Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Technology In The Classroom
During my time as a student I have noticed that many professors (and teachers) seem to rely very heavily on powerpoint. While powerpoint is an easy way to pass on information to students, I feel that powerpoint has become the go to method for lecturing. The scariest part of this is that in the various math classes I have to take for my major (I'm looking at you chemistry and physics...) the professors prefer to read off of their powerpoint slides instead of carrying out calculations on the board. I have to say, I feel that the prevalence of technology in the classroom is actually making it harder for students to learn. When we stop actually performing the tasks, and simply talk about them, how could you possibly learn how to do anything?
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Alex, I just posted about something similar on my blog. I completely agree about powerpoint. I had a Calc II class that was completely taught from powerpoint and chalk never touched a blackboard. Needless to say I had a very hard time in that class and was forced to teach myself the entire semester. Although computerized, powerpoint, to me, should not be classified as a technology. Sure it has its place during presentations but it should not be used to teach an entire lesson. I guess I should be thankful to my calc II professor though, since I now know to never use it in my classroom as a teaching device. I guess my students should be thankful also.
ReplyDeleteAlex, one of my education professors has said that PowerPoint should only be used to present research and not as a tool to teach. PowerPoint leaves little room for opinion especially when the calculations are there on a slide. Not all students approach problems the same way and PowerPoint does not allow students to think critically. However, I think some professors and teachers have been able to use PowerPoint effectively. I observed a math lesson where the teacher used PowerPoint to present the problems to the class. This teacher did not rely heavily on the textbook, so she used PowerPoint to display problems. The students or entire class then worked out each problem either in notebooks or on the board to find solutions. PowerPoint is easy to incorporate in a lesson, but it is difficult to engage students.
ReplyDeleteAlex - well said. Sadly, even a fair number of our peers here at MSU have no idea how to effectively use PowerPoint. All too often a professor will make a PP slideshow a mandatory portion of a presentation or speech, and the student will get away with a 'read along' presentation.
ReplyDeleteA slide is great for assisting you in holding the attention of a group of students, and for supplementing your verbal explanations with bullet points or visuals. But like you said, far too many teachers use it as a cheap substitute for proper work - certain lecture topics and almost ALL problem solving should never be reassigned to a pre-made slideshow.
Alex, Ryan and Colleen - I couldn't agree with you guys more! I'm an art major and PowerPoint is mainly used for art history within our concentration, but I have also sat through countless other classes led by dull slide presentations, and watched painfully as other students have relied upon it. PowerPoint is used as a color chalkboard much too often. As Colleen said, there ARE teachers who use it effectively as support for the material - I think our Assessment professor manages this. He uses PowerPoint to organize the huge amount of material to be covered in a short class, but spends plenty of time explaining and modeling the topics. I feel like he is leading the class, not the slideshow, and given the time constraints of his short session I think it is effective.
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to learn from Powerpoint slides, especially in Math. Math isn't a subject that is learned through reading. Yes, we need to know definitions, but we need to do proofs and arithmetic. Things like that cannot be understood unless it is processed through an individuals writing. I know from my experiences, even recopying the full solution to an example or problem helps me to understand the mathematical methods behind them. There is no way I can understand what I am doing just by reading the solution.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see professors and teachers becoming too reliant on Powerpoint. Reading slides to students only opens the window where all creative thoughts and motivation get a chance to escape. We will lose the attention and respect of our students.