The Power of PowerPoint

I use PowerPoint. My friends use PowerPoint. AND my teachers use PowerPoint. Everyone does! The thing I never thought about before is how PowerPoint owns the presentation market. In Ian Parker's article, Absolute PowerPoint: Can a Software Package Edit Our Thoughts, he drew up some thought-provoking conclusions which makes me reevaluate how I feel about PowerPoint.

Parker talks about how PowerPoint takes away the conversational nature of a lecture or presentation. While the positive side effects of PowerPoint - like having a physical outline, preparation - exist, I now feel that PowerPoint is overused.

The example that resonated the most with me was the two examples about the teachers. The first talked about a teacher who lost the extemporaneous nature of his lectures. Clifford Nass said before PowerPoint, his lectures had a basic skeleton, but were open to change and evolve as his mind thought of new thoughts, like relating something to the Wizard of Oz. In his post-PowerPoint world, he says if he would have randomly brought up Wizard of Oz, his students would immediately forget the example - there was no slide on that thought.

The second example discussed a teacher who eliminated a very interesting book from the syllabus simply because its nature was not conducive to PowerPoint. I can't imagine! Taking off a really great read - potentially something that could impact the students - solely because its theory isn't PowerPoint-friendly.

I do use PowerPoint myself, and I find it to be a stress-reliever for in class presentations and more interactive; however, I hope that teachers never abandon the details and effectiveness of spontaneous in class lectures.