The Point about Power

Does form own us or do we own form? I ask this, because it seems to me that good form, no matter what that form, will not serve us well if a) we don't know what we're doing, b) what we hope to do is lacking through our preparation, c) we don't edit ourselves with expected questions and critiques and d) we ignore human creativity, innovation and good ol' American rebelliousness.

Powerpoint does limit what an individual can present, but it also helps them focus, get to the point, organize and hook a more visual audience. As a teacher, I learned that I could never assume what one's presentation skill would be and Powerpoint was a part of the learning curve. The way a presenter varies their presentation with such a tool says an enormous amount about the presenter. One thing that Tufte (2006) failed to critique in his The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching out Corrupts Withinis the atrocious habit of some presenters who print out their slides and hand them to an audience to take notes. Why do I critique this? It does the work for participants and conjures the notion, why do they need a presenter.

Tufte claims that "Powerpoint is presenter-oriented, not content-oriented, not audience-oriented, which is odd. Powerpoint is a tool. If a presentation is not content-oriented, nor audience aware, it is the fault of the presenter, not the presentation technology. A good rule of thumb I use when presenting is, "What am I going to do if my technology fails? Inevitably it will fail from time to time?" I answer this question with: I have a back up plan. I don't rely on Powerpoint to be the focus of what I'm there to say. I use Powerpoint as a prop, not as the content. Tufte may not be this creative (although his text, use of visuals, analysis and writing style was highly creative - I challenge him to put it in Powerpoint form to prove my point).

Like Tufte, I hate predictable presentations where bullets design the presenter, instead of the presenter designing the bullets. That is a presenter problem, however, and not a tool problem.

So, I agree with Don Norman (2008): http://www.jnd.org/dn.ms/in_defense_of_p.html "Bullet point slides often lead to poor talks, but the problem is with the talk, not with the tool." (2). It is a presenter problem because not all presenters present what they know well. That is why teachers must TEACH how to present well and this includes how one uses, if they choose, a technology platform such as Powerpoint.

Ian Parker (2001) http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/05/28/010528fa_fact_parker?currentPage=all quotes Clifford Nass, a professor of Sociology, as claiming that Powerpoint takes away the process. I disagree. Powerpoint and technological presentation: including blogging, building websites, using keynote, creative video, designing podcasts, etc. are a part of the process that educators must now address within their pedagogy.

Tufte, E.R. (2006). The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching out Corrupts Within,
Connecticut: Graphics Press