The other day, I was working on an online course and I came across some PowerPoint "lectures". I use quotes because each of the ninety or so slides in every chapter's PowerPoint looked as if it came from a different presentation. Different fonts, different colors, different sized photos, clip art, and phrases so truncated I couldn't tell what was important. I can't imagine how the students in that course must feel. (NOTE: these particular PowerPoints were included as part of the publisher's "bonus" materials; they were not made by the instructor).
Now, I admit I've used PowerPoint in my classrooms, workshops and seminars and for good reason. Those slides keep me on task. If I get off track, I can look at the slide and know right where I was. It allows me to show images in a way that the old overhead projectors did not. I can make handouts, give them to students or participants so that they can make notes on the handouts and have something to carry out of the class with them. It's an organizing tool, an image display, and (I hope) it keeps others in the room just as focused.
But what happens when we move to online class spaces? Does our trusty PowerPoint transfer its usefulness or does it fade into obscurity? Are there limitations to using it? If so, what are they? Is there any reason at all to use it? I don't necessarily have all the answers, but I'm wondering if (and how) the rest of you guys use it. Your comments please...
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Jamie McKenzie, one of my favorite educational gurus, speaks of "Powerpointlessness." I used to groan when teachers would assign PPt projects for students because the amount of effort put into making them generally was greater than the value of the presentation.
ReplyDeletePowerPoint presentations can be useful for visuals while the speaker does his/her thing, but I dislike having to read off the screen what the presenter is already reading to me!
I don't use them for online classes and frankly rarely use them for face-to-face classes either...unless I am showing a photo or drawing that I am saying something about.
I used it to create a slide show online of an example ... each new slide gave a new piece of the problem being solved. This was probably 5 or 6 slides and was put into a flash applet for the students. I don't think just the powerpoint is enough (as I tell my students in the face to face class ... the powerpoints just give an outline, but don't include what was said or talked about for that slide).
ReplyDeleteNo I just use the powerpoint online like I do in class, but for the online students I record a video of what I was saying and doing (i.e. the ppt is just the background that I write on - or bring a graphing calculator over for students to view).
Robert Foth
Below is a link to a wonderful dual lesson in both how to design effective, interesting Powerpoints and how to follow copyright laws for materials included in them. The instructor who put it together spent a lot of time practicing in and out of the classroom before presenting it online.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=23489&title=How_to_create_a_great_PowerPoint_without_breaking_the_law_
Greta Buck-Rodriguez
In addition to teaching writing here at Pima, I also teach for another university online, and we hold a live seminar either weekly or every three weeks depending on the class. During those seminars, we do use PowerPoint presentations not only for the visual learners in the class, but also for those students who are not able to attend the seminar. However, as Robert does, the seminar is recorded so that students can also follow along and review what was said during the seminar.
ReplyDeleteAlso in one of the courses I teach for this university, the students are business students, and their final project is to create a PowerPoint presentation, so my job is to teach them the writing skills necessary to succeed in a presentation from the graphics to the choice of words (i.e. not being too wordy but saying enough to get the meaning across). Sometimes this is a difficult element to teach the students, and I learn a new way of teaching them each semester.
I am in agreement with you, however, in that the slides should be uniform in font, color, theme, etc. and should not detract from the material being presented. A PowerPoint, if constructed properly, can indeed help both the class and the instructor stay on task and get the most out of the lesson.
And great link, Greta! Thanks!