PPT & Notetaking
Personally I like to use power point to allow students the opportunity to take better notes. It helps reduce the need to keep the pen scribbling away and allows their ears to be open more. Cognitively they can only focus on so much, so if they are writing only the details that i discuss above and beyond the ppt, i feel they have more resources to think about the content and ask questions.
I like to use powerpoint also because I can integrate multiple sources in my classroom presentations. For example, I can easily incorporate videos from a field trip, related content from news sources and the latest expert research into a single presentation.
PowerPoint is just that...a lot or 'teaching' Power at one Point. It is truly multimedia, and is easy to modify, allowing situational class room/lab changes to be delt with effectively.
Even just a basic power point is helpful to help stay on track while lecturing. It gives the students a focal point as well.
Some of my students have issues around appropriate note-taking. PP presentation (with handouts for note-taking) provides them with structure they would not otherwise use. I give them the option to use the handouts for note taking or use their own form of note taking.
In the classes I teach, I will often print out the PowerPoint presentation in handout format, three slides to a page. This gives the students an area to jot notes down related to a specific slide. Sometimes, I will even include the lecture notes on notepages format. The students use the powerpoints to augment their studies.
I like the way you've put that about Power Point. I use Power Point in my teaching for the most part but one area of concern is that students have different learning styles. Some have primary visual, some auditory, and some kinesthetic. So the visual learners love the presentation and get a lot out of it while the auditory learners benefit mostly by hearing what I'm lecturing about and not so much by what they are seeing, and then there is the kinesthetic who learns best by hands-on instruction. One of the lessons I teach is for student to conduct an assessment to determine which kind of learner they are; I have found that students enjoy this assessment and ultimately learn something about themselves that they were not necessarily aware of. This assessment also provides other methods of learning as a backup, or options. I also have assignments that are Power Point presentations that they must accomplish, and when explaining the details of the assignment, I use my very own slides as examples. I have found this to be beneficial to students as well.
I agree. If we give them the tools to take notes they will then pay more attention to the information being covered.
I like using really great photos to emphasize info and break up a boring lecture. Power Points are like "cliff notes" for me. They keep me on track with my lecture and the info I need to covder.
Hi Gilbert:
The nice thing about power-point is that it can foster discussions about the topic matter.
Most agree that doing this with ANY media is a good idea instead of the more "boring" method of just reading stuff to the students without asking follow-up questions.
Regards, Barry
Hi Matt:
One tip about using PPT - instructors should never "read" the slides to the students without expounding on what the focus is.
Regards, Barry
Hi Tom:
In general, we instructors must be careful to balance ANY presentation material with alternate activities, discussions, and other materials to effectively try to address as many types of learning activities as possible.
Regards, Barry
Hi Regina:
That's true - we also need to be careful to not make ANY presentation tool the primary focus of the learning environment. I like the way you wrote to "help keep the student on track". That's the idea.
The opposite idea would be to read the PPT to the student and expect them to understand everything without talking about it further.
Regards, Barry
Hi Linda:
One of the things to keep in mind when using ANY media is the concept of balance.
You made a strong point when you commented about the need to address every type of learning style. If there is not effective balance in our presentations, we can't achieve this.
Regards, Barry
Hi Amy:
In addition, some instructors find it helpful to tell the students to make a SPECIFIC note next to the slide as a way to help reinforce the main idea.
Regards, Barry
Hi Donna:
One of the nice things about having student take notes is that if there is nothing else, this will help specifically kinesthetic type learners.
Regards, Barry
Hi Susan:
One general, all-purpose guideline to remember about using power-point is this – don’t read the slides to the students. Unless you’re deliberately trying to make a point, reading slides is the quickest way to have students tune out during the lesson.
Instead, it’s better to cover the main points on the slide, and have the students refer to the notes on their own.
Regards, Barry
