It's all meaningless! Vanities of Vanities! So says the the author of Ecclesiates (probably King Solomon). Solomon, however, ends that thought that it's all meaningless unless (something greater - God) is involved. In a different light, I think Jamie McKenzie is saying a similar thing about powerpoints in her article http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html Here's why.
Miss Mckenzie makes a case that power points are tools that are used in a boring fashion. They are so common in meetings and boardrooms that they, in effect, immunize the listener from grasping real ideas. Critical thinking, which should play a significant role (80%), in presentations tend to be dumbed down in line item bullet points. People walk away from such meeting with glossed over concepts of what the author was really trying to say.
Having sat through seminar after seminar, I wholeheartedly agree with Miss McKenzie. Oh my goodness how there seems to be so much time spent in bullet points and blue screens. The funny thing is that I can remember the constant droning of the powerpoint but I can nary remember what any speaker or even the subject was saying. Bullet point power points scream techno unsavvy.
So how can we avoid the blue screen of death? Miss McKenzie is full of rich ideas. Many of which I had not considered. For instance, she speaks of stressing ideas and logic with a better multimedia emphasis. Give credence to critical review and thought by the listener. Instead of bullets, provide backup facts in an inviting way. We should strive for earnest, probing investigations. We must avoid Mentalsoftness. She also recommends the use of Rubrics. However, having just learned about rubrics only 2 months prior, my feelings about their use is still under consideration. They seem to be somewhat limiting.
Designing artfully, Miss McKenzie mentions avoiding distractions. This is a big issue with PP's. Just when you are getting sleepily comfortable with one monolithic bluescreen, the speaker interrupts your dozing by clicking to the next blue slide. I think Jamie would agree that distractions must be minimized but if necessary, made to emphasis deeper mateial.
Being an dramatist when delivering your PP goes without saying. Still, Miss Mckenzie makes a point worth mentioning in that we should NOT read the slides. I'm falling asleep thinking about all the times presenters do just that.
What then shall we take away from Powerpointlessness in relation to teaching in the classroom? 3 things: 1) Don't be boring 2) Be thoughtful 3) Use Technology to achieve the first two. Or as Solomon might have said. Power point is vanity - without something truly behind it.
(As a side note - I laughed when I saw Miss McKenzie's blue screen bullet point on the first page - exactly what she is telling us to avoid.)
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I like the way you summarized McKenzie's article. I think I would add to your list that for a powerpoint presentation to be effective the presenter must have superior knowledge of what is being presented and that the subject must matter to him or her. I really liked that McKenzie challenged presenters to seek to inform and convince listeners of something. So often powerpoints are used simply to share facts. We need to share facts as a means to teach something deeper.
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