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[englitprof]

Would you generally consider it a frivolous use of technology to use Powerpoint slides primarily to display quotations during a job talk?  It seems like it could be handy (though I'll bring along paper copies as well in case of malfunction), but I do remember attending one job talk in which the candidate simply projected titles for the individual sections of the talk, which I thought was lame.  It occurs to me that if the SC has to go to any trouble to set up the equipment for me and I don't do anything exciting with it they might be miffed, so maybe I've answered my own question...

They do want someone who is proficient with instructional technology, but then again, the course syllabi I'll be taking along with me should demonstrate this, too.

[crazybatlady]

Is there a reason you don't want to just use a handout?

[losemygrip]

Nothing worse than a lame Powerpoint that does nothing but provide the written text of what the person is saying.  For some reason people in many of the social sciences feel compelled to do this.

Skip it unless you're showing something that can only be presented visually.

[mrhistory]

I have to admit, I'd be snickering afterward. If you find it useful for us to have the text while you dissect it (which I often do myself) then go low-tech and use handouts.  Less strain on you if things go awry---and they will if you come to my school.  The SC and dept will be happier too. Setting that up in the conference room we have is a challenge.  (And also: Frank won't be muttering about "that damned PowerPoint" during and after your lecture. Seems that it is the Devil's Tool. Or, has been since his post-tenure reviewer recommended it as "a standard tool of the lecture hall")

Overkill and a stress producer in my opinion.

[crazybatlady]

Another thing, englitprof, is that us English folks like to write on things--especially quotes from texts--so that we can participate in the analysis.

Equally as important, perhaps, is that a good handout goes in your folder to be looked at again later, whereas a good powerpoint presentation just goes home with you.

cbl

[dr_crankypants]

I agree that there's no point in using powerpoint--or technology more generally--if it's something that could just as easily be done without it.  I used powerpoint for images--and other things that I couldn't do easily otherwise.  Powerpoint itself is a relatively easy technology; you're proving nothing if you just use it for quotations.  It might even look as if you lack technological imagination.  Everyone I know who has used powerpoint well in a job talk used it for images, maps, etc..., and not simply text. 

[endy70]

I guess I'm in the minority. I straddle Soc Sci and Humanities with my research. I wouldn't imagine NOT using some kind of PP-like tool for any talk. Not only for quotes, but for key points of my presentation. I think those who don't like PP just haven't seen how to use it well. It is a challenge to use it to support the talk not to do the talk for you. It's easy to let the visual aspect get in the way of what you're saying. But if you can do it right, it can make all the difference, I think.

[sirrah]

I use powerpoint and show quotes on it and have gotten a good response (I'm in social sciences).  I don't give out handouts of my interview quotes for the same reason I don't give students copies of my notes--I'm afraid the audience will be too busy reading through all the quotes to pay attention to what I'm saying.  I like to get them with eye contact.  But I could see if you were in English and dissecting a particular poem, passage, etc. that you could just go with handouts and eschew powerpoint. 

[yellowtractor]

It's a dicey question.  I totally agree with losemygrip--I've seen many candidates lose ground by decorating their job talks with lame, incompetent, and/or unnecessary PowerPoint presentations.

Of couse, such a presentation done well, and contributing something that (say) simple handouts would not, is great.

I remember going to a job talk once where the candidate did, in fact, use PowerPoint simply to put quotations up on the screen.  Which quotations he also read to us, and included on a handout!  Both the faculty and the students present felt condescended to.  Myself, all I could think of was the Monty Python sketch in which "THE LARCH" keeps reprising.

[mrhistory]

It's a dicey question.  I totally agree with losemygrip--I've seen many candidates lose ground by decorating their job talks with lame, incompetent, and/or unnecessary PowerPoint presentations.

Of couse, such a presentation done well, and contributing something that (say) simple handouts would not, is great.

I remember going to a job talk once where the candidate did, in fact, use PowerPoint simply to put quotations up on the screen.  Which quotations he also read to us, and included on a handout!  Both the faculty and the students present felt condescended to.  Myself, all I could think of was the Monty Python sketch in which "THE LARCH" keeps reprising.

I'll leave social sciences to those who know---in the Humanities when its a quote, in general we'd rather have the handout and give you the "eye contact" at other moments.  Unless, of course, it is part of your hypnosis treatment to get the job. That's entirely different but do plant the subconscious meme to make sure we *love* the powerpoint quotes. Otherwise? we won't.

[zinnia]

What about if you have numerous things to present visually, which would mean multiple xeroxed handouts? Is this "lame" too, or a convenience for the candidate (or SC) who then wouldn't need to xerox a lot of material for an unknown number sitting in on the talk?

[mrhistory]

What about if you have numerous things to present visually, which would mean multiple xeroxed handouts? Is this "lame" too, or a convenience for the candidate (or SC) who then wouldn't need to xerox a lot of material for an unknown number sitting in on the talk?

Well, they it might make sense to PP.  I'm talking about some short quoted text.  Visuals are different.

[dr_crankypants]

What about if you have numerous things to present visually, which would mean multiple xeroxed handouts? Is this "lame" too, or a convenience for the candidate (or SC) who then wouldn't need to xerox a lot of material for an unknown number sitting in on the talk?

That's a pretty different case.  What I would caution against is using powerpoint only to put up a few pieces of text.  If powerpoint serves an important purpose, like presenting images, then it's a great thing to use.  (I use it in my large lecture classes.  But a couple of text-only slides?  Why bother?  My point is only that we shouldn't use powerpoint just for the sake of using it, or when using it provides no real advantage.  Using powerpoint poorly does nothing for you.  (And, for job searches, I'm always cautious about it.  I don't want my job talk to depend on the success or failure of technology.  If my class doesn't go as well because of a tech failure, no biggie.  But a tech failure in a job talk is a much bigger problem, if for no other reason that it seems to severely rattle an already over nervous candidate.)

[englitprof]

Okay, okay--you guys are mostly confirming my gut instinct not to bother with the Powerpoint.  The main reason I've been waffling on this is the nature of the presentation itself, which is a research/teaching philosophy combo.  I'm still trying to figure out what that's going to look like--if this were just a  straight-up research talk, I'd be set, but this hybrid thing is a new beast for me.  The kinds of things I'd normally do with technology in the classroom don't seem to lend themselves well to this, but if I use up a whole lot of prep time trying to figure out how to bring tech in to the detriment of the talk itself, that can't be a good thing.

Probably another reason why I'm struggling with this a bit is that, for the most part, the teaching I've been doing at my current institution does not coincide with my research (one of the reason I want to leave, in fact), so it's hard to come up with specific examples to draw on.