Articles:  “PowerPoint is Evil” by E. Tuften and Victoria Brown’s, The Power of PowerPoint:  Is it the User or the Program” 

After reading this article I realize that software programs are limiting by design because of their contrived formats which can have a negative impact on students I never realized.  On the flip side, the programs that have too many options, features, or tools, can also have a negative impact by distracting the students by the glitz instead of the content it is meant to showcase. 

I can see how programs such as PowerPoint encourage students to think differently, such as referenced in this article, to “think in bullet points.”  However, I think that in today’s society, and through other forums such as Facebook status updates and Twitter “tweets” and text messages, we are forcing our children to be more concise in their thoughts.  Sometimes that is advantageous, but sometimes it has other unintended consequences. 

I also agree with the article by Victoria Brown when she questions whose fault it is when the presentations are boring.  I agree that the software programs, PowerPoint for example, are simply tools.  They are inherently neutral and what the user creates with those tools can either have a positive or negative impact. 

Good educators will be able to determine which tools are best for which purposes and then learn how to appropriately apply them to their best ability. 

From my own experience, I have found the template formats generally helpful.  However, because I know how to reformate some templates, I can customize the slides to my personal needs.  Although I can also see Tuften’s argument that more time is spent on formatting the slides rather than on the content meant to be presented. 

From the Clouducation blog, by Anthony VonBank, there was discussion regarding using Google imaging slides instead of the PowerPoint program forcing students to not have paragraphs of data, but images that can be used to “jog their memory” as to what they are to be presenting forcing them to know their content and express it better. 

I feel that PowerPoint will not be eliminated, but as an educator, I need to know the other options and help to model for my students the appropriate use of all available tools for them, so that they know how best to select, utilize, and express their knowledge in a manner that is effective the desired audience.