Reason #3: Why PowerPoint Lost Its Power

It's a lazy late May and the curriculum specialist does her damnedest to cajole us into caring about the presentation.  However, I find myself dozing off after a few minutes.  I have three options for paying attention to the information: I can listen to the speaker read each slide verbatim, I can read each slide from across the room or I can read the thumbnail-sized slides and take notes on the three lines to the right of the slides.

I'm not entirely against a well-constructed slideshow presentation.  I can see value in adding visuals, emphasizing a few key points and presenting information in an image-bound medium.   I am, however, against the trifecta of PowerPoint flaws.  These include comic sans font, the incessant use of clip art and the inclusion of entire paragraphs on one slide.

Solutions

• If presenters want to go text-based, why not choose a better format like a blog post?  This would allow people to leave comments and ask questions.
• If teachers need to read a presentation, a better solution might be to read it at their own pace, at a closer distance. So, e-mail it or publish it as a Google Document.
• If we're going to integrate technology, we need to consider allowing teachers to use the technology for their own learning.  Whether it's a video, podcast, concept map or blog, it seems more powerful to have teachers use these tools for their own learning than to experience them passively.
• Before thinking of PowerPoint, ask whether or not it's really the best medium for the message. Do these concepts need additional visuals? Does the professional development need to be presenter-directed?  The medium itself seems to push people toward an entertainment mindset and a lecture format.