Powerpointless, as described by Jamie McKenzie, stretches from the academic to the business world. When PowerPointing becomes the goal in itself, any value that can be gained from technology is lost (McKenzie, 2000). My co-workers and I used to constantly use the term "Powerpointless." We would dread all day office meetings mostly because we knew it would be eight hours of listening to people drably read their slides. Ninety percent of PowerPoint presenters have no presentation skills and simply think that by reading slide after slide they are reaching their audience. Many professors fall into the same trap. They have the entire class dozing off as they struggle to "get through ALL 200 slides" they have prepared for their 60 minute session.
Whenever I enter a class, lecture, or business meeting that has a PowerPoint presentation I automatically think that the time spent will be a waste. If someone is going to stand and read me a slide show I would prefer they post it on the web, so that I do not have to waste my time in a classroom. I know that PowerPoint can be used effectively, but the sad reality is that rarely happens. The vast majority of PowerPoints are simply material cut and pasted from the web that the "creator" regurgitates for his or her extremely bored audience. I love when presenters state not to worry about taking notes because the slides will all be posted after their presentation. Do these presenters really think that anyone is going to go and review their boring slide show? If the presenter could not engage me for an hour in the classroom, or office it is highly unlikely that I will flip through all of their slides during my free time.
PowerPoint, if used correctly, can be a beneficial tool in the classroom. Jamie McKenzie makes several suggestions for how to teach students to correctly use PowerPoint. He suggests modeling examples of exemplary presentations, providing rubrics to clarify expectations and emphasizing ideas and logic. In order to create meaningful PowerPoint presentations students need consider their audience and plan their presentations accordingly. McKenzie also stresses eliminating distracting Flash and mindless Clip Art as both of these tools do not offer added value.
When students present PowerPoint in front of the class they must remember to bring other visuals and deliver their presentations dramatically. Effective speakers maintain eye contact, avoid reading slides aloud and speak with conviction. These are characteristics of an eloquent speaker with, or without PowerPoint. As a future teacher it is my job to stop the Powerpointless cycle. PowerPoint presentations could be a valuable asset to students, but first teachers need to teach and model presentation skills. The same presentation skills are necessary with, or without the aid of PowerPoint. If the mindless cycle of Powerpointlessness continues presentation skills will fall further and further by the wayside. What a shame because presentation skills are one function that cannot effectively be fully taken over by technology!
McKinzie, J. (2000, September). Scoring power points. From Now On - The
Educational Technology Journal, 10(1), Retrieved from
http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html#anchor2
Bravo, Caroline!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you went to one seminar too many. But I do appreciate your experienced overview of what needs to happen in a presentation. I think if more presenters read your blog BEFORE creating the powerpoint, then more of us would be spared the Powerpointless-ness!!
Pam
Caroline,
ReplyDeleteIf you liked the presentation would you go look at it posted on the web? Although I have had my fair share of sitting in the audience while a presenter kills us with powerpoint, I am thankful when it is a good one. I like to have a good reference to cut and paste from -- I mean to be inspired by!
As you noted from the article a rubric helps keep students on the right track. If we tell them right away the limits on how many slides and talking points to use; we just might save an audience!
Dena
For my last presentation in another class about a month ago, I was really nervous about looking professional. This presentation was a big deal. I was afraid of forgetting what I wanted to say. So I thought it would be best to manuscript my talk as much as possible. But I didn't practice it enough beforehand and got lost in my notes and changing slides. It was too much confusion in the moment and I got flustered with the technology and myself. Afterward, I realized that I would have done much better to practice a lot more and not be so dependent on notes. I knew that material a lot better than I gave myself credit for and what I thought was going to be a helpful crutch turned into a frustrating hindrance. Live and learn. :)
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