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Incomputing, apresentation program (also calledpresentation software) is asoftware package used to display information in the form of aslide show. It has three major functions:[1]
Presentation software can be viewed[by whom?] as enabling a functionally-specific category ofelectronic media, with its own distinct culture and practices as compared to traditional presentation media (such asblackboards,whiteboards andflip charts).
Presentations in this mode of delivery have become pervasive in many aspects ofbusiness communication, especially inbusiness planning, as well as inacademic-conference andprofessional conference settings, and in theknowledge economy generally, where ideas are a primary workoutput. Presentations may also feature prominently in political settings, especially inworkplace politics, where persuasion is a central determinant of group outcomes.[citation needed]
Most modern meeting-rooms andconference halls are configured to include presentation electronics, such asprojectors suitable for displayingpresentation slides, often driven by the presenter's ownlaptop, under direct control of the presentation program used to develop the presentation. Often a presenter will present a lecture using the slides as a visual aid both for the presenter (to track the lecture's coverage) and for the audience (especially when an audience member mishears or misunderstands the verbal component).
Generally in presentations, the visual material is considered[by whom?] supplemental to a strong aural presentation that accompanies the slide show, but in many cases, such asstatistical graphics, it can be difficult to convey essential information other than by visual means; additionally, a well-designedinfographic can be extremely effective in a way that words are not. Endemic over-reliance on slides with lowinformation density and with a poor accompanying lecture has given presentation software a negative reputation as sometimes functioning as a crutch for the poorly informed or the poorly prepared.
Using Autographix andDicomed, it became quite easy[dubious –discuss] to make last-minute changes compared to traditional typesetting and pasteup. It was also a lot easier to produce a large number of slides in a small amount of time. However, these workstations also required skilled operators, and a single workstation represented an investment of $50,000 to $200,000 (in 1979 dollars).
In the mid-1980s developments in the world of computers changed the way presentations were created. Inexpensive, specialized applications now made it possible for anyone with a PC to create professional-looking presentation graphics.
Originally these programs were used to generate 35 mm slides, to be presented using aslide projector. As these programs became more common in the late 1980s several companies set up services[2] that would accept the shows ondiskette and create slides using afilm recorder or printtransparencies. In the 1990s dedicatedLCD-based screens that could be placed on the projectors started to replace the transparencies, and by the early 2000s they had almost all been replaced byvideo projectors.[citation needed]
The first commercial computer software specifically intended for creating WYSIWYG presentations was developed atHewlett-Packard in 1979 and calledBRUNO and later HP-Draw. The first microcomputer-based presentation software was Cromemco's Slidemaster, developed byJohn F. Dunn and released byCromemco in 1981.[3][4][5] The first software displaying a presentation on a personal computer screen wasVCN ExecuVision, developed in 1982. This program allowed users to choose from a library of images to accompany the text of their presentation.Harvard Graphics was introduced forMS-DOS andLotus Freelance Graphics was introduced for DOS andOS/2 in 1986.PowerPoint was introduced for theMacintosh computer in 1987.[6]
The first web-based presentation program was called ThinkFree Show, it launched in 2001 as part of theThinkFree Office suite.[7] Another web-based presentation program called Google Docs Presentations was introduced a few years later in 2007, it later becameGoogle Slides.[8]
A presentation program is supposed to help both the speaker with an easier access to his ideas and the participants with visual information which complements the talk.There are many different types of presentations including professional (work-related), education, entertainment, and for general communication. Presentation programs can either supplement or replace the use of older visual-aid technology, such aspamphlets, handouts, chalkboards, flip charts, posters, slides and overhead transparencies. Text, graphics, movies, and other objects are positioned on individual pages or "slides" or "foils"[citation needed]. The "slide" analogy is a reference to theslide projector, a device that has become somewhatobsolete due to the use of presentation software. Slides can be printed, or (more usually) displayed on-screen and navigated through at the command of the presenter. An entire presentation can be saved in video format.[9] The slides can also be saved as images of anyimage file formats for any future reference.[10] Transitions between slides can be animated in a variety of ways, as can the emergence of elements on a slide itself. Typically a presentation has many constraints and the most important being the limited time to present consistent information.
Many presentation programs come with pre-designed images (clip art) and/or have the ability to import graphic images. Some tools also have the ability to search and import images fromFlickr orGoogle directly from the tool. Custom graphics can also be created in other programs such asAdobe Photoshop orGIMP and then exported. The concept ofclip art originated with the image library that came as a complement withVCN ExecuVision, beginning in 1983.
With the growth ofdigital photography andvideo, many programs that handle these types of media also include presentation functions for displaying them in a similar "slide show" format, for exampleiPhoto. These programs allow groups of digital photos to be displayed in a slide show with options such as selecting transitions, choosing whether or not the show stops at the end or continues to loop, and including music to accompany the photos.
Similar to programmingextensions for anoperating system orweb browser, "add ons" orplugins for presentation programs can be used to enhance their capabilities.
Apps can enable a smartphone to be a remote control[11] for slideshow presentations, including slide previews, speaker notes, timer, stop watch, pointer, going directly to a given slide, blank screen and more. Presentation programs also offer an interactive integrated hardware element designed to engage an audience (e.g.audience response systems,second screen applications) or facilitate presentations across different geographical locations through the internet (e.g.web conferencing).[12] Hardware devices such aslaser pointers andinteractive whiteboards can ease the job of a live presenter .
As of 2007, MSPowerPoint has become the dominant presentation tool because it is both readily available and easy for instructors to use (Grabe & Grabe 2007).[13] It allows instructors to create and manipulate presentations in a wide variety of contexts that can enhance student’s interest and engagement (Mills & Roblyer, 2006).[14] In addition, it helps instructors clearly identify the main points of a topic or activity while still providing the details through presentation (Loisel & Galer, 2004).[15] Instructors can incorporate multiple types of media formats (e.g., diagram, photo, drawing, sound and video) that cannot be easily integrated together into one single medium. PowerPoint also provides graphical, transactional, aesthetic and interactive features. PowerPoint is for use in the classroom, and needs to be paired with use of anLCD projector and large screen.
Dunn ... developed the first ever professional paint program for a microcomputer, Cromemco's "Slidemaster," released in 1981.
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