preview

Microsoft Powerpoint

Good Essays

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system. The current versions are Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010 for Windows and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.
History
Originally designed for the Macintosh computers, the initial release was called "Presenter", developed by Dennis Austin[not in citation given] and Thomas Rudkin[not in citation given] of Forethought, Inc.[1] In 1987, it was renamed to "PowerPoint" due to problems with trademarks, the idea for the name coming from Robert Gaskins.[2] In August of the same year, …show more content…

There are no compelling results to prove or disprove that PowerPoint is more effective for learner retention than traditional presentation methods.[9] The effect on audiences of poor PowerPoint presentations has been described as PowerPoint hell.
[edit]Criticism
Although PowerPoint has the aforementioned benefits, some argue that PowerPoint has negatively impacted society. The terms "Death by PowerPoint" and "PowerPoint Hell" refer to the poor use of the software. Many large companies and branches of the government use PowerPoint as a way to brief employees on important issues that they must make decisions about. Opponents of PowerPoint argue that reducing complex issues to bulleted points is detrimental to the decision making process; in other words, because the amount of information in a presentation must be condensed, viewing a PowerPoint presentation does not give one enough detailed information to make a truly informed decision.
A frequently cited example is Edward Tufte's analysis of PowerPoint slides prepared for briefing NASA officials concerning possible damage to the Space Shuttle Columbia during its final launch.[10] Tufte argues that the slides, prepared by the Boeing Corporation, had the effect of oversimplifying the situation, and provided false assurance that the ultimately fatal damage to the shuttle was only minimal. Tufte argued:
 The most critical

Get Access