After listening to the PowerPoint Playwright podcast, it solidified many of the points that were made in class. However, I thought the narrator had an overly negative outlook on PowerPoint. For me I like PowerPoint when it is used correctly by the teacher/professor. I also like having the reiteration of what a professor is saying, which was a negative point in this podcast. The narrator states that PowerPoint shouldn't just be a reiteration, which I agree with, but I like to have text and pictures to have the point come across clearly. I think the narrator makes a valid point that PowerPoint has made teachers role to simply get through the slides, and this is not ok. I have a professor now who goes extremely slowly through the first half of his slides and then rushes to finish the last half leaving all of the students confused. Overall I think he made some good points but was disappointed with how negatively he portrayed the use of PowerPoint.
Listening to the PowerPoint Playwright podcast evoked mixed thoughts about the information the narrator presented and I agree and disagree with various parts. I agree that PowerPoint can be used ineffectively. When a lot of material is on slides, students find themselves hastily trying to write down the information which makes it impossible to listen to what the teacher is saying. Therefore, a balance needs to be developed between how much material is on the PowerPoint and how much material the teacher talks about. I also agree that PowerPoint should be used as a tool to assist in presenting the lesson, not as a way to sculpt the lesson. As the narrator said, PowerPoint should work with the teacher and compliment the lesson. However, I disagreed with the banning of text from slides. Although it may seem like a solution to students not being able to listen to the teacher because they are hastily writing down the information from each slide, I do not think elimination of text is the wisest idea. If PowerPoint is used correctly and a reasonable amount of text is used per slide (3-5 bullet points with minimal words per bullet), it can be of great assistance to both the teacher and the students. Overall, this podcast presented good information about the use of PowerPoint.
I want to keep in mind the notion of having my PowerPoint act as my foil character. I love the idea of using images or short bursts of text to compliment, illuminate, or even better, oppose what I'm saying. No parroting allowed! I'm Hamlet and my PowerPoint is Ophelia. I'm much more likely to keep the audience engaged and the interaction between people, not up at the screen where students scribble furiously. I don't want the slides to be the authority in my classroom, guiding what I'm saying or what students are learning. The technology in our class should never take away from human interaction that's vital to an effective learning and sharing environment.
I really liked the speaker's comment about how so often we make the tools, but in an odd twist of fate, our tools shape us. It's like some eerie automaton sort of scenario. I agree that PowerPoint has definitely changed the way that teachers teach and students learn. The clasroom has become so much more linear, fractured, and impersonal as teachers and students alike engage in a tango with technology which takes away eye contact, spontaneity, and interactivity. While I believe my past and current use of PowerPoint has always struck a good balance between words and images, I'm really excited about only making use of images in order to really force myself to rely on my own thoughts and not take cues from a screen. This use of PowerPoint is also much more audience freindly because it is engaging, and like the Apple guy we watched, I become the authroity since I have to explain what these seemingly obscure pictures mean. It's a great way to get people to begin reading images as closely as they read text.
I agree that PowerPoint is often misused in the classroom and agree that it is most poignant when it diverges from simply reiterating what the teacher is saying, but I disagree that text should never be used. I personally like being able to look up and jot down a phrase or definition if I didn't quite catch everything the professor said. in this way, I think text is most helpful, so long as it is short and to the point. my pet peeve, however, is when a PowerPoint slide has a ton of text on it and then the professor has it displayed for all of two seconds - not enough time to even read the text, let alone write anything down. honestly, I feel like most professors took on PowerPoint midway through their teaching career and probably never really took the time to think about how to best use it. I would hope that anyone who is entering the teaching force at this point would have a better concept of the strengths and weaknesses of using PowerPoint and would therefore utilize it more along the lines of how the podcast suggested - to complement, illustrate, illuminate and oppose what you are saying in your lesson.
I really like the speakers comment that our strength as teachers is our spoken word, and the strength of the power point screen is the image. I think keeping that in mind as we create power point presentations for our students will help us stay on target. I know that copious note-taking isn't as common in elementary school, but I will say that I appreciate when instructors provide the main points on their power point slides- this way, we can print them, and then fill in with any other notes that we might take in class. It is when there is SO much on the slides that it becomes very hard to manage. I think what we talked about in class, having just a few bullet points with very short sentences is OK and helpful sometimes. But like the speaker said, I think having images to support what you are saying is the most important- and the information will remain with the student longer as well.
I thought this was an excellent podcast. What I liked most about it was how it addressed the problem that too often teachers rely on powerpoint presentations to lead teaching and learning. When I was in grade school, teachers stood at the front of the classroom and addressed the students. The teacher would ask questions and promote student interaction, while he/she wrote on the chalkboard all the notes we would need to know for tests and quizzes. Powerpoints were rarely used, in fact, the only time I used powerpoint was during science fairs when I was giving a presentation. When I teach I expect to use powerpoint as a way to complement learning. I still want my students to write and organize their notes based on what I say and write on the board. The powerpoint can be used to highlight a topic, ask a question, or introduce a video/media. The students should focus on the teacher and not the projector.
Listening to this was a somewhat difficult experience, as it called to mind some of the deepest and darkest PowerPoint moments of my life. The list below was born out of these memories…
My Top 5 PowerPoint Pet Peeves 1)When a teacher says exactly what the power point says and nothing else—this is called reading, not teaching. 2)When there are multiple spelling and grammar errors on a slide- a few too many typos on a slide can ruin an entire week for me. 3)When a teacher prints out the entire PowerPoint presentation (with lines for note-taking) for all 150 students in the class and then proceeds to give a lecture that essentially involves no note-taking. Basically they are saying, “Here are 10 pieces of paper with teeny tiny pictures of slides on them. You will get a pack like this every week for the next 15 weeks and you will rarely write anything in it.” 4)When an entire slide is simply a list of questions and the teacher never bothers to answer them—they are just questions that we are supposed to be thinking about or something. 5)When a teacher pulls up a slide with several paragraph length bullet points and then clicks to the next slide in a matter of seconds.
The podcast addresses many of the abovementioned pet peeves of mine. I just think there’s a ton of bad PowerPoint’n going on out there, and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it myself. It’s a difficult tool to use effectively, and I like Jim Lengel’s idea that you just have to use the PowerPoint to “provide the things you can’t”—like pictures, videos, and audio clips. As an elementary school teacher I think I’ll use it sparingly, only when I really feel like it will add something to the lesson.
I think this was a great podcast. Short simple and to the point (no pun intended)- Power Point can be an effective teaching tool when used as a means of enhancing NOT REPEATING what is being taught. I like the analogy of Ophelia holding up cue cards. Who wants to watch a play or movie where they do that after each line? Makes some of the Power Points I’ve seen seem really silly when you think of it that way. Like others have said, I don’t think Power Points are all bad. They definitely help me keep up by not having to write everything down. But I also think there is benefit to writing stuff down- it helps me remember it better. So basically there needs to be a good balance.
I think this podcast does an effective job of addressing many of the abuses of PowerPoint we see in the classroom today, especially the lack of discussion and interactivity in an effort to just get through all of the slides. All too often, teachers read through meaningless bullet points, rarely diverging from what is written or taking the time to further explain or clarify points. Students then frantically try to copy everything down, taking little time to process and think about what is being taught, prioritize what is most important, or to ask questions. I think the podcast makes the important point that PowerPoint is a tool that should compliment learning, not interfere or inhibit it. Real learning demands discussion and critical thinking and not just copying what is scripted on a slide. It is not surprising that the class chose to talk rather than have slides dictated to them. I believe we learn from our teachers and our classmates more than we do facts on a slide because, as the podcast points out, the strength is in the spoken word. Katie Gallivan
I think a major aspect was left unaddressed by this podcast: venue variability. While I am one to agree that power point should, ideally, only have supplementary images that help to provoke a great classroom discussion; I am also aware that sometimes, in lecture halls for example, that is just not enough. We can use this technology in a variety of beneficial ways, but I think we just need to be cautious that we avoid solely relying on the powerpoint for instruction. Therefore while I did enjoy the acting metaphor about using each "actor" (both teacher and projector) for their respective strengths, I think the approach does need to be a bit more varied with regards to the size of the audience, but the overall message of using Powerpoint as a supplementary tool is something I completely agree with.
After listening to the PowerPoint Playwright podcast, it solidified many of the points that were made in class. However, I thought the narrator had an overly negative outlook on PowerPoint. For me I like PowerPoint when it is used correctly by the teacher/professor. I also like having the reiteration of what a professor is saying, which was a negative point in this podcast. The narrator states that PowerPoint shouldn't just be a reiteration, which I agree with, but I like to have text and pictures to have the point come across clearly. I think the narrator makes a valid point that PowerPoint has made teachers role to simply get through the slides, and this is not ok. I have a professor now who goes extremely slowly through the first half of his slides and then rushes to finish the last half leaving all of the students confused. Overall I think he made some good points but was disappointed with how negatively he portrayed the use of PowerPoint.
ReplyDeleteListening to the PowerPoint Playwright podcast evoked mixed thoughts about the information the narrator presented and I agree and disagree with various parts. I agree that PowerPoint can be used ineffectively. When a lot of material is on slides, students find themselves hastily trying to write down the information which makes it impossible to listen to what the teacher is saying. Therefore, a balance needs to be developed between how much material is on the PowerPoint and how much material the teacher talks about. I also agree that PowerPoint should be used as a tool to assist in presenting the lesson, not as a way to sculpt the lesson. As the narrator said, PowerPoint should work with the teacher and compliment the lesson. However, I disagreed with the banning of text from slides. Although it may seem like a solution to students not being able to listen to the teacher because they are hastily writing down the information from each slide, I do not think elimination of text is the wisest idea. If PowerPoint is used correctly and a reasonable amount of text is used per slide (3-5 bullet points with minimal words per bullet), it can be of great assistance to both the teacher and the students. Overall, this podcast presented good information about the use of PowerPoint.
ReplyDeleteI want to keep in mind the notion of having my PowerPoint act as my foil character. I love the idea of using images or short bursts of text to compliment, illuminate, or even better, oppose what I'm saying. No parroting allowed! I'm Hamlet and my PowerPoint is Ophelia. I'm much more likely to keep the audience engaged and the interaction between people, not up at the screen where students scribble furiously. I don't want the slides to be the authority in my classroom, guiding what I'm saying or what students are learning. The technology in our class should never take away from human interaction that's vital to an effective learning and sharing environment.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the speaker's comment about how so often we make the tools, but in an odd twist of fate, our tools shape us. It's like some eerie automaton sort of scenario. I agree that PowerPoint has definitely changed the way that teachers teach and students learn. The clasroom has become so much more linear, fractured, and impersonal as teachers and students alike engage in a tango with technology which takes away eye contact, spontaneity, and interactivity. While I believe my past and current use of PowerPoint has always struck a good balance between words and images, I'm really excited about only making use of images in order to really force myself to rely on my own thoughts and not take cues from a screen. This use of PowerPoint is also much more audience freindly because it is engaging, and like the Apple guy we watched, I become the authroity since I have to explain what these seemingly obscure pictures mean. It's a great way to get people to begin reading images as closely as they read text.
ReplyDeleteI agree that PowerPoint is often misused in the classroom and agree that it is most poignant when it diverges from simply reiterating what the teacher is saying, but I disagree that text should never be used. I personally like being able to look up and jot down a phrase or definition if I didn't quite catch everything the professor said. in this way, I think text is most helpful, so long as it is short and to the point. my pet peeve, however, is when a PowerPoint slide has a ton of text on it and then the professor has it displayed for all of two seconds - not enough time to even read the text, let alone write anything down. honestly, I feel like most professors took on PowerPoint midway through their teaching career and probably never really took the time to think about how to best use it. I would hope that anyone who is entering the teaching force at this point would have a better concept of the strengths and weaknesses of using PowerPoint and would therefore utilize it more along the lines of how the podcast suggested - to complement, illustrate, illuminate and oppose what you are saying in your lesson.
ReplyDelete-Katie Coan
I really like the speakers comment that our strength as teachers is our spoken word, and the strength of the power point screen is the image. I think keeping that in mind as we create power point presentations for our students will help us stay on target.
ReplyDeleteI know that copious note-taking isn't as common in elementary school, but I will say that I appreciate when instructors provide the main points on their power point slides- this way, we can print them, and then fill in with any other notes that we might take in class. It is when there is SO much on the slides that it becomes very hard to manage. I think what we talked about in class, having just a few bullet points with very short sentences is OK and helpful sometimes. But like the speaker said, I think having images to support what you are saying is the most important- and the information will remain with the student longer as well.
I thought this was an excellent podcast. What I liked most about it was how it addressed the problem that too often teachers rely on powerpoint presentations to lead teaching and learning. When I was in grade school, teachers stood at the front of the classroom and addressed the students. The teacher would ask questions and promote student interaction, while he/she wrote on the chalkboard all the notes we would need to know for tests and quizzes. Powerpoints were rarely used, in fact, the only time I used powerpoint was during science fairs when I was giving a presentation.
ReplyDeleteWhen I teach I expect to use powerpoint as a way to complement learning. I still want my students to write and organize their notes based on what I say and write on the board. The powerpoint can be used to highlight a topic, ask a question, or introduce a video/media. The students should focus on the teacher and not the projector.
Listening to this was a somewhat difficult experience, as it called to mind some of the deepest and darkest PowerPoint moments of my life. The list below was born out of these memories…
ReplyDeleteMy Top 5 PowerPoint Pet Peeves
1)When a teacher says exactly what the power point says and nothing else—this is called reading, not teaching.
2)When there are multiple spelling and grammar errors on a slide- a few too many typos on a slide can ruin an entire week for me.
3)When a teacher prints out the entire PowerPoint presentation (with lines for note-taking) for all 150 students in the class and then proceeds to give a lecture that essentially involves no note-taking. Basically they are saying, “Here are 10 pieces of paper with teeny tiny pictures of slides on them. You will get a pack like this every week for the next 15 weeks and you will rarely write anything in it.”
4)When an entire slide is simply a list of questions and the teacher never bothers to answer them—they are just questions that we are supposed to be thinking about or something.
5)When a teacher pulls up a slide with several paragraph length bullet points and then clicks to the next slide in a matter of seconds.
The podcast addresses many of the abovementioned pet peeves of mine. I just think there’s a ton of bad PowerPoint’n going on out there, and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it myself. It’s a difficult tool to use effectively, and I like Jim Lengel’s idea that you just have to use the PowerPoint to “provide the things you can’t”—like pictures, videos, and audio clips. As an elementary school teacher I think I’ll use it sparingly, only when I really feel like it will add something to the lesson.
I think this was a great podcast. Short simple and to the point (no pun intended)- Power Point can be an effective teaching tool when used as a means of enhancing NOT REPEATING what is being taught. I like the analogy of Ophelia holding up cue cards. Who wants to watch a play or movie where they do that after each line? Makes some of the Power Points I’ve seen seem really silly when you think of it that way. Like others have said, I don’t think Power Points are all bad. They definitely help me keep up by not having to write everything down. But I also think there is benefit to writing stuff down- it helps me remember it better. So basically there needs to be a good balance.
ReplyDeleteI think this podcast does an effective job of addressing many of the abuses of PowerPoint we see in the classroom today, especially the lack of discussion and interactivity in an effort to just get through all of the slides. All too often, teachers read through meaningless bullet points, rarely diverging from what is written or taking the time to further explain or clarify points. Students then frantically try to copy everything down, taking little time to process and think about what is being taught, prioritize what is most important, or to ask questions. I think the podcast makes the important point that PowerPoint is a tool that should compliment learning, not interfere or inhibit it. Real learning demands discussion and critical thinking and not just copying what is scripted on a slide. It is not surprising that the class chose to talk rather than have slides dictated to them. I believe we learn from our teachers and our classmates more than we do facts on a slide because, as the podcast points out, the strength is in the spoken word.
ReplyDeleteKatie Gallivan
I think a major aspect was left unaddressed by this podcast: venue variability. While I am one to agree that power point should, ideally, only have supplementary images that help to provoke a great classroom discussion; I am also aware that sometimes, in lecture halls for example, that is just not enough. We can use this technology in a variety of beneficial ways, but I think we just need to be cautious that we avoid solely relying on the powerpoint for instruction.
ReplyDeleteTherefore while I did enjoy the acting metaphor about using each "actor" (both teacher and projector) for their respective strengths, I think the approach does need to be a bit more varied with regards to the size of the audience, but the overall message of using Powerpoint as a supplementary tool is something I completely agree with.