Teaching Naked or The Perils of PowerPoint

Published
by
James
on November 18, 2009
in Powerpoint and Presentations and Technology
. 3 Comments

While many colleges, even in these tough economic times, are spending small fortunes outfitting their classrooms with the latest technology, The Chronicle is reporting that the dean of the Meadow School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University is actually taking computers out of the classroom. According to Dean Bowen, classrooms equipped with computers and internet access encourage, among other things, bad lectures. Bowen’s biggest complaint, not surprisingly is the use of PowerPoint lectures, which according to several polls, seem to be causing an epidemic of student boredom. Like so many Baruch BPL students, who have bored their fair share of Communication Fellows with meandering and pointless PowerPoint presentations, it seems teachers at Southern Methodist have a difficult time understanding how to use PowerPoint effectively to convey information visually. Although the article is more thorough, in the video above Bowen makes a good argument for why he took the computers out of the classroom, and he makes an especially good argument about the value and importance of interactive classroom discussions. But Bowen is no Luddite nor is he a neophyte when it comes to using technology in the classroom, and in many ways, this is where I part ways with Dean Bowen, who has reportedly used video games to teach his students about the history of Jazz and encourages his professors to put their lectures on podcasts so that students and professors can spend more time exploring lecture ideas in the classroom. What matters most about this argument, though, is that whether you use technology in the classroom or not, it is the ratio of student to teacher interaction that matters most. Perhaps there is a place for podcasts and classroom blogs (I would personally draw the line at video games) but these technologies should not become a substitute for student/teacher interaction.

3 Responses to “Teaching Naked or The Perils of PowerPoint”

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  1. 1 Hillary
    November 19, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Really interesting video, James– thanks for posting. Bowen’s podcast approach is enticing– though I was a bit confused by his comment that profs at Harvard and Stanford are lecturing better anyway– is the pre-class podcast Bowen’s lecture, or a Harvard lecture? I do like his forest-for-the-trees approach when thinking through these questions: technology can facilitate the fleeing of students from the classroom (online degrees) or tether them more tightly (and more enjoyably) to it. If the goals are improved interpersonal/in-class interaction and the vibrancy of “physical” college life are important to you, then I think he has some provocative ideas to contribute.

    This is a good follow-up post to your last one, since it’s a solid reminder of the complexity to the discussion around “technology in the classroom”– which is a hugely variable mixed bag. Yes, the requisite (and costly) computers can lead to an over-reliance on uninspired PowerPoint, but Bowen also reminds us that podcasts can free up precious class time.

    Speaking of PP reliance problems, this week in a rehearsal I confronted something I’d never encountered before: a group of accounting students delivered a presentation that was crafted around the textbook publisher’s PowerPoint slides (which their professor posts to Blackboard to correspond with each chapter). They didn’t see a reason to create their own PP slides– and they also saw no problem with using the publisher slides without modification or analysis. (A few of the slides were strangely organized and some clearly needed an instructor’s manual in order to give the examples context.) I wondered if this approach to PP was in part due to what has been modeled for them throughout their educational career?

  2. 2 james Hoff
    November 19, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Hillary,

    your anecdote is a sad reminder of how PP has taken over the teaching process in disciplines like Business. Eevry time I hear something like that I am glad, despite the terrible job market, that I am in English.

    As for students seeing PP as the only option, I actually very tentatively recommended to a group of students last night that they consider NOT using PP for their presentation and I thought they were going to lynch me. The very idea of not using PP and not using index cards or not reading from a pre-prepared written presentation was entirely anethema to them.

    The idea of talking extemporaneously and knowledgeably about a subject (in other words having good presentation skills) was just not on their radar.

  3. 3 Michael Pinto-Fernandes
    December 5, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    Hey. Bad Idea. The classroom setting forces us to pay attention. Right now, as I type, I am being distracted by this post, which is preventing me from studying for my finals a few days from now. Catch my drift?

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