Free Powerpoint Essay Example

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Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most widely used tools in the modern world. It used professionally in many industries. It is used in the education sector as well, especially in universities and colleges when lectures are being delivered. PowerPoint, often simply known as PPT, is known as the very best visual aid to a lecture. Officially, it is a slideshow presentation first developed and introduced by Microsoft. It was first introduced in the 1990 as part of the official Microsoft suite and has had immense cultural impact ever since. There are a lot of things that one can do with PPT.
PPT has had an immense cultural impact on the modern world. It has completely changed the way lectures are delivered in universities and how conferences and meetings are held in the corporate world. Supporters claim that the use of PPT allows people to save up a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent in drawing, writing and arranging mechanical typesets, blackboards or whiteboards. The ease of coming up with a PPT presentation encourages people to use visual aids and even people who would normally be discouraged by the hard work use PPT when delivering presentations. The use of PPT has made the delivery of lectures more organized and creative.
Many studies over the last couple of decades have concentrated on the effects of PPT in our society, especially on human cognition and behavior. While many studies have shown that PPT may actually help human beings evolve, other studies guarantee that a prolonged use of the software can have negative effects.
PPT is designed and used in such a way that visual cognition, as opposed to verbal information processing. People who use PPT with voiceovers are more likely to develop their visual skills along with their hearing skills. It is a commonly known fact that PPT uses movement, videos, graphs and text to dispatch with the message it hopes to send. Therefore, it forces the user to look carefully in order to grasp the message. Additionally, research has shown that when people prepare a PPT presentation, they are likely to spend over two hours doing research. This helps them learn while they are cumulating information on the subject.
Many additional studies have given readers some astounding facts about the use of PPT and its effects on the human brain. It has been proven that while learning may have suffered a setback, human beings have definitely become more creative with the help of PPT. They are more likely to initiate the creation of new projects due to the technology. In scientific terms, this is known as a cognitive surplus. Researchers say that people are all equally interested to engage in creative media – whether or not they are artists or professionals. People begin to do things because they are creative, engaging and because they want their voices to be heard. The excess brainpower is being put to good use.
However, there are many negative aspects of PPT too. Studies have concluded that, compared with the old method of explaining through speech, piece of chalk and blackboard, people are not as likely to retain what they have learnt through PPT in the long-term. When teachers delivered lectures, they impulsively drew on the board to explain things. Now, there are no free movements since everything is rigidly pre-decided. Therefore, extra explanations may never take place. Also, PPT slides tend to only give us the tip of the iceberg. Detailed research has become rare at the lower levels of education and is coming down to the top levels.
Many people believe that the use of PPT in higher education is ruining teaching. Many students have claimed that it does not require much to become a college professor these days. “All you need is a ten-year-old PPT on the relevant subject and you can just read it,”, a student from NYU reportedly claimed. (Frey, 2012). Learners have often said that most college professors do not even explain what the slides say but simply read them and leave.
It is quite obvious that while PPT has helped students, it has largely been fatal to in-depth learning. In order to bring that back, college professors must explain slides.

References

Bartsch, R. A., & Cobern, K. M. (2003). The effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations in lectures. Computers & Education, 41(1), 77-86.
Parker, I. (2001). Absolute PowerPoint. The New Yorker, 28, 76-87.
Frey, B. A., & Birnbaum, D. J. (2012). Learners' Perceptions of the Value of PowerPoint in Lectures.