Alternatives to the Traditional Slideshow
Most academic slide shows are dreary affairs. Our students might as well be writing "I will not think outside the box" on the blackboard 100 times.
Imagine a conference in which every presenter spoke for exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Is it heaven, or is it a pecha-kucha night? That would leave a lot of room for conference attendees to, you know, confer. (Wired offers a good intro to pecha-kucha, and an example.)
The inventors of the concept have trademarked it, which I confess is a bit of a downer for me; nevertheless, the slideshow genre needs this kind of creativity. The inventors are architects, so it makes sense that their style emphasizes quality images that are worth looking at for 20 seconds. Larry Lessig, a lawyer, has a very different presentation style, which can involve a hundred slides or more, but each slide might only contain a few words; he cycles through them rapidly as he's talking.
Then, of course, there's comedian Don McMillan's spoof of over-designed slideshows.
Imagine a conference in which every presenter spoke for exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Is it heaven, or is it a pecha-kucha night? That would leave a lot of room for conference attendees to, you know, confer. (Wired offers a good intro to pecha-kucha, and an example.)
The inventors of the concept have trademarked it, which I confess is a bit of a downer for me; nevertheless, the slideshow genre needs this kind of creativity. The inventors are architects, so it makes sense that their style emphasizes quality images that are worth looking at for 20 seconds. Larry Lessig, a lawyer, has a very different presentation style, which can involve a hundred slides or more, but each slide might only contain a few words; he cycles through them rapidly as he's talking.
Then, of course, there's comedian Don McMillan's spoof of over-designed slideshows.
3 Comments
Leave a comment
Recent Related Entries
Two-Year in HellInside Higher Ed goes to hell.Job Listing #666. University of Hell at Seventh Circle. Visiting Assistant Professor, two years (with possibility of converting to tenure-track position at culmination of two-year appointment). Beginning September 2009. Teaching load of forty-three courses per...
Go Ahead, Steal My Car
The Chronicle Review ponders the effects of Grand Theft Auto IV:You need to be honest with yourself. Go outside and find a locked car -- or go to the back alley where missile launchers hover in a glowing light waiting for...
Hypertext '08: One-Minute Poster Presentations
I don't attend many science/technology conferences, so the genre of the one-minute poster presentations is brand new to me. The genre is akin to the haiku or flash fiction -- it's a research paper bared down to the bones. Flash...
The Kindergarchy
As long as those pesky neighborhood kids stay off of Joseph Epstein's lawn, the rest of us can read his Weekly Standard essay about the generation gap in education. I went to a Catholic high school, where I figured out...
The War on Photography
Schneier on Security:Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any...

QuerĂa comunicarte que has sido premiado con el "Thinking Blogger Award"
que se otorga a los blogs que tienen la capacidad de hacer pensar. Puedes recoger tu premio en:
http://eltaodeinternet.blogspot.com/2007/09/thinking-blogger-awards.html
I want to tell you, this blog has won the "Thinking Blogger Award". It goes to blogs which make us thinking
http://eltaodeinternet.blogspot.com/2007/09/thinking-blogger-awards.html
Laura
Thanks, Laura. I'm happy to be in such good company.
Love the powerpoint spoof! And, congratulations!