I've been looking on a quite a few Training message boards this week and there is a number of topics aimed at PowerPoint.
I will summarise my findings from the comments...
1) "Powerpoint is boring"
2) "Flipcharts are better"
3) "I would never use PowerPoint"
4) "I like to use the powerpoint as an overview only"
My own personal opinion is PowerPoint is a fantastic piece of software but 99.9% of the people who use it don't know how to.
I think it's time to stop knocking PowerPoint and start learning how to use it!
16 Responses
hear hear
you know who they say the bad workmen* always blame………
(*or workwomen)
Use of PowerPoint
Steve I thoroughly agree – I too read these comments from people who have no idea how to use PowerPoint as an interactive tool and think they may be better advised to learn how to take advantage of its features before commenting. I use PowerPoint to create interactive quizzes – treasure hunts – assessments, competitions, its essential for some of my blended learning solutions and the end results produce mini E learning packages that are not recognisable as PowerPoint – perhaps we should leave those who dont know how alone their ignorance is bliss for me!
Quizes
Blimey…so good to hear its not just me who thinks this software gets so much bad press!
Speaking of quizes I have a really good tool to make PPT quizes if anyone wants it pls message me seperately.
Trainer Bubble
About half way down the page, free downloadable PowerPoint driven games and quizzes:
http://www.trainerbubble.com/Products.aspx?Category_ID=15&Product_ID=265
Inconvenient Truth
Although not strictly PowerPoint this is probably the best example I have seen of using backdrop images (PowerPoint) to give a powerful presentation.
If you get chance to see the movie it is a Masterclass in Presenting (In my opinion)
Learn PPT
For anyone new to PowerPoint this teaching video is ideal to have on your desktop as a reminder of how to use PPT.
http://teachertrainingvideos.com/power1/index.html
poor presentation skills
Whilst not the World’s biggest MS fan I do agree that there is currently too much PowerPoint bashing. This isn’t down to a lack of PowerPoint skills more a lack of presentation skills. I’ve sat through 50 slides of bullet points punctuated by impressive, although often tenuously related, animations and clever use of other media.
Some presenters are more comfortable with a flip chart as they can rely on skills they already posses. Using Powerpoint effectively and delivering the content well requires a blend of different skills that do not come naturally to everyone.
Prezi
I see more and more people using Prezi these days.
Unfortunately, the last Prezi presentation I went to left me feeling so dizzy I had lie in a darkened room for 2hrs afterwards…!
Be warned…
http://prezi.com/
PPT vs Prezi
Totally agree with the previous comments about Powerpoint only being as good as the person that uses it. I’ve seen so many presentations where the presenter has obviously had a look through the different word art and animations and decided that if they’re there I’d better use them – all of them!
Like most things, the simpler the better.
I’ve just started to use Prezi and again it’s easy to get carried away with it, especially if the slides are moving on quite quickly, that’s when the seasickness comes in!
As with all visual aids – they are just that – aids; and should not be used as the be all and end all – they won’t do the training for you.
I’m interested in your quiz tool Steve, and I’ve sent you a message. Would love a copy. Thanks.
Sue
Death by…or alive by…
Much of the criticism is ‘death by powerpoint’ which is probably a combination of too many sides one after the other, too much reliance on that medium rather good presentational and facilitational skills, and too long without doing something else.
Used properly I think you can bring things alive with powerpoint, as you can with any visual medium. As presentational packages go it is not bad – there are better for some purposes – but its popularity comes in part from its relative usability and the fact as an MS product it is just there. Isn’t it strangley convient that it is popular when you want to use it and unpopular when you have to sit through someone elses hamfisted efforts to use it well.
Hey ho!
Graham
BBC News
BBC Evening news is a really good example of presenting information using backdrop images…all possible on PPT.
Presentations ~ PowerPoint ~ Book
Garr Reynolds has written a fascinating book on slide design and presentations:
Presentation Zen: http://www.presentationzen.com/
The approach and details of his book can be found at the above web site.
I would also recommend looking at his top ten tips slide tips for keeping on the straight and narrow of good slide design.
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html
Images
High quality images/videos usually have to be paid for but Fotolia has some free ones (requires sign up) Paid for photos are about £1 each. (I was aksed for £500 to use 1 photo from Google Images recently so £1 is good!)
http://en.fotolia.com/Info/Images/FreeImages
Not free but not expensive and really good images/videos can be found here…
Images ~ Creative Commons License ~ Flickr
Before paying for any images I’d search Flickr’s Creative Commons section and see if I can get something appropriate and quality from there.
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
PowerPoint
I use Power Point and flip charts but the area I love about PP is when designing training sessions I can utilise the ease with which the order of the slides can be changed. Even if the PP presentation is not the final core of the training I can just put headings on a slide which I feel should be included then can move them around to make it a logical order of delivery. It’s a bit like using post it notes and swapping the order.
Having sat through a presentation of 240 slides showing screenshots of a new process, definitely "Death by PowerPoint"
Death by Prezi
Interesting points raised here.
I specialise in Prezi training and design, and one thing I really try to get across to people is that Death by Prezi (motion sickness mentioned above) is much worse than Death by Ppt because it actually leaves people feeling sick.
The main reason people create Death by Prezi is because they have not taken the time to understand what Prezi is all about. Instead they've approached it with the same Ppt mind-set they have used for decades and then wonder why it spins and zooms out of control and/or just looks like a PowerPoint presentation i.e. slide after slide after boring old slide.
PowerPoint is a great tool, but thankfully for me people just want something new and Prezi seems to be it right now. I do think that in 10 years time we'll all be complaining about Death by Prezi and looking for the next new toy though. Mainly because Prezis user base is growing so fast and people are throwing presentations together.
Has anyone seen Haiku for iPad, or Videoscribe? Very exciting new presentation tools.
Russell