Megan informed us of her negative experience with technology when she entered college and her professors heavily relied on using power points in class. She was so worried about copying every word on the slide that she didn't even begin to grasp the material that was being presented. Then when it came time to study for a test, she felt stressed and unprepared. She thought there was too much information on the slides instead of just key points that could have easily been explained.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Group 3 Positive and Negative Experiences with Technology
Lauren told us her positive experience with technology was that in elementary school she was able to use the internet to complete a project. She was given a research assignment about Manatees and considering there were very few books about these animals in the school library, the internet really helped her. She was able to find pictures, video clips and information for her research project.
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I definitely feel like Power Point presentations make great visual tools, but should provide the key points, while the instructor/presenter orally elaborates. It was very hard for me in high school to focus on everything the teacher was saying because I was spending too much time copying notes down. I feel like as a teacher, I would have a much more balanced approach, using Power Points to present the topic and key points and allowing time for the students to write the (very few and concise) points down. I would then have them listen to me elaborate on them so they can jot down anything that would be helpful for them to remember. This way, there is no confusion in what the main points are and what I want them to know.
ReplyDeleteI learned how to put Power Point presentations together when I was in 7th grade and have dealt with them pretty much every year since, so I know that it can be very valuable if it is used correctly. If students have a lot to write down off of the Power Point, they won't be listening to what you have to say about it.
Lauren's experience points to something important. With technology, particularly the internet in this case, students are able to avoid the problem of not being able to complete an assignment because they lack the necessary materials. I can remember several times in grade school where my parents were forced to drive me from one library to the next searching for books on a topic that I needed to present to my class, only to end up finding one meager book in a library in a different county. With the internet, students have easy access to sources on virtually any topic that they can pick and chose from, rather than have to settle on one source that may be seriously lacking.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly agree with Megan's experience with powerpoint "teaching". For me, powerpoints seem to work as a good visual reinforcer of the highlights of the material that instructor has taught about, but when a teacher or professor bases his or her instruction solely on the powerpoint, I think that it has been misused. I once took a course where the instructor provided powerpoints for the reading that was to be done for the next class. The powerpoint was not simply an outline of the reading, because it still required students to do the reading, however, the slides served as a good guide for interpreting the material in the book. I think that this is just one example of how powerpoint can be used efficiently.
I feel teachers rely so heavily on power point that it becomes really frustrating. In high school we actually had to copy verbatim what the teacher put up on the slides and we were responsible for it. It was always like 2-3 pages of information on both sides of the sheet. I found it was counterproductive and even after hours of studying I didn't retain any of the information.
ReplyDeleteI think as an educator it will be important to not rely on things like powerpoint. Even technology can become hard to force on students. There is a personal aspect that needs to be present, and I feel depending on students to copy slides or even post in a blog takes away from that. There is a satisfaction that comes from handing in a paper I spent hours on. I hope that I don't loose focus of that for my students.
I think technology like Power Point is a great tool if used properly. I just don't think as an educator we can rely on it to teach the material for us.