Forgive me if I am stepping on anyone’s toes by saying this, but I’ve had my share of high school teachers that have bored me to death by just reading off a powerpoint. Its so easy to agree that yes, no effective lecturer/presenter would ever do it, but it amazes me greatly how often this is done.
Powerpoint is used with so much abuse. More than just making the audience feel like the presenter can just shut up and let them read it themselves, slides have been choked with way more information than they could effectively convey. This practice implies small fonts, stretched margins and an audience itching to rush out the room.
Nevertheless, I must confess to this sin myself. I’ve known the mistakes well enough, yet when I create my own presentations, I feel almost helpless in refraining from committing them. It would be as if I were bewitched by the spirit of boring Powerpoint presentations. I knew very well what NOT to do, but I barely had an idea on what TO do.
Finding this dilemma discussed in an article on USC’s Daily Trojan (and that article is the catalyst for this entry), I was pointed towards the direction of getting to the bottom of this mess. While Powerpoint presentations allow us to be comprehensive and organized, the way these presentations are often used has created fragmented thinking. Everything is oversimplified in bullet points that the complexity, connectivity and depth of ideas are neglected. It was so hard for me to deviate from classic Powerpoint abuses because these abuses were already ingrained in the way I thought.
Powerpoint is only a symbol of a modern trend. Its problems are the same problems that occur in many forms of presentations and documents.
I am surprised by the extent to which these problems could have affected or still are affecting me. Asked a question, I would answer in short sentences, phrases or even just words that would be difficult to develop on. I would try to expand, but then I would feel that “I’ve already said it. What else is there to say?”
Before Microsoft sues me, I would like to profess that its not really the medium’s fault. of all people, I am a firm adherent of the ability of technology to alleviate human circumstance (am I not majoring in engineering?). But if Powerpoint is going to do that, we have to learn how to use it properly.
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I think that if the presenter knows how to properly use the application, then power point can be a great thing.
I've seen my fair share of power points and I know that it should be used as a guideline, and the presenter should use the bullets as the main points but elaborate off of them.
I do agree that it does make us dumber at least in the aspect of note taking, we don't really process it, we just write it down instead of paraphrasing from a lecture.
I too am also a proud Powerpoint user. Definitely agree with what Jilpooh said.
I feel that it's not really right to lay the blame on Powerpoint for "making us dumber." The program is not the one at fault. Just because it's a tool used to present ideas does not mean that if you fail to grasp the ideas, the tool failed in it's purpose. It's whoever that's presenting, whether it be your fellow classmate, teacher, or professor, that's at fault.
Powerpoint is designed to make it easier to organize and make presentations but it is as you said that it is the people themselves who continue to abuse it or in my opinion, don't take the time to completely utilize it's full capabilities. Sometimes I sit there and spend more time than I need to on one single slide -- with just playing around with the colors, the clip art, and the fonts alone.
If someone's going to make a presentation or lecture using Powerpoint, they should make the slides as effective as possible (such as adding pictures, making the slides appealing to look at, attention-grabbing, and concise which is key). If they don't take the time to do all those things, then a poor presentation results in you not learning anything -- which is seriously a shame since Powerpoint is a great program to learn from.
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"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it." -- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
I too have made powerpoint presentations which I am very proud of. Nevertheless, a culture of nasty ones has unfortunately had (or has) its effect on me.
I think a good rule of thumb would be: Write on the powerpoint things that you want your audience to simply know and memorize. But for thoughts that you want them to ponder on and analyze right then and there, it is always better to just say it. We read faster than one can talk, but talking inspires more thought.
"We read faster than one can talk, but talking inspires more thought."
True. I agree with that statement because although I love visual presentations, you're not really able to discuss them as you'd like and although I love lecture presentations, ideas can fall on deaf ears. I feel that the best presentation is the combination of the two: visualizations accompanied by stimulating talk.
Anyway nice blog entry -- it's nice to read something different like this for a change.
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"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it." -- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
The best power-point based presentation I ever saw (and it was good) was given by a student. I find myself bored to tears most of the time by them. I'd rather have a teacher lecture in a more traditional way than rely on powerpoint.
"But are not the dreams of poets and the tales of travellers notoriously false?"
H. P. Lovecraft
All of my classes are done online and I cringe every time we're instructed to create a Powerpoint presentation for a grade. The instructors tend to want so much information in the presentation that the point of a Powerpoint, or what I like to think of as the point, gets lost. Like you, I want to flee the room when a presenter regurgitates what the slides say. I also have the overwhelming urge to duck out when the slides are cramped. Having to do those exact things that I can't stand for another to do in order to make the grade drives me absolutely mad.. We tend to forget that powerpoint works best when treated as a visualization and note aid and not the sum total of a presentation... and it really doesn't help when instructors grade us by our ability to forget and cram as much information as possible into a 15 slide presentation.
And can I just say I love this post? It's so atypical of ProgressiveU posts and that's great! I enjoy the usual suspects (to an extent!), but knew and creative topics for discussion are beautiful things. :)
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~Fallon~
“What is insanity, anyway? Is it when you scream and everyone else whispers, or is it when you fight for what's right, even when everyone else thinks your wrong?” Ethergoth
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Perhaps its because the instructor would rather only barely listen to you and grade the powerpoint while reading it on his/her own time. He/she wouldn't have to stretch his memory so much in trying to recall everything you said nor have to process everything as you say it. But then, all that just isn't fair. Convenience of the grader does not/should not equal effectiveness of the presenter. You might as well type up a report, not a ppt.
Why don't you ask your instructors before presenting what they are looking for? Have them define a criteria so that when they start asking for stupid things, you can have their own criteria to point out what they are doing.
I've had a teacher that not only rewarded bad ppt's. He was actually very inconsistent. One group will overload the ppt with information and get a spectacular grade, but when the second group tries the same strategy, they get a very different grade. I had to talk to teachers regarding the matter.
Glad you like the post!
In my highschool we are taught not to read off slides.
We are forced to put key bullets and elaborate on the subject.
This minimizes the risk of causing a bore.
+mspin
Yes, those are powerpoint laws. Nevertheless, they are frequently violated. I can even remember times when it was difficult for me not to do it even though I knew it was wrong.
I've made bullet lists before, and I would expound on them- or try to- during the presentation. But if the bullet items don't naturally weave together, I can try to elaborate on each item as much as I want but still end up conveying a fragmented presentation. This usually happens when I make bullet lists first and then develop on ideas instead of brainstorming, weaving the ideas together and only then making bullet lists.