Powerpoint

Although powerpoint is an incredibly useful tool it does have some rather annoying features.  Most of these annoyances stem from people just taking the features over board.  I would not really say that anything about the program or how it functions is particualrly annoy though my experience is not extensive enough to really say that with any authority.  That being said some annoying things include when people using the typewriter effect where the text of every word comes in individually and it uses that loud typewriter tapping noise.  Also excessive use of entry animations from every which way is rather annoying like when every word or the bullet points all fly in from a different direction.  Its cute and what not but really distracts from a good presentation.  Icluding too much information on a a slide also detracts from a presetations effectivness.  Power point slides really should provide bullet notes or a kind of outline of the presentation with perhaps very important details written out so noe one misses them.  This one may just be me but I like to see all the information on the slide at once.  I dont like it when professors go bullet by bullet only showing the next point when they have finished the last.  I understand that it helps focus on the topic at hand but I just like to see the direction a lecture is going and kind of anticipate the next topic.  Finally pictures are great in a power point slide but organization is essential. I am of the opinion that simple is good when it comes to powerpoint.  Lots of different pictures on one slide can make it very difficult to understand or follow. In the end if used effectivly and kept rather simple and elegant power point is really an essential tool in education and just the general presentation of information. It certainly beats using an overhead projector like teachers used to years ago.