Editor advocates abandoning PowerPoint

This graphic was made on Wordle, a site that allows users to turn blocks of text into an abstract graphic. The graphic displays the words used in this article—the more often a word was used, the bigger it appears.

By Catherine Zende
zendec@mytjnow.com

The days of PowerPoint are over. Well, at least they are for me. My reliance on the linear structured, template based and conventional presentation format has essentially disappeared. 

It is partly because the program has become so overused that almost any presentation (from business to academic to vacation slides) is copied and pasted into pre-fabricated boxes. It is also because I have become too comfortable with the technology and have begun resorting to robotic repetition of paragraphs pasted on the screen.

But mainly, my desire to abandon PowerPoint stems from the fact that there are much sleeker ways of presenting the same information (and they are free!). 

There are tons of websites offering alternative presentation styles that include the accessible features of PowerPoint in innovative and interesting forms.

My absolute favorite is Prezi, cloud-based software that lets users create abstract and unique presentations that can be shared and viewed online. No more saving the file on the USB drive because it is all on the Prezi cloud.

Prezi offers you a zoomable canvas with almost no limits. You can design presentations to be linear, in a particular shape (like a cloud if you like) or in a random chaotic mess. You can create text boxes, geometric shapes or just blocks of text, then link them through a sequence that you see fit. You can create your own color palette and use unique fonts that modernize your presentation. 

The absolute best part of this site is the fact that it allows you to embed YouTube videos. No longer will you have to paste the link into a slide, open it up in a browser during your presentation and wait for it to load. 

Instead, your video is in the presentation itself and ready to go with no more leaving the screen. Prezi also allows you to move through space as you deem fit, rather than just moving laterally from left to right. Go up, down and flip around!

Another site that has captured my attention recently is known as SlideRocket. It too is a cloud software that allows you to create personalized and modern presentations. 

The main differences between Prezi and SlideRocket come in the style of creating the presentation. Prezi is a little more simple to learn, but SlideRocket has many more options for ultimate personalization. SlideRocket also gives users the chance to make their presentations into videos rather than click-by-click presentations. This trend has many advantages, one of which is the advent of the presume (but I’ll save that discussion for a later issue). 

The advantages of these presentation styles are clear: more modern appearance, no cost and a certain trendy factor. Using this technology also helps you as a presenter. You cannot paste blocks of thick, boring text so you will not be tempted to read sraight from the screen. The training wheels are gone and you have to go it alone. 

I have also found that professors approve of the transition. When everyone else is boring the class to tears with garish PowerPoint slides, you can dazzle them with something novel and worthy of an A. 

That is, if you learn how to use it.