I have never been a huge fan of PowerPoint. I think they are tedious and they tend to make the presenter look less intelligent. I never really felt as strongly as Edward Tufte, but I can definitely see where he is coming from. When someone presents to you a PowerPoint, especially in a scholastic setting, they typically read word for word what they already wrote on the slide, this annoys me greatly. It makes me feel quite stupid and doesn’t do too much good for them either. It makes them look like they have no idea what they’re talking about.
I don’t like them because my mind doesn’t really work well that way. When information is related, I wouldn’t put it on a separate page, and that’s basically what PowerPoint is, a bunch of pages with minimal information.
I can see why they came about and how they are good. It gets information organized (not very well according to Tufte). It’s a crutch while giving a presentation to a large group so you don’t forget what you’re talking about. Also when presenting certain things I think they could lend themselves better. Something chronological would be more acceptable, but there is probably still something a little better.
Thougtful post, Melanie.
ReplyDelete>>but there is probably still something a little better. <<
Have you ever seen Prezi? It's a mash-up of information, less linear than PPoint. Not sure if that's a good thing for you - or even worse.