"Why are we having this" class? (Tufte 31)
I have thought this many times in classes that have used powerpoint to present the course notes through a listing of bullet points accompanied by further repetition from the presenter. The format not only leads to a completely boring presentation but also and uninformative one-sided discussion that often is straight our of class text. Tufte definitely addresses the pointlessness of PP use in presenting any sort of educational information.
At first, I felt Tufte was being a little harsh to the powerpoint system seeing that I have used it in class presentations. Yet after thinking back on those presentations I had to provide extensive explanation for the lack of visual and contextual commentary PP lends. I agree with Tufte that PP should be banned from being used as a primary tool for education, especially in the case of NASA, having sadly played a harmful role in the Columbia incident. Yet PP may still have merit when being used to present a series of pictures for a story board. Last semester I used PP to present a comic like series of images and it worked well for that sort of format.
In my class this morning I was unable to grasp the context of the topic being discussed through a bulleted list of vagueness. I am definitely going to present this article to some of my professors who rely on PP presentations and feel that by posting these vague bulleted discussions online that they will somehow clear the confusion over the topic.
3 comments:
I agree, I never really thought to analyze the usefulness of these powerpoint presentation but this article definitely changed my view of this “childish” program. I guess I never really thought about it, but it is slightly odd that this simple program that I was tought how to use in the sixth grade, almost all of my professors were using this same program. In most of my classes that use powerpoint I have found that I actually pay slightly less attention because I know that I can just download the powerpoint file later on when I’m doing my homework or studying for the exams. I wish that there was a smarter, more efficient form of presenting material or that we can be taught to use this program in an appropriate or captivating way.
PowerPoint slide shows in class rooms do pose a problem especially for those who know they will be posted online for later recovery. This may lead to absences or like the previous comment mentioned a lack of attention. But if used correctly the professor will have broad topics on the actual slides and the student would have to take notes from the lecture to fill in the details and important facts. But then there is that class which has no structure in its PowerPoint slide show and has tons of bullets and sub bullets which make it hard to decipher which should be noted and focused on. I still have mixed feelings about PowerPoint because it does aid me during lecture and allows me to remember what was said in class because it is a visual record.
The problems with PowerPoint being used incorrectly are huge. They do lead to boring slide shows and presentations that could have been handed out on one piece of paper. It has become the basis of presentations without enough focus on the speaker and their speech. I remember taking technology classes in high school that taught us to write a speech, highlight important topic points, make a slide show with a minimum and maximum number of slides and how to properly use the slides during the speech. A little explanation goes a long way. I'm not saying that I learned the correct method, but it's a better starting point rather than paragraphs on each bullet point.
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