Project:

Towards a Social Theory of Semiotic Technology: Exploring PowerPoint's Design and its Use in Higher Education and Corporate Settings

Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant 2009-2011
Prof TJ Van Leeuwen; Dr EN Djonov; A/Prof KL O'Halloran
University of Technology, Sydney
 
PowerPoint has become the dominant technology for designing and delivering presentations in many important settings and skills in the use of PowerPoint have become essential for professional and academic success. This study will investigate the use of PowerPoint in higher education and corporate settings in order to discover what these skills are and how the design of PowerPoint supports or hinders the achievement of a range of communicative purposes. The study will provide guidelines for evaluating and improving the design and use of PowerPoint and other, similar presentation software.