OTHER MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003 PROGRAMS

As well as the programs we've focused on here (Outlook, Word and OneNote), our distribution of Microsoft Office 2003 includes Access, PowerPoint, Excel, InfoPath and Publisher. Within this list, PowerPoint and Excel are worth a look.

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the mostly widely used tools in the Microsoft Office suite and certainly the most widely used software package for creating slides and digital slide presentations. The following is a link to the Microsoft PowerPoint site which contains additional information, add-ins and updates:

http://office.microsoft.com/home/office.aspx?assetid=FX01085797.

PowerPoint has its strengths and weaknesses for use in the classroom – or any presentation setting. I find it the quintessential lecturing tool. Creating a PowerPoint presentation makes me concentrate on the hierarchy of information I want to convey. What is most important and what is of lesser importance. It can be used to illustrate complex concepts and interactions. When it is presented, a PowerPoint presentation focuses all the attention at the front of the room and steps the entire class (or group) through the material exactly in sequence. It provides a record of what I (the lecturer) said and can be used as a study aid for review of this material because it can be reproduced precisely as it was presented.

Similarly, when it is used poorly, it highlights everything that could possibly be wrong with lecturing as a presentation method or a particularly poor presenter. It is unidimensional and has a homogeneous corporate-speak “voice.” Those using it poorly tend to read every slide leaving assumptions unspoken and unanalyzed and critical relationships unillustrated. With lights lowered, a poor PowerPoint presentation is like receiving a lobotomy with your eyes open.

The following three links provide some critical context on PowerPoint use. The first, Absolute PowerPoint (pdf) by Ian Parker originally appeared in The New Yorker and discusses the history of PowerPoint and its current use. The second, Learning to Love PowerPoint (doc) describes David Byrne's multimedia art project in which he attempts to use PowerPoint to create art. And the third, PowerPoint is Evil (doc) by Edward Tufte is a summary of a longer piece from his website in which he describes everything that might be wrong with PowerPoint as a teaching tool.

Microsoft Excel is a spread sheet program used to manipulate numeric (or text) data. At its most rudimentary it can replace a hand calculator and many people use it in this way. Additional information is available at: