PowerPoint - Spring 2009 Tuesday section
Tuesday SectionPowerPoint… Evil?
After reading the article by Tufte and listening to the NPR segment on PowerPoint, what are your reactions to the opinions expressed? Are teacher-centered uses of technology more or less effective than student-centered uses of technology?
Please click on the "comment" link below to submit your thoughts
posted by Elizabeth Langran @ 2/23/2009 06:32:00 PM
12 Comments:
I concur. PowerPoint IS evil!!!
How many dull PowerPoint presentations have I sat through? How many slides full of cheesy clip art and distracting animation? How many slides packed near to bursting with text which the presenter then proceeded to read? Who knows? As a teacher, I have been subjected to countless underdone, overdone, and poorly done PowerPoint presentations by administrators, colleagues, and students. Yes, yes, I am certain that the presenters intended for the PowerPoint presentations to enhance my experience and guide their talks. I am also certain that they did NOT intend for their PowerPoint presentations to bore me senseless, distract me, or bombard me with information. Unfortunately, that is what has frequently happened in my experience.
As an educator, the misuse/abuse of PowerPoint concerns me because it results in a very PASSIVE style of learning and teaching. The presenter/teacher reads slides, and the students sit back and watch (in the best case) or sleep or work on something else. The temptation not to pay attention seems to grow if the PowerPoint is accessible to students on-line or as a handout. Also, as they have traditionally been done, PowerPoint presentations tend to be very structured and information-driven, leaving little room for inquiry and reflection.
Throughout my years as a teacher, I have never required students to do PowerPoint presentations but have included them among the options which students have for presentations. I caution them against reading from slides, cramming slides with too much text, and overusing animation (students, in particular, believe that bells and whistles are a viable substitute for content). I explain that PowerPoint is only a tool to supplement a presentation and that interesting presentations are those which actively engage the listeners.
As I think back over my experiences as a student and a teacher, I can honestly say that I have never encountered a PowerPoint presentation which actively engaged me as a learner.
I must admit, I was initially hesitant to agree with both the article and the NPR story that PowerPoint is, in fact, evil. I have certainly made a plethora of PowerPoints over the course of my education and have always felt as if they added to my presentations or made learning easier for me. After reading this article, I must say that I now realize the aspects of PowerPoint that I thought were benefitting me, may have actually been detrimental to my learning.
PowerPoint has the tendency to place emphasis on the format of the presentation, not the content. This causes viewers to not only be distracted by the slides, but also to focus on the visual instead of the speaker. Instead of adding something to a presentation, Edward Tufte points out that a PowerPoint becomes a substitute for one. I have never thought about it in this way before, but in most circumstances, I would have to agree. The PowerPoint becomes the central focus and speaker becomes hidden by all of the graphics, colors, and bullet points.
I do agree with one of the speakers in the NPR story, who discussed how PowerPoint can be useful for some students who are particularly disorganized because it can help them to bring together thoughts and ideas in a organized fashion. I will not go so far as to say that there is NO place for PowerPoint in schools, but I certainly have changed my opinion that PowerPoint is always a positive tool.
I would have to agree with Tufte, I can't stand sitting through PowerPoint presentations. Being a teacher and also a student I have had to sit through many of them. The presentor usually just reads right from the slides, the presentations becomes quite boring. I am capable of reading, and I don't need to be read too.There is usually no interesting conversation or discussion during or after the Power Point. I don't feel engaged at all. I don't use Power Point in my class and I don't require my students to use it either. Unfortunatly, I can't think back to a Power Point that I found interesting or engaging. I can see how students who are disorganized can organize their thoughts, however Power Point becomes so boring when slide after slide is being read. I enjoy more hands on activities and getting a discussion going amoungst students.
I've never thought of PowerPoint as evil. This is actually the first time that I have ever heard anyone complain about it. A sixth grade classroom across the hall from mine recently completed PowerPoint presentations on South American countries. My students were guest viewers and ever since our visit they have been begging me, BEGGING me, to let them work on their own PowerPoint presentations. One positive aspect must surely be that above all, using this presentation format is a motivating factor for students.
While I have limited experience with PowerPoint, the Tuft article
and NPR story make me wonder about the most important point in question: Is PowerPoint a valuable resource for ALL students? Can PowerPoint be tweaked to be made more student-centered in order to reinforce higher-level thinking skills?
I agree with the end of the NPR story: PowerPoint isn't going anywhere in the near future. It has a definite place in education. Our job as educators is to determine how to use this technology resource in a way that will impact our student's education in a positive and meaningful way.
As a student, there have been times when I have wanted to run screaming from the room upon realizing that I was about to sit through yet another PowerPoint presentation. Sometimes they are incredibly boring and its use does not seem to add any value to the class and often, distracts and detracts from it. In the past, I thought it was just me. PowerPoint presentations are so common that I was starting to believe that perhaps I was just envious of the technology since I do not feel quite as comfortable with it as some of my classmates and therefore, have rarely utilized PowerPoint myself. Thus, it was with great relief and interest that I read Edward Tufte’s article “PowerPoint is Evil” in which he articulated much more eloquently my discomfort with the wide use of this program. He writes about the form taking precedence over the content of what the speaker is attempting to convey which I have found to be true and very distracting. Occasionally, I find myself reading the slides and noticing something irrelevant about them such as the font, the color or heaven forbid - a typo - while not paying attention to what is being said. Another point Tufte makes, which I had not thought about until I read this article, is the “relentless sequentiality” of the slides and how the linear nature of the program is sometimes not appropriate to the material at-hand because it is difficult to make connections several slides down the road. That being said, there are times when I really appreciate PowerPoint and these can serve as a model for me in my teaching. For example, in a Spanish language class when the professor is presenting complex content orally, having the slides outline what she is saying supports my second language learning visually. After this experience, I can see using this technique as a TESOL teacher. The NPR story, Educators Question Power Point Usage, includes comments from Tufte and others who raise similar questions about the use of this tool in the classroom. However, it does point out that according to Microsoft, it can be an “open-ended creativity tool” which I believe is true. The challenge is to find a way for students to use it in the classroom to enhance their work by adding value to it rather than replacing the opportunity to explore and discuss their learning thoroughly with beautiful, but empty bells and whistles. There is a link to an amusing spoof of PowerPoint on Dr. Langran’s resource page by Don McMillan called Life After Death by PowerPoint on YouTube that sums up some of mistakes presenters often make.
A more positive take on PowerPoint can be found in Victoria Brown’s article entitled, The Power of Power Point: Is it in the User or the Program? She reminds us that “program is only limited by our imaginations” and that PowerPoint simply delivers the content and does not produce or create it. Therefore she suggests that, in fact, this program can be exploited in creative ways that will increase learning. One of the ideas I especially liked was the use of PowerPoint to create an “electronic portfolio” as a way to showcase student work. Also, I am thinking about her ideas for using it as a tool to individualize instruction or to deliver directions to students, for example, when starting a new or complicated project. While Tufte has a point about how PowerPoint is often misused, Brown gave me a clearer picture of the positive contributions it could make to the classroom if employed thoughtfully and inventively.
Well... I have to say that no matter where you come from and no matter what you have studied in your bachelors, Power Point seems to be the instrument of choice for professors. And while reading Tufte's article I could not help remembering the so tedious and long lectures on German Literature I had, where despite the professor's amazing sense of humor, one could not help not fall asleep reading the long and tedious slides he was using in his class. Needless to say I did not learn anything in that class, except never to use Power Point as the only tool in a lecture. And yes, while I do remember the funny pictures he used, the format is the only thing that stuck with me.
And while even the 5th graders seem to know how to create a Power Point presentation, I could not help laughing remembering that part of my grade for the Educational Technology class I took in Romania was actually a Power Point presentation. :))
I vividly remember sitting through PowerPoint presentations at the office not so long ago...all of which seem to fit the "Boring" category! My experience using PowerPoint has been very minimal. After having read "PowerPoint is Evil" and listening to the broadcast, it's quite clear that people having varying opinions on this tool. I can personally say that PowerPoint is not a tool I would encourage for students to use when presenting information to the class. I feel that it discourages stimulating conversation and instead, encourages students to read off points. As a teacher I would be very careful when using such a medium and I must say it's all about how the tool is incorporated into a lesson. Just like any other form of technology, it should enhance a lesson and not replace learning. I would hesitate to use such a tool with ESL students because it doesn't model proper writing skills and most of all it doesn't promote good oral skills. Another important factor is that PowerPoint doesn't give the student an opportunity to extract conceptual learning which ESL students struggle with the most. The only way I would allow such a tool to be used by a student during a presentation would be strictly to highlight facts such as dates or places (to aid memory) or to display visual images that reinforce their topic at hand. I could see how ESL students could use such a tool as a crutch if not modeled appropriately. Another aspect I don't like about PowerPoint is that the presenter is the only active participant and the audience is basically mesmerized by fast, colorful slides. The goal is not to use a tool that ultimately replaces the structure of a good presentation. Students need to have the practice of engaging their audience, posing questions, giving eye contact, etc. in order to become better speakers and presenters. So, how teachers model their use of technology becomes how students will go about using that technology. It's important that teachers don't fall into the trap of using a medium because it simply makes their delivery of information faster - one has to envision the learning consequences for the students. The goal is to have students make connections and become innovative learners which doesn't always require the aid of technology!
After reading and listening to both sides of the debate on the merits and limits of Power Point presentations I came up with as many questions as conclusions. First, I see the value in using this technology tool to organize ideas into a clear and concise format that is visually appealing to the viewers eye. I chuckled upon hearing the NPR commentator commenting on how this style of presentation actually helps people who may have higher levels of disorganization. At times, I have fit that mold and I intuitively understood from the start that this is a way for me to clearly express ideas and support them with information that is being displayed via the help of a computer. I know the impact that can occur on people when you create a presentation that 'hooks' them. The 'hook,' in my opinion, is the extra abilities that technology affords me in my efforts to get my agenda across to the listeners. Aside from power point presentations being a way to present a topic, it also allows for the creator to insert audio, still & moving images, web links, etc.
I have done many presentations and am glad for this resource tool. That said, there is the other side of the coin. I have had countless issues that have affected my work negatively when doing these types of presentations. For example, sometimes the text in one slide will not let the creator permanently change the font. Sounds like a rather basic and simple operation to make, right? Well, sometimes there may be manufacturer software 'glitches' or actually sizing the text with the backdrop colors and 'themes' may bring its own litany of formatiing issues.
The creator of a presentation has to pay keen attention that there is a balance between content and format. Is one putting too much information that well overwhelm the audience? I have learned the hard way to keep it short and relatively simple when making these presentations. A set back that may happen, as it did for me, exists when publishing presentations online. I began a presentation that on some slides had links to moving image clips that would not open due to low wireless connection. This seems rather minor, but when you are on a 'roll,' making your points, creating a 'pace' that is aimed at engaging the viewers and then find out these image clips will not run, it kind of takes away from the presentation and may leave a negative impression upon the audience. In that regard, it is evil incarnate.
I use Google's online presentation software, so it is not even called Power Point for obvious reasons. I relish the ability I have to create these presentations wherever I may find access to the World Wide Web. Other positive factors are that I don't need to buy the software, after I publish it online, I can continually update and edit as I see fit, I can co-create with collegues who may be in different locations, and finally, use this as an instrument that is supplementary.
That is a point (pun intended) that I want to emphasize.. I view this instrument as a supplement, a buttress or aid to actual research.
In my blog, 'William's blog,' you can find two links to two presentations I published online.
Powerpoint, IS IT evil? I cannot help but feel that Microsoft’s program, Powerpoint, is getting examined under the wrong light. Both the NPR discussion and the article by Edward Tufte, “Powerpoint Is Evil”, view Powerpoint and its influence in elementary schools and the corporate world. There is a lot missing from the arguments, such as context. Tufte makes it sound as if all anybody is teaching with is Powerpoint and he ignores the diversity such a presentation can introduce to an audience. The NPR interview even has him mention some statistics such as it being helpful to only twenty percent of presenters. He does not acknowledge that, specifically in a school environment, different learning styles come into play. Teachers are faced with the task of reaching a wide audience, all of whom receive information a different way. It is here that Powerpoint can be a useful tool in presenting images, such as charts and graphs, as well as visualizing text for, as Tufte labels them, ‘the really disorganized’.
I do agree with those that think of Powerpoint as boring, but is the program at blame? Between the article and discussion, it seems to be an accepted idea that Powerpoint is introduced at grade school. What the student acquires there is all the skill they have to create a presentation. There is the rare occurrence of Powerpoint being introduced again at a higher level, so as to make the presentations appropriate. Unfortunately, for the majority of us, myself included, we are left to our own devices to make the best of what we have. I have sat through my share of dull and repetitive Powerpoints, but I have also seen some that are quite helpful. Powerpoint can provoke discussion, awaken an audience, and be captivating, as long as it is used correctly. It seems to me that Tufte is off the mark by blaming Powerpoint rather than the user.
Power Point in my opinion is a way of retelling information that has been learned. Presenters in any field can use the information they have taken in and project it to their audience. Although, this is a way of informing people using quick bullets is does away with having individuals think for themselves in depth about information because they are constantly outlining in Power Point. In addition, people that are on the receiving end of the presentation are just getting the basics of what the objective is rather than the fine details.
On the other hand I feel that this program is a good way for children to get familiar with technology along with learning how summarize information using a different media.
I thought that both pieces were very interesting. Tufte makes a compelling case ... while Powerpoint may help the presenter with the organization and coordination of his/her thoughts and material, it can be "punishing to both content and audience". In fact, I have a personal experience which validates this point. Roughly four years ago, I consulted to Rutgers University Graduate School of Management (GSM) in the area of career strategy and the job search process. This stemmed from my work in executive recruitment and career counseling. I gave a series of presentations on relevant topics. Upon reviewing the audience comments about the impact of my presentations, I learned that several students felt that the powerpoint slides were a waste of time and a detriment to the overall presentation of material. The suggestions were that the parts of my presentation where there was no alignment to a powerpoint slide were much stronger and much more interesting than the other parts that were aligned with a powerpoint slide. I had an "aha" moment. Powerpoint can often serve as a crutch that helps the presenter bring order to the presentation (i.e. "in case I forget what to say"), but used in this way, it can often hurt the deliverable ... and bring boredom for the audience.
I do love Tufte's use of the metaphor: "...The speaker, after all, is making power points with bullets to followers." So true. Having spent quite a bit of time in the corporate arena, where Powerpoint presentations proliferate on the heels of just about any initiative, I have often sat and wondered why and how communication has gotten to the point where gimmicky visuals or "data dumps" on one slide (which no one can interpret in the time that the slide is posted) are considered the norm, and in many ways, the benchmark. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone involved to take the time to simply -listen- and then ask questions. The idea of "chartjunk" is right on target. I can see that once Powerpoint and the flashiness of colors, logos, etc, becomes the intent of a presentation, rather than the worthy addition of relevant content, and the effective delivery of this material, everyone involved loses.
Tufte declares an interesting premise: "To sell a product that messes up data with such systematic intensity, Microsoft abandons any pretense of statistical integrity and reasoning." I agree with his strong tone. Given my experience, Powerpoint is now ubiquitous, yet it has not proven to add significant value, particularly fo the audience.
I do think that the NPR report buttressed Tufte's argument in interesting fashion. I agree with Shelly Turquel of MIT who stated strongly that Powerpoint is not content free. When it comes to the important implication of Powerpoint's affect on education, and the learning process within a classroom ... she sums it up quite efficiently by claiming that the ability and mindset of extracting three points from a reading might not be in the students best interest. This is the conundrum from an educational standpoint. Powerpoint can certainly be of service in a learning context, however the current strategies of supporting children to think along the lines of the framework for Powerpoint (i.e. bullet points) does not provide a long-term gain.
I enjoy that I am learning about non-linear Powerpoint in our class. I needed to expand my understanding about Powerpoint, its negatives - and its advantages, so that I would not bring the narrow-minded and hurtful application that Tufte and the NPR piece present.
I don’t know that I would go so far as to say PowerPoint is evil. Boring? – Perhaps. A good way to showcase information? – Sometimes. PowerPoint is so many times used incorrectly and at that point it is ineffective. Personally, the ways in which I have seen PowerPoint used have typically been awful. I have sat through countless boring ineffective PowerPoints that I have gotten to the point where I cringe when the presenter is queuing one up. Many times people use PowerPoint as a crutch- to help them remember what they are going to say. “Why do I need to really know what I’m talking about when I can just read from a PowerPoint?” – Because 1. you don’t really learn anything and 2. because it’s a bore for your listeners. What ever happened to good old fashioned flashcards? I hate it when presenters stand up in front of a group and read word for word what is written on their PowerPoint. I can read so what’s the point in even standing up there? I still have teachers (some great ones) that require students to include a PowerPoint in presentations even when it doesn’t enhance the presentation; the PowerPoint doesn’t bring any new insight into the presentation it’s just an extra add on. I feel like it has become standard practice for people to believe that a presentation is incomplete without a PowerPoint. Another issue with PowerPoint is some people put all of their effort into the design and graphics of a PowerPoint that they forget what they are trying to convey. Educators need to begin teaching students when and how PowerPoint can be an effective learning tool. PowerPoint is a great tool for the learner who needs the extra visual piece. PowerPoint is also effective in aiding a student organize his/her thoughts and ideas. PowerPoint is an effective tool for presenters when it highlights big ideas.
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