Powerpoint - Con

From Eduwiki

Sarah, Debbie, Amy, Jennifer

Sorry I cannot be there tonight. But I did some interviews with other teachers and students about powerpoint and got some interesting comments from them that you might want to mention during the debate. _A teacher told me that he doesn't like to use them because he finds himself paying more attention to the powerpoint then the students. _I had a few students tell me that they do not like it when math teachers use powerpoint because they understand the material better when the teacher writes the notes with them. _A student also told me that teachers go too fast when they use powerpoint.

Hope this helps. Good luck! -Sarah

1. Powerpoint presentations take about an hour to create. If teachers were to sit down to create these presentations for their students, the teachers would lose this planning time. Instead of creating new and innovative ways to teach the material, the teacher is instead picking the colors and pictures to put into each slide. (Sarah)

2. During any given lesson there are times where the students are just not getting the material. When this happens a teacher should be able to change the lesson. However, if the teacher is using a powerpoint presentation that she created a few years ago and saved, or even just created yesterday, she can not quickly change anything. (Jenn)

3. We all know instances when our computer has crashed. So what happens when your technology for your powerpoint presentation fails to work right when you need it? No one can see into the future and now all of a sudden you are running around trying to plan something at the last minute. (Sarah)

4. Not all classrooms are powerpoint ready. It would be nice if every classroom had a LCD projector and computer ready to work at any time. But in reality, most schools only have a few of these projectors and are usually being used for other things. You need to put in advanced noticed to get the technology needed, which again takes more time. (Amy)

5. When a teacher uses a powerpoint presentation, the lesson becomes teacher centered. According to How People Learn students experience a higher rate of learning when they have a chance to discover the material. The students need to use their own experiences and previous knowledge to learn and not the powerpoint presentation in front of them. (Jenn)

6. Powerpoint presentations are distracting. Some of the students will pay attention to the colors and pictures on each slide, rather then the material and content the teacher is trying to cover. The students need to be engaged in the curriculum and not the technology. (Debbie)

7. Powerpoint presentations are not always practical for the material being taught. Using a powerpoint presentation to teach the students how to shoot a free throw during a physical education class would not be as effective as the students trying to do it on their own. Using a powerpoint presentation to show how to convert fractions to decimals or to use the quadratic formula in a mathematics class would not be as effective as the students trying to do it on their own. (Amy)

8. Often times a teacher will pay more attention to what is on the powerpoint rather then to the students in their classroom. Students can pass notes and fly paper airplanes while the teacher is reading what is on the current slide. (Debbie)

Rebuttals from Pro side:

• Powerpoints are useful for some things and not others. Effective teachers use them where they are most helpful.
• Effective PowerPoints are not read to students. PowerPoints are audio/visual aids and note taking aids. They are meant to be direct and to the point. Teachers are meant to elaborate on the notes in the PowerPoint.
• Teachers should always have back up plans for any computer lessons.
• While student centered lessons may be preferable, there are times when some information must be shared with students before they can discover big ideas, theories, and ways to solve problems. These are great times for PowerPoints.
• Instructors should be engaging, not rely solely on the program to give the lecture. When an instructor is engaging and uses the PowerPoint, they add to student's ability to access the curriculum.
• PowerPoints can be fun to create! Additionally, there are free ready for simple "tweaking" Powerpoints available through the internet and colleagues. Additionally, teachers can always divide work amongst themselves within a grade level/department to split the burden and share the wealth.