Pamela, how well do you know hands down the material you teach. Knowing is different from memorization of material. The interconnectivity and symbiance of learning is pure and necessary for intellegence to continue.
One of the hardest things to do is not to lean on an easier way rather than to control the process using PP as a controlled assitive device.
Often times becasue of the ease of turning something on and letting it run much like the old 16mm film projects in high school the rest of the learn was left in the air after the film had finished running and the bell rang just in time to leave for the next class not really getting anything out of the presentation other that it being a time filler.
Use what you need then set it free.
Carrie, I agree with you a lot of instructors let the CD/Video, or the DVD or power point teach the class. These are only tools to aid you in the education process. How you convey the material with the use of assitive devices can enhance the learning experience but don't become co-dependant upon a mechanical media.
You are the instructor not the machine. interact with the media, make it fun and rememberable but don't let it be what the students talk most about when they leave the class.
The world is a classroom in and of itself, place is unimportant, what is important is the message you are trying to convey. Knowledge , skill, and a little showmanship never hurts. Be bold, be bright, be entertaining but above all be true to the tenets of education.
I agree that sometimes Powerpoints can be used incorrectly. When I was a student I was always given copies of the powerpoint presentations. Most of the powerpoints had the total information on them, not just highlights. This made class very boring and unneccessary. As an instructor, I use powerpoints but try to use only key words or definitions and then elaborate what is on the slide. I still have numerous students ask for copies of my presentation-I refuse and let them know that writing down information during lecture can help them learn the material more than just reading.
Having attended many CEU courses, instructors do tend to use the PP in place of the 'workbook'. It does seem as though the PP is taking the place of the textbook, but I, as a student myself, love to have the hard copy of any material being presented.
