation of visuals, audio and other multimedia is intended to serve as evidence and/or highlights of the narration provided by the group.

Design:

1. Make font styles and sizes easy to read from the rear of the room.

2. Create good contrast between background colors and text.

3. Illustrations, photos, and graphics should be understandable, appropriate and easy to read from the rear of the room.

4. The presentation should reflect clear organization and synchronization with narration.

5. Audio and video excerpts should be employed as illustrative sources, not as narration.

6. Utilize creativity in design:  avoid clutter, unreadable text, and poor use of color combintations.

7. Buttons and arrows, if present, should be highly visible, clearly labeled and functional.  Establish color contrast and use readable sizes and effective placement.