Death by PowerPoint
I have found that PowerPoint is overused and presented poorly in instruction today. There are so many other ways to teach. I like to use mindmaps, discussion trees, guided worksheets, and case studies to teach my classes. By varying how I present the material, I am better able to keep the students engaged and keep the class fresh.
Patricia,
Good point about PowerPoints. They can be deadly as you have witnessed. Use them to make key points and they will hold the attention of the students much better.
Gary
I myself am not a big fan of the PowerPoint presentation. I have found that the preformatted presentations from some publishers are nothing more than the paragraphs taken from the book and slapped on a slide.
I feel the PowerPoint, if used, should touch on key ideas and terms, and that the instructor should actually engage the class in discussion and elaborate on the points shown in the slides.
I just witnessed a teaching demo where the instructor read verbatim from the PowerPoint. It was impossible to gauge the instructors knowledge when all he did was read from the slides. Also, it was difficult to stay awake for me....so imagine being a student.
Hello All,
Love the title! I am covering the chapter title that is just that tomorrow ! How funny! :)
I greatly dislike using power point.
I guess I'm just old fashioned.
I think I'm more interesting that a power point.
I move around , get loud or softer, I sing & dance& throw candy,& drop books.
When I use a power point it is distracting to my train of though.
It takes TOO long to move form slide to slide.
When the lights go off students go to sleep.
I loose attention because students think it's time to talk or text.
The students don't take notes.
Not to mention how LONG it take to create an interesting power point YUK
I can do without power point !!!!!!!!!!
Power point is very overrated, instructors should use all three learning styles when teaching to the students. For example I am a visual learner, if you just stand in front of the classroom and lecture I do not taking very much of the content.
Mr. Petersen, I felt it necessary to jump into the Powerpoint-as-a-safety-net as I started teaching. I teach a largely abstract class (Electrical), and find most of the slides useful. However, I now find myself doing my best to use the course guide as a simple road map, and use the PP only for component photos and diagrams that would take too much time to draw on the board. As I wean myself off of Powerpoint, I am seeing increased class activity and response to information. Test scores have gone up, and students have been happier. As time progresses, I expect to reduce Powerpoint to a simple instructional aid, instead of a primary teaching tool.
Very cool! I am starting to use a similar process (a Concept Map) in my design courses. Since they are beginners, I agree that some time must be spent first getting students familiar with the terminology involved, which is where PPTs can help, coupled with vocabulary lists, and other exercises.
As a new instructor I have learned to just put the main topics or ideas on the powerpoint and add diagrams and interesting pictures from newsworthy events to keep things from getting boring. In addition to the Power points, I will occasionally add in my own work experiences to relate why this topic is important for the students to learn.
Hi Deborah,
You can use the PowerPoints as they relate to the text and course content. The key is to pause often and allow the students to ask questions and have discussions. This way they won't tune out because they know they are going to have to view 50 slides filled with content before they get a chance to discuss the content.
Gary
What would you recommend for a course such as learning a software program where PowerPoints are necessary as they follow the functions students perform in the chapter?
Hi Mark,
I commend you for your creativity. This is what being an instructional delivery expert is all about. With a bit of effort you have created a high dollar set of Hydraulics cartoons that will benefit your students for years to come. Thanks for sharing with us.
Gary
I agree that PowerPoint in it's raw form can be overused, but there are some pretty neat things that you can use it for to get a technical point across.
I teach hydraulics, and my non-profit school doesn't have a lot of money to spend on a $35K trainer for my use, so I turned many of my lessons out of my textbook into animations.
I simply cut out the working parts of the pumps, valves and actuators using MS Paint and then dropped the pictures into PowerPoint where I rebuilt them using the objects and shapes feature.
I added animation to each of the objects, and wala! Hydraulics cartoons!
I have found that some material that students need to learn is best delivered by PowerPoint. What I do for my classes is make what I call "lecture notes" for my students. They need to fill in the notes as we go through the PowerPower and I also put sections on there for students to fill in things that are discussed during the PowerPoint as well. All things discussed during my class are potential exam questions, so this keeps most students engaged in discussion and focused on completing the notes.
Hi Tammy,
Instructors that use only PPs and reads the material are not educators in practice nor spirit. I feel sorry for them because they can't be happy with the interaction they have with students and the learning results.
Gary
I could not agree more! An instructor that only uses power point and generally reads or recites the information to the class is doing a great disservice to themselves and the students.
Hi Michele,
Thank you for your input on using PPs. The key is to find what works with your students and then use it. You have done that as evidenced by your success. There is no one single format that works in all classes or fits each instructional style so we need to be on the search for these methods each time we start a new class.
Gary
I use PowerPoint sparingly. The one thing I hate is an instructor that pulls up a PowerPoint that came with the book and he/she reads it word for word. How boring. But if you use a PowerPoint just as a guide and use your own experiences and relate it to the "real" world it can become a positive thing.
I agree, although I am an avid user of PP. My students like to use the PowerPoint to help direct them to the most relavent and important information- especially for testing material. I think that PowerPoint is best used in 5-10 min increments to prevent that dreaded "glazed look" in the students eyes.
I agree and myself, I don't like powerpoints. I just use them to aid in something the students are having difficulty with and I make up my own cheat sheets for them. We do a lot of drawing in class and repeat writing or verbalizing to get the content to a absorb.
