Presentation Tools

The TTC can provide help to faculty who need guidance with presentation tools such as PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Docs, or Prezi. (The Library at UC San Francisco has a good comparison of different PowerPoint alternatives.) Of course, what matters is not the tool but the content and way it’s presented.

Lynda.com also has excellent coverage of these technologies.

The use of slideware (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) has become slightly controversial with Edward Tufte’s devastating critique entitled the “Cognitive Style of PowerPoint.” However, the use of slides can enhance oral presentations if it does not become a distraction or a crutch for the presenter. For an insightful rebuttal of Tufte and a guide to successful slide presentations, see Jean-Luc Doumond’s essay, “Slides Are Not All Evil.”