I was speaking to colleagues in Colorado about the proper use of powerpoint in the classroom. When done correctly powerpoint presentations can greatly enhance your discussion. I don't know how I ever lived without it. Unfortunately most of the powerpoints that you see are boring, lame and take away from the presentation.
The New York Times recently published an article about how the U.S. Army is now eschewing powerpoint because they think over reliance on the platform muddies thinking and confuses issues. An infamous slide (shown above) from an army briefing in Afghanistan reportedly had our commanding General saying "when we understand that slide, we'll have won the war."
I follow several rules in my presentations. I borrowed some of these rules from the 10/20/30 rule of powerpoint. No more than 10 slides, 20 minutes and no less than 30 font. Every one of my slides has a picture, photograph, chart or map...some type of helpful graphic. I use very little special effects...no machine gun bulleting letters on the screen or whirling titles. I keep the bullets short and simple...they're simply to spark discussion.
Unfortunately, even many of the university lectures I've attended in the recent past violate most of these rules...and their ppts come off lame. Here are two good articles about good powerpoint presentations...
