In reference to the recent experiment concerning PowerPoint, in which the silent readers retained more information and were more entertained than those who were informed both visually and audibly, I would have to say I am not surprised. Personally, I have never understood the recent PowerPoint craze. PowerPoint just seems like another good excuse on top of Google and SparkNotes for students to slack; to cut and paste and replace solid research with entertaining photos. Ironically, many teachers seem to praise it in the name of moving forward with education. When I am viewing a PowerPoint presentation I always feel as if I am getting random, disconnected phenomenon thrown at me rather than absorbing one cohesive lesson, and in the case that the PowerPoint was compiled by a student, this is usually not far from the truth. I would much prefer reading from a textbook where I would take the personal initiative in retaining the information rather than have it chopped up and fed to me in pieces via PowerPoint. Perhaps this has something to do with some sort of psychological conditioning of my brain to shut off and recline in a La-Z-Boy boy every time a screen pops up.
Now coming back to "Absolute Powerpoint" by Ian Parker I have to say my views have not changed that much. Although I definitely see the efficiency of the PowerPoint I still have to agree with the view that Parker seems to lean toward that our thoughts and actual level of thinking may be getting cut short by the bullet point format. However, since PowerPoint is obviously not going anywhere considering that Parker mentions in some social circles not arriving to a presentation with a PowerPoint is like forgetting your shoes, I think we must find a happy medium. We must take the responsibility to be prepared presenters, and not just mindlessly read word for word what is written on the slides. We have all had that teacher who insults us by reading what is right in front of our faces for an hour as if our eyeballs and brain were not able to communicate with each other. Then again, there are those teachers that can grab your attention with their knowledge to the point that you forget that there is a PowerPoint behind them. So in some ways this is just another one of those arguments in which the effectiveness all depends on the individual.
I'll comment on this, since none of my current group members have posted as of this morning.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that the bullet point format really "cutting short" levels of thinking. Utilizing bullet points is not something specific to the PowerPoint format, rather it is a good organizational tactic that can be used on or off the screen. Prior to PowerPoint, bullets were used on slides, in personal notes, etc. etc.
I do not think that making the use of something easier necessarily ensures that less thought is put into it. There is certainly that risk, but there comes that risk with every technological advancement.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in full about your claim for a "happy medium" in regards to presenting information. Yes, Power Point is extremely effective in conveying idea(s) to a large group, but it all seems so impersonal to me. We've all had those professors that create those long, drawn out Power Point lectures (with maybe a silly picture here or there to keep everyone's attention--and fails miserably)and simply rant for over an hour. In a classroom setting, a happy mixture of the two is probably the best way to communicate with others.
You have a good point about PowerPoint really cutting short presenters’ thoughts and their actual levels of thinking. It talks about that in the article, where it says how bullet points in PowerPoint presentations take away the thinking process when giving a speech. Like the professor at the end of the article, you wouldn’t be able to all of a sudden have some cool idea pop into your head if using a PowerPoint. The happy medium idea you bring up is interesting as well. Instead of substituting the thought process with bullet points, the bullet points could sort of “kick start” presenters’ minds and complement or emphasize their verbal messages.
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