PowerPoint and other forms of slide presentations can be effective teaching tools. They offer a number of advantages over previous methods of writing on a board or using overhead transparencies. Some practical advantages are easy to point out. Because of their digital nature, slideshows are easy to manipulate and change if needed. They also provide a compact and portable way of storing teaching materials. Even so, the advantages provided by slide presentations depends a great deal on our ability to effectively use the creation tools to develop rich, interactive multimedia that follows the rules of good design. Bartsch and Cobern (2003) point out that, “The effectiveness of PowerPoint and other multimedia presentation may depend on the complexity of the presentation” (p. 78).
If we do not follow the “rules” of good design we can potentially undermine any advantages that might be provided by the use of slide presentations. Slideshow creation software offers a number of unique tools and features. The features must be used thoughtfully and carefully in order to produce a quality product. In her article, Collins (2004) explains that, “inappropriate use of PowerPoint features can substantially degrade the quality of a presentation” (p. 1177). Poor design can be distracting and detrimental to the learning process.
Finally, digital slideshows offer a distinct advantage in the fact that online content and other interactive materials can be linked directly in the presentation. This allows the instructor to prepare useful resources ahead of time and have them readily available during the presentation. Students can see examples and build connections immediately when the information is presented.
References
Bartsch, R. A., & Cobern, K. M. (2003). Effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures. Computers & Education, 41(1), 77-86.
Collins, J. (2004). Education Techniques for Lifelong Learning Making a PowerPoint Presentation1. Radiographics, 24(4), 1177-1183.
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