Sunday, February 6, 2011

PowerPoint, PowerPoint, PowerPoint



I had a teacher while an undergraduate that tried her hardest to use PowerPoint for her presentations.  There was one problem though...She did not know how to turn on the classroom computer.  I kid you not.  I literally had to turn the computer on for her each week and help her load her PowerPoint.  Even then the she read straight from the presentation.  We were bored out of our minds and in no way did the technology enhance our learning.  If anything her lack of skill hindered her ability to fully communicate with her students.  She was so incredibly concerned with what was on the screen to even break away from her lecture to ask students questions, or answer student's questions.  She was so zoned into the PowerPoint, I think she forgot we were in the room.
At what point does technology hinder or enhance learning.  I believe there is a very fine line that has been drawn in the sand.  From my experience, teachers either go completely overboard and bombard students with technology, or come up just short.  The first time I feel technology has been efficiently implemented has been in my current graduate level courses.  Maybe I am being too hard on teachers and over-generalizing.  The fact is, I can only go based on my experiences, and this is what I have seen thus far.  So for now, here is a link to ten things to keep in mind when creating a PowerPoint presentation: 10 Tips For Preparing A Professional Presentation.


“Last week I gave a fire safety talk (clears throat) and nobody paid any attention. It’s my own fault for using PowerPoint. PowerPoint is boring. People learn in a lot of different ways, but experience is the best teacher (lights a cigarette). Today, smoking is gonna save lives (throws cigarette into garbage can filled with paper and lighter fluid).”
Dwight Schrute, The Office, Season 5 – Episode 13, “Stress Relief”

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