5130: Slide:ology

I just finished the first half of Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology and must admit that as much as Edward Tufte depressed me about PowerPoint, I feel that encouraged about it now. Not just PowerPoint, but visual presentations in general. I believe there is a lot to be said for giving learners information in several different ways, but these ways have to be used appropriately to be effective.

I read that Nancy chose the title Slide:ology because the word “ideology” is embedded in it. I thought that was very clever and makes sense with what her book presents. She takes the approach that it is not difficult to improve a presentation. It may take a lot more time, but it can be done. With lots of brainstorming and simplifying, a presenter can reach his audience much better.

There are a couple of things that stood out in the reading. She says on page 78 that “Too often, information loses its impact- and presenters risk losing their audiences- because it isn’t expressed as effectively as it could be.” I think this was Tufte’s main point, but I like how Nancy puts it in a way that does not altogether throw out a medium as a presentation tool. Another was "taking more time to think through a concept can yield clearer meaning" (p. 60). If I process all the way through a concept, chances are I will be better able to present it clearly.

So now I am in the process of figuring out what to do for the next big assignment to show I “get it.” The idea is to make a slide presentation that speaks for itself and actually teaches something (rather than just gives information). There are several topics I am exploring using and want to make something that I can pass on to my students at school. The big idea is to cause an attitude change. To make them want to do something after seeing the presentation. It is more than taking information and throwing it on a bunch of slides. I want to use the design techniques Nancy Duarte talks about, combined with what I’ve learned about cognition and psychology, and really make a presentation that stands out and stands on its own.

Nancy Duarte herself sounds like a very interesting person. Here is a quick link to a blog that contains an interview with Duarte about the book: http://fyi.oreilly.com/2008/08/nancy-duarte-on-slideology.html. And from www.duarte.com, regarding Nancy: “I’m a conquistador who liberates the undiscovered, sets boundaries for safe play, and builds fortresses where dreams can be realized. I create, protect, and conquer the future with extreme respect and reverence for the past.”