We often think that putting a presentation together is a cinch. Just find some content, put together a few images, select a decent template, and there you have it! But is it really what makes a presentation good?
No, A presentation is not about simply creating a sequence of slides. It is about exploring the topic, understanding what information is relevant, collecting and structuring our thoughts, and communicating them in a way our audience can understand. And now, when there is Artificial Intelligence involved, things get even more exciting!
AI is slowly becoming a do-it-all friend in our lives in many different ways: how we learn, how we work, how we approach a problem. From uncovering new information and insights to generating images, it has provided us with a bunch of new perspectives that we could not easily get to just a few years ago. There's a difference between using the technology and using it well. This is where the AI PPT competitions come in. They provide students an opportunity to explore a subject, experiment with concepts, and showcase their insights - not just rehash facts they read in textbooks. And because of this, the Biyani Girls College organised a classroom-level AI PPT Competition.
AI and the Future of Learning
Recall the time we used to work on presentations – the countless hours spent trying to research and compile data and then thinking about how we're going to put it all together? These days, AI can make the process easier.
But that doesn't mean students can just relax and not put in effort. In fact, knowing a topic is more important now. Yes, AI can give us suggestions and recommend steps or ideas, but at the end of the day, it is us to check what’s correct and make the decision.
When Information Becomes a Presentation
Now, on to presentation. Yes, presentations are used pretty much everywhere, from classrooms to offices. Why? Because they simply give us a way to present the information visually, more easily and clearly.
But this is where it gets tricky: a good presentation isn't simply stuffing in all our information onto our slides. As a matter of fact, a little too much information can overwhelm the audience and sometimes become counterproductive. So, the question is, what information needs to be shared, and how can we make it more accessible to our audience?
The design of the slides – which includes the pictures, colours, fonts and the slide layout – matters too! Often, a simple slide filled with actual content and information is much more powerful than one filled with some random details, and this is where it gets exciting because creating a slide using proper content allows structure and creativity.
The AI PPT Competition at the College served as an opportunity to explore this creative process of making a PPT. The competition was at the class level and was conducted across various departments, including Education, Commerce and Management, and IT. The students participated in pairs, which allowed them to work together and present their ideas in front of the class.
The Learning That Happens Along the Way
Sometimes we only focus on the final results: Who came 1 st ? Which team was better?
But there’s another side of the competition that is much more important than the results: the learning students get while preparing for it.
It's not as easy as it sounds; gathering information is more than merely collecting information from 2 websites. It involves understanding the topic, reading about it, highlighting the important points and then deciding what to include in the slides.
The research process requires students to critically analyse the material.
And then there's organising the content. Every presentation needs a sequence-a way to build from the first point into the next and so on. Students have to decide what comes first, what needs explanation, which image goes with the content, and where the placement of the diagram should be. Each of those choices improves their skills in organisation.
Also, the creative aspect of things. Not all presentations need to follow the same design. The presentation of information can make a huge difference. By combining images, layouts, and text, students learn how design and communication relate to each other.
And of course, giving a presentation in front of a group. It's a whole other learning experience. Presenting can be intimidating if students haven't done it before. All they need are some of these opportunities that allow them to practice expressing and communicating their ideas in front of others and become more confident.
Why Working Together Matters
What made the contest even more exciting was that students participated in pairs. And working together with another person can sometimes be challenging.
The two could have different ideas for the presentation, or different thoughts about what should be put in. They need to share ideas, discuss what should go in, make decisions, and split up the responsibilities.
This is one of the most valuable learning experiences. No matter what field you are in, it is impossible to be on your own. You must interact with other people, think about all the different perspectives, and work on achieving a task together. A seemingly small classroom activity is training for doing exactly that.
It's not always just about the subject matter. Sometimes, it's about knowing how to work as part of a team, how to take on responsibility and where to look for help.
AI Is a Tool, Not a Thinking Replacement
But remember-there's another thing about AI we shouldn't forget: If something can spit out information in seconds, that doesn't mean all the information it produces is correct.
AI can definitely reduce some of the workload, but it can also provide wrong information or leave out important bits. Students need to get used to double-checking what they use rather than taking every answer being taken at face value.
And there is an even bigger difference between understanding a subject through AI and relying on it to do the hard work. If students copy a tool’s output without understanding it, the purpose of learning is lost.
The idea should be to use technology as a help, as a tool to look at what is possible, to help organise your information, to help you gain a little extra time, but the decisions must still be made by the human and not a machine.
More Than Just the Winning Positions
There are always winners in every competition, and it's nice to acknowledge those who excelled. The class level rounds saw our students winning first, second and third places in their respective classes, and that deserves appreciation.
But should we think of measuring the whole experience only in terms of the final rankings? I don't.
For some students, participating may have been an opportunity to explore the topic further, but for others it may have been a chance to improve presentation skills and learn something new.
And you know, what makes a presentation meaningful? It isn't simply the competition, but rather the experience that goes along with it.
Preparing a presentation, discussing it with a teammate, making decisions, and finally presenting in front of a group allow students to learn beyond just making slides.
That's the point: these processes encourage students to get involved and to learn by trial and error.
The Real Value is Outside the Slides
Yes, the technology is changing, and because of this, new AI tools will keep on coming. But one thing that will remain important will be our ability to think independently and communicate our ideas. In the end, a presentation is more than what's on the screen; It's what’s behind it: the efforts that go into creating it and the confidence with which an idea is presented.
Author
Ms. Nidhi Sharma
Student
Biyani Group of Colleges, Jaipur
