Last year I made a PowerPoint presentation in response to Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, ‘Slaughterhouse Five’. This was to introduce Grade 11 students to the concept of forming a key focus in response to a summer reading book.
I recently revisited the above presentation, which was saved on SlideShare and embedded in my school blog. Upon viewing it again I wryly reflected on the discrepancy between content and form: here I was, focusing on an author’s unconventional use of style and structure, without much thought to my own. Why take a linear approach to a novel which uses the very opposite structure?
So, after viewing the tutorials, signing up and having an evening of experimentation, here’s the change – from PowerPoint to Prezi:
I have yet to share the presentation with my students, so it will be interesting to see their reactions. My own analysis is that by reshaping the presentation, my choice of tool affected its content. By reconsidering the way in which I would present, I naturally sought to simplify, and thus changed its focus to be solely on Vonnegut’s unconventional structure. This then led to one of the most discussed parts of the novel, where he writes of a war movie that the protagonist sees in reverse. Appropriate to the filmic focus, Vonnegut creates a series of vivid images, all moving backwards. It therefore seemed apt to incorporate moving image corresponding to this. The flexibility of Prezi’s form allowed for much experimentation and creation; I uploaded self-created images and also used its search tool to add an image of stars and space.
So, perhaps not rethinking the design of my presentation within the framework of PowerPoint* but instead a rethinking of content and style in the unknown territory of Prezi. After laughing helplessly through Don McMillan’s Life After Death By PowerPoint, I hope he would approve.
*For reflective points on this topic, check out Garr Reynolds’ blog post, What is Good PowerPoint design?
I also enjoyed ‘Life After Death by PowerPoint’ and I think that your Prezi would please Don McMillan immensely.I really like the way you developed the structure of your presentation to match Vonnegut’s style. Do you think you will ever use PowerPoint again?
I’m glad you liked the Prezi version. I still think there is a place for linear presentations, such as PowerPoint or Keynote – and yes, I’ll definitely be using them again. While Prezi is a highly creative and flexible tool, I don’t think it’s the only way to present. Browsing online, it’s also good to see both sophisticated and rather less successful uses of Prezi. I’d ask my students to compare these before embarking on their own…
I totally agree with you that our choice of presentation tool affects the content of the presentation. I think it also affects our communication. When we need to communicate our thinking to each other, we need to consider the genres and symbol systems we use, and how those change depending on audience. I would like to know how does the communication between you and your students change when you use Prezi.
Great points, Hiromi! I will certainly return to these when I share the Prezi with the students later this school year.
I like your comment …”my choice of tool affected its content.” Every time I use Prezi, I feel like putting my arms up and going “weee.” I’m really enjoying reading about your developments and experimentations in the classroom.
Prezi presentation was very engaging and thought provoking. I found myself much more involved with the Prezi. (I also feel like I am on my toes figuring out which direction the next slide is coming from.) Did you think of Prezi right away when you wanted to re-do the presentation, or did you consider other possibilites? What is your guideline for deciding what tool to use for your presentations?
Thanks for your comment, Naho. Prezi was definitely my immediate choice when redesigning the presentation. I’ve been watching some impressive uses of it by both Middle and High students at my school and this encouraged me. I found that considering what best suits the content (such as my focus on structure in Slaughterhouse Five) is a key guideline. This is just a starting point, however: students should develop the criteria for selecting a digital tool. We often learn more from experimenting and reflecting as an ongoing process than having everything already prescribed.