Comments on: Some CMU faculty moving away from PowerPoint presentations in classroom http://www.cm-life.com/2009/10/19/some-cmu-faculty-moving-away-from-powerpoint-presentations-in-classroom/ Your 24-hour news source for Central Michigan University Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:31:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: CMUstudent http://www.cm-life.com/2009/10/19/some-cmu-faculty-moving-away-from-powerpoint-presentations-in-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-3884 CMUstudent Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:36:32 +0000 http://www.cm-life.com/?p=46330#comment-3884 powerpoints give the faculty the break of having to actually TEACH the course!!!! powerpoints give the faculty the break of having to actually TEACH the course!!!!

]]> By: Antonio http://www.cm-life.com/2009/10/19/some-cmu-faculty-moving-away-from-powerpoint-presentations-in-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-3881 Antonio Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:53:08 +0000 http://www.cm-life.com/?p=46330#comment-3881 Professors trying to use Powerpoint for their lectures has been my biggest pet-peeve while attending CMU. It’s a waste of paper, ink, and time, and only increases tuition to cover the cost of the paper and ink wasted when students print out full slides of black background presentations. No offense to the professors, as I've had many great ones over the years, but I've never had a professor who provided notes correctly by use of a computer. (Ok, maybe one). Most of the time, the idea of outline organization has been non-existent. I do realize professional seminars and events such as TED seminars often use Powerpoints, but the environments there are completely different than a classroom. To the professors: Anyone can remember and regurgitate information given to us on pre-made Powerpoint presentations, but if it's information we could have critically and actively filtered through while simply listening to you speak, why make a Powerpoint for it? Why not just give us the ideas and concepts you want us to understand without dividing our attention away from listening to instead focusing on a big projector with the SAME thing you just said, just in different wording? This makes even less sense when you take into account how much professors usually dislike all the new technology, anyway. Why give us Powerpoint notes, base exams solely on those notes, and then mark us down for not coming to class? What do you honestly expect to come of that? The only bigger interest killer I’ve seen is when professors spend 5-10 minutes trying to project a piece of paper that everyone already has. Why do we need to see it in two different places? We know how to follow along  Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to give a lecture without all these external visual aids. Every time a new semester begins, or there is some problem with the computer network, up to 5-10 minutes or more is wasted trying to figure out the technology, and if it doesn’t work, the professor acts like he/she doesn’t know what to do. For some reason, it seems academic administrations have forgotten the simple tool of speaking outward to a classroom without all this technology mumbo jumbo. Conclusion: Step away from trying to fumble with the technology and tell us what you want us to know. If the technology is absolutely necessary for your lecture, figure it out beforehand instead of during class time. Professors trying to use Powerpoint for their lectures has been my biggest pet-peeve while attending CMU. It’s a waste of paper, ink, and time, and only increases tuition to cover the cost of the paper and ink wasted when students print out full slides of black background presentations. No offense to the professors, as I’ve had many great ones over the years, but I’ve never had a professor who provided notes correctly by use of a computer. (Ok, maybe one). Most of the time, the idea of outline organization has been non-existent.

I do realize professional seminars and events such as TED seminars often use Powerpoints, but the environments there are completely different than a classroom.

To the professors: Anyone can remember and regurgitate information given to us on pre-made Powerpoint presentations, but if it’s information we could have critically and actively filtered through while simply listening to you speak, why make a Powerpoint for it? Why not just give us the ideas and concepts you want us to understand without dividing our attention away from listening to instead focusing on a big projector with the SAME thing you just said, just in different wording? This makes even less sense when you take into account how much professors usually dislike all the new technology, anyway. Why give us Powerpoint notes, base exams solely on those notes, and then mark us down for not coming to class? What do you honestly expect to come of that?

The only bigger interest killer I’ve seen is when professors spend 5-10 minutes trying to project a piece of paper that everyone already has. Why do we need to see it in two different places? We know how to follow along 

Contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to give a lecture without all these external visual aids. Every time a new semester begins, or there is some problem with the computer network, up to 5-10 minutes or more is wasted trying to figure out the technology, and if it doesn’t work, the professor acts like he/she doesn’t know what to do. For some reason, it seems academic administrations have forgotten the simple tool of speaking outward to a classroom without all this technology mumbo jumbo.

Conclusion: Step away from trying to fumble with the technology and tell us what you want us to know. If the technology is absolutely necessary for your lecture, figure it out beforehand instead of during class time.

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