The Past
PowerPoint. Funny how one word can evoke so many memories. Memories of boredom while following along as the presenter reads directly from each slide. Only to be made worse by the handout in front of you with each slide copied, eight slides per page, for future reference. Let’s face it. How often do you honestly say, “YES! We get to watch a PowerPoint!”? Does this look familiar?
PowerPoint is not all bad. It has been overused and mistreated. But, there is hope! With just a few changes in thinking, PowerPoint can become good once more.
The Present
Presentation tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides can lead to great presentations when used
carefully. The presentation should be simple and provide visuals to help the audience connect to and remember your key points. Less is more. Resources like Garr Reynolds’ Top Ten Slide Tips will lead you in the right direction to creating powerful presentations.
The Future
It’s not just enough to change the way we use PowerPoint. We must change the ways of future generations. We must pass these rules on to our students.
Just as it is important for teachers to modify our use of PowerPoint in the classroom, it is important to give students the same structure. Power points are often created by students as an option instead of writing a report. Those same power points often look just like reports with picture added in here and there. However, there are positive ways students can use presentation slides, including PowerPoint. Presentation tools offer an effective way to address the new 21st century standards of communication. Just as we learn that PowerPoint is just a tool to present key information, students can learn to identify key points to use in their presentation. One advantage to using Google slides as a presentation tool is that students can work collaboratively on a shared presentation. Students can jigsaw presentations as experts in one area, while other group members can share their expert knowledge on other slides. Everyone is given a voice, everyone has a slide to share, and shy students will have a way to refocus the attention of their audience.
PowerPoint and other presentation tools are not bad, they just need to be used properly and they can be amazing!
Resources
Reynolds, G. (2014). Top Ten Slide Tips. Retrieved from http://www.garrreynolds.com/preso-tips/design/
Overview of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/docs/answer/49008?rd=1
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