PowerPoint is a presentation package suitable for creating electronic presentations, plus overhead transparencies, handouts, outlines and speaker notes.  

A PowerPoint presentation's main purpose is to:

• show the focus of a speaker's message in key points; and
• enhance the meaning of a presentation with multimedia, i.e. text, graphics, animations and sound. 

When used properly the use of PowerPoint can:

• increase understanding and reduce confusion;
• increase audience involvement;
• reinforce key points;
• make dull statistics come alive;
• freshen an old message; and
• give the presenter a feeling of confidence and control.

The dangers of PowerPoint presentations include overdoing the multimedia so that:

• animations, sound, colour and graphics, i.e. multimedia, overwhelm the senses;
• multimedia entertains without enhancing the message;
• the presenter focuses on the screen and looses eye contact with the audience;
• it gives too much information too quickly.

In the classroom PowerPoint can be used by:

• learners presenting their own ideas, as they learn about the topic;
• educators achieving their goal of explaining a concept or introducing a small section of  content; and 
• educators creating clear illustrations used as transparencies.