Beyond Slideware: How a Free-form Presentation Medium Stimulates Free-form Thinking in the Classroom

We investigate how presentation in a free-form medium stimulates free-form thinking and discussion in the classroom. Most classroom presentations utilize slideware (e.g. PowerPoint). Yet, slides add intrusive segregations that obstruct the flow of information. In contrast, in a free-form medium of presentation , content is not separated into rigid slide compartments. Instead, it is visually arranged and transformed in a continuous space. We develop a case study that investigates student experiences authoring, presenting, viewing, and discussing free-form presentations in a graduate seminar class. We analyze interviews, present a sampling of student presentations, and develop findings: free-form presentation stimulates free-form thinking, spontaneous discussion, and emergent ideation.