Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.com - 1 views
www.nytimes.com/...27powerpoint.html
powerpoint technology NYTimes article tools edtech media-ed-resource technology integration
shared by Rhys Daunic on 27 Apr 10
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PowerPoint’s worst offense is not a chart like the spaghetti graphic, which was first uncovered by NBC’s Richard Engel, but rigid lists of bullet points (in, say, a presentation on a conflict’s causes) that take no account of interconnected political, economic and ethnic forces.
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behind all the PowerPoint jokes are serious concerns that the program stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making.
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“I have to make a storyboard complete with digital pictures, diagrams and text summaries on just about anything that happens,” Lieutenant Nuxoll told the Web site. “Conduct a key leader engagement? Make a storyboard. Award a microgrant? Make a storyboard.”
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the slides impart less information than a five-page paper can hold, and that they relieve the briefer of the need to polish writing to convey an analytic, persuasive point
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Sounds like the exercise has become about the tool, and the tool is meant to stand-in for someone who is putting the simplified/bulleted content in context. Powerpoint is not the enemy, it's being misused as a replacement for rigorous critical thinking around complex issues. It's a visual aide, not a complete platform for stand-alone communication.