Pecha Kucha, an alternative format for presentations

My students and I have been exploring an interesting format for presentations, called Pecha Kucha (pronounced peh-cha ku-cha...but said really fast). The basic format is 20 slides/images, 20 seconds per slide/image (so, just under 7 minutes per presentation). Developed by two architects (see the Wikipedia entry for more background and links to useful resources) as a way to structure presentations of architectural designs in an efficient and non-detrimental-to-the-message way, Pecha Kucha is gaining in popularity. So, what is it exactly? For a few online examples of Pecha Kucha, see Daniel Pink's YouTube video on the topic of emotionally intelligent signage, Ginny Brady's Vimeo video on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Dean Shareski's example for his students. Dean's stands out for me because I like that he is asking students follow the Pecha Kucha format for their reflections at the end of the course (his example serves as a model for the students). For examples of live, on-stage Pecha Kucha presentations, see Jeremy Fuksa's Facebook presentation at a Pecha Kucha Night in Kansas City, and Glasgow's Pecha Kucha Night (Note: adult content, view at your own risk).

For examples of the format in action during face-to-face sessions, search YouTube...there are several examples, although not really one that stands out for me as an exemplar. Why? Because there seems to be a tendency with the format for presenters to simply talk faster in order to say as much as possible in 20 seconds...instead of allowing the image up on the screen to speak for itself with limited commentary. It doesn't seem that folks use silence to their advantage (or music, for that matter), to allow the audience to process, reflect on, and explore an intellectual and emotional connection with the image (and this seems like a big loss because I perceive the format as a way to encourage us to present stronger visual images, instead of relying on our spoken words...). And, it seems a useful structure for storytelling...and I don't see a lot of great examples of its use in that arena (not that they're not out there). Another thing I have noticed is that it seems that the structure discourages presenters from more actively engaging the audience, and discourages them from using the physical space (many examples simply show the presenter standing rigid to the side of the screen, talking quickly). My final observation has been that given the intentional informality of a Pecha Kucha session, presenters seem to stutter, utter many "ummms" and "ands" and run out of time. Informality shouldn't replace the need for preparation...or the presenter's message is fuddled or lost.

My students and I are exploring all of these aspects, and are in the process of creating some examples that might end up inspiring others to check out Pecha Kucha. Once we have something to share, I will be sure to post them in this blog. [Also, another instructional use I am considering -- so will keep you posted -- is providing students with a set of 20 images. Then, having each of them do their own Pecha Kucha presentation with that set of images. They can change the image order, say what they want, add a soundtrack, etc. (And, may I could allow them to change out up to five of the 20 images with something else, or add elements to the existing images.) I think it would be fascinating to see how different -- or similar -- each student's presentation ends up.]

A suggestion if this post has encouraged you to look into Pecha Kucha. Instead of only relying on online videos of Pecha Kucha in action, see if there is a Pecha Kucha Night in your area. I recently attended Pecha Kucha Night in Denver, and found the experience insightful in terms of understanding how the format plays out. I also enjoyed connecting in a live, physical space with like-minded practitioners...all interested in design and creative expression.

Note: Also see my short article in PerformanceXpress on the topic.

The essence of good storytelling

For me, storytelling is everything. When I pull it off and do it well, it helps me achieve so much as an educator -- engaging learners, establishing social presence, illustrating relevance, encouraging connections between theory and practice, holding attention, having fun, being in community, and so on. It is the key to connecting, to making sense of the world, to contributing to the world. To be a good educator, in my humble opinion, one has to be a great storyteller.

All of us have had people who contributed to our educational, professional, and personal journeys through storytelling. The person who most influenced my love of storytelling as a vehicle for connecting and educating is my father, Ray Dunlap. He was always telling stories (and jokes...humor is an important aspect of storytelling too). Ray died in June 2008. Luckily, I have one of his stories to share here, as an example of good storytelling. It illustrates what stories can accomplish (the laundry list above) with little fanfare. A good story works, even without a big media production to support it. Share your stories with others, it makes a difference.

Thank you, Ray, for sharing your stories.

Presentation on social presence in online courses

I delivered this presentation in May 2008 at the CU Online Symposium. A number of the strategies I share during the presentation are described in more detail throughout the blog. [Note: As stated in other posts, I struggle with delivering presentations in conference and conference-like settings because I do not use PowerPoint or other presentation software well. I recently completed a workshop offered by Edward Tufte...the future -- on the presentation front -- looks brighter, but I'm not making any promises about improvement.]

Presentation description: Enhancing social presence in online courses Because of the critical role that social presence plays in inspirational and meaningful learning, online courses need to include opportunities for rich and relevant learning opportunities that (1) create a sense of learning community in which learners learn from each other and from the teacher, (2) encourage the sharing of multiple perspectives, and (3) promote high quality work through collaboration and peer review – without creating an instructional situation in which everyone is online constantly. In this presentation, we examine various instructional strategies that can be used to accomplish an appropriate level of social presence in online courses.

Web link (sorry, I couldn't make the embedded video work): http://video.cudenver.edu/departments/CUOnline/symposium_08/Enhancingsocialpresenceinonlinecourses.wmv

Presentation slides: Social Presence

My legal separation from PowerPoint (and other presentation software tools)

This is a follow-up to my earlier post on how Bullet points make me crazy...and is in response to three separate incidents that happened today:

• To paraphrase a colleague, who was reflecting on our recent collective endeavors to create presentations in support of various workshops, "I am not impressed with our creative use of PowerPoint lately."
  
  
• A question from a student, "Why do you avoid using PowerPoint?...I get the sense that you have [specific] reasons...."
  
  
• I have to submit a PowerPoint presentation to go along with a webcast I am participating in. The original talk, with presentation stack, was an hour long. The webcast will be 25 minutes long. My first reaction to the need to edit the stack was, "Oh, no, not this again...why do they need a PowerPoint slideshow anyway? Can't I just talk?..."
  

As a mentioned before, I am horrible with this category of tools. Here's a little background on my thoughts at a more general level (as opposed to the Joni-is-lousy-at-this level).

Presentation software, such as PowerPoint, has increasingly received criticism with regard to its misuse and overuse. For example, Edward Tufte, a leading expert on the visual representation of data and a vocal opponent of PowerPoint, compares PowerPoint to a prescription drug whose side effects “induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication” (Tufte, 2003, para 1). Although harshly stated, it is hard to argue with Tufte’s assessment of PowerPoint’s limitations; we have all sat through presentations that he could use as exemplars of his point, as illustrated by these choice comments:

Heard during a training-session break, One-hundred and thirty-one slides?!? What is this, death by PowerPoint? Can’t we just skip the presentation and get to what really matters?

Read on an evaluation form, We could have just read the slides ourselves. What a waste of time.

Seen on a mailroom bulletin board, PowerPoint doesn’t bore people, people bore people.

So, even if someone hasn't posted a critical critique of my lack of PowerPoint prowess on a mailroom bulletin board (or in her or his blog), I have a realistic view of my abilities with this tool, and know that I have been guilty of misusing and overusing presentation software.

I am a good-intentioned educator who knows what good teaching looks like and is up-to-speed on current learning theory. Yet time and time-again, I was turning to presentation software as a means for delivering the bulk of my training/workshop (although not course/classroom, thank goodness) content. If asked why, I would point to:

• Time constraints – when you have limited time to cover a topic, presentation software can help you present the material quickly and succinctly, and can help you make sure you address all of the points you want to cover
  
  
• Development efficiency – presentation software is easy to use and learn how to use; once you have built a presentation, it is easy to repurpose and reuse slides for a new presentation; once you create the slideshow, you automatically can also produce a handout for the audience and a script for yourself
  
  
• Transferability – PowerPoint is everywhere, on every computer, so you don’t have to worry about technology support issues during delivery or when distributing to others
  
  
• Professional credibility – the audience does not perceive you as an expert unless you have prepared a technology-enhanced presentation
  
  
• Audience expectations – the audience is accustomed to the structure of a presentation slideshow, having experienced so many of them; if you are delivering a presentation, the audience expects you to support what you are saying with a slideshow (and expects a handout of the slides)
  

What is interesting to note is that my list does not include any mention of meeting crucial instructional outcomes, such as creating an interactive, engaging learning experience that supports learning and goal achievement. Given this disconnect between my reasons for using presentation software, what I want to accomplish instructionally during a presentation, my students’ seemingly universal dislike of PowerPoint-driven presentations, and my already well-established ineffective use of Powerpoint, I have excised (as much a possible) PowerPoint from my repertoire. This is not to say that I have given up, quite the contrary. I am constantly looking for better ways to deliver presentations without relying on PowerPoint, and I collect good examples of presentation stacks in the hope that I can change.

So, for the moment, PowerPoint and I are legally separated...not divorced. There is certainly a chance for reconciliation...maybe.

Side note: If you have a chance to see people like David Wiley or Stephen Downes present, you will see good examples of interesting speeches effectively supported with presentation software. In the meantime, here are a few examples of stacks I think work (all from Slideshare, a good resource for finding presentation-design inspiration):

And, for a fun example of the misuse of PowerPoint, please see the Gettysburg Powerpoint slideshow (and be sure to read the "making of" backstory).

Creating digital stories with VoiceThread

I have a couple of different posts about digital stories and digital storytelling in this blog. The first digital story I ever created -- to help enhance my teacher presence in my online courses (see Storytelling for presence) -- was done using Premiere, which is a fantastic tool. I have also experimented with iMovie and FinalCut, also great tools. But, the issue I come back to over and over is how long it takes to create a final product with those tools. I am an impatient person when it comes to technology.

When I have students create digital stories, I am mostly interested in the stories themselves, and the way the students have pulled together words and still or video images (and even music) to express their point of view or idea. And, although learning to use the tools mentioned above is helpful if they are going to use those tools with regularity for professional and personal endeavors, if the focus of their work with me is on self-expression through the articulation and sharing ideas and perspectives, I want them to use tools that allow them to achieve that goal with as little plug-into-the-wall technical effort as possible.

In my previous post about Flickr, I shared a digital story created in Flickr called Her first word. In the example below, I used VoiceThread for the same story, for comparison purposes.


Keeping in mind I already had the photos and text for the story in Flickr (and VoiceThread allows you to easily import your photos from Flickr, your computer, Facebook, and so on; or import documents from Word, PowerPoint, pdf, and so on), I was able to create this digital story in less than 10 minutes using my Mac with its internal microphone (the voice track would be a lot smoother with an external microphone -- like a headset -- but the quality is still good).

Other things I really like about VoiceThread is that I can use it to create how-to videos, showing students how to set up a blog or change setting in Moodle; the video doodle feature is especially useful for this. Another creative use is to have students share a design (for example, my students design websites and web pages) and then use the voice track to explain why they have made certain design decisions, or to share their work on a math problem and use the voice track to explain their work.

Another great feature is that you can have students share their work and ideas, and then other students -- or you, as the instructor -- can make their own text or audio comments. [Note: When you create a voicethread, you can choose to make it publicly accessible, or you can just make it available to a subset of folks you select. In this way, you can just involve your students in voicethread sharing and commenting, and not have to worry about moderating external commenting.] So, this is a great way to provide feedback on students' papers.

VoiceThread allows folks to create three voicethreads for free. If you decide you like the tool enough to use it frequently, you can pay a minimal annual fee.

Now, what do you lose if using a tool like this instead of Premiere, FinalCut, iMovie and the like? You lose all of the great editing tools and multitracking functionality those tools provide that help you create a professional quality product. For example, in the VoiceThread digital story I share here, I am not able to add a separate music track, or to do fade ins and outs with the images, or edit the audio (I can delete the audio and start again). All of those are incredibly useful features, and if I am creating a digital story or product that I know has a longer shelf life and a wider audience (e.g., beyond a single course or presentation), it is worth the time and effort to use those tools. But, for so much of my work or what I ask students to create and share, I prefer that our time and effort be spent on the content instead of the technology.

Bottom line, check out VoiceThread if you are looking for an easy way for you and your students to share stories, ideas, work, instructions, and so on.


Related posts in this blog:
Storytelling for presence
Flickr photo sets

Bullet points make me crazy

PowerPoint/Keynote (presentation software, in general) makes me crazy. I am a classic user and abuser -- bulleted slide after bulleted slide...YAWN. So, now, I try very hard to avoid building slideshows to support presentations and use alternatives instead (handouts, flipcharts, photos, etc.). But, I still end up occasionally using it, and not very well when I do (there are a couple of examples in this blog related to my AECT presentations...again, YAWN).

It turns out that I am not alone in my feelings about PowerPoint/Keynote/etc. These tools -- specifically the overuse and misuse of them -- make some folks down-right angry! My instructional goal, however, is not to have people discontinue using these tools, but to use them wisely and creatively (don't do what I do!). Here are a couple of "presentations" I use to launch discussions about how we should use presentation tools. I find that these clips help us begin to explore ways to effectively communicate via these tools, and encourage us to use a critical eye when creating presentation slideshows. [As an aside, I really like the message shared via the "Death By PowerPoint" slideshow, but I believe communicating the message with 61 slides violates effective use.]

Related posts in this blog:
My legal separation from PowerPoint (and other presentation software tools)