May 30, 2011 | By: Nick Morris

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Death by PowerPoint - is PowerPoint killing learning?

Earlier today I spotted a piece in the Guardian - PowerPoint: the kudzu of modern communication - that was a really interesting read. (I must admit I had to look up what 'kudzu' is - apparently it is a quick growing Asian plant.)

The basic argument of the article is that PowerPoint is killing communication. That is, PowerPoint is getting in the way, and means that the message is not getting across. Presentations, meetings and briefings are becoming all flash with no substance!

Now, I assume the same applies to PowerPoint heavy lectures (guilty as charged), but on occassions where I have tried to reduce the number of PowerPoint slides used I get comments from students along the lines of 'Dr Morris talked for 10 minutes and only used one slide', and when I have included a lot of slides that cover everything discussed I get comments that say the lecture was 'slide heavy'.

Add in to this mix the capability to record lectures using tools such as Echo360*, and things start to get interesting. What will students want? More or less slides as the lecture is captured? It is an interesting problem.

If the points raised in the Guardian article are correct, and specifically the point that "Australian researchers have discovered information is best processed either orally or in writing, but not both ways simultaneously" (also see Research points the finger at PowerPoint), then the combination of PowerPoint, and the ability to have lectures recorded (which may result in more slides per lecture), could prove disastrous for learning.

If you have any views on this, or some handy tips for using PowerPoint in a lecture (or why not to use it), then why not post them below.

*Echo360 - and there are other similar tools available - captures lectures as they happen. Typically they will capture the slides straight from the data-projector, and capture the lecturer's voice from the radio-microphone. This is all then put together as a podcast that is made available to the class.

Image Credits: wikimedia

8 Comments

June 02, 2011 | 08:47 AM

Posted By: Nick Morris

Khalil - I will admit to being geeky!

I think 'passion' is an important point. If you enjoy science (even if you are teaching something which is not directly connected to your research) you should still be able to talk about it with passion. If not, you may be in the wrong job!

June 02, 2011 | 02:52 AM

Posted By: Khalil A. Cassimally

Ross is absolutely right. I'd like to second his last point. If your enthusiasm for the topic you're teaching passes across to the students, I think you've already a lot. Humans are social beings and we like to hear what other people are doing--even if we are not particularly interested in those things ourselves.

The two most popular lecturers in the science faculty were the two who were the most passionate about their topics. One of the them, an Immunology lecturer, always drifted to his research, explaining what he was doing and hoping to achieve. Well beyond the scope of his lectures but he was in such awe about his topic that we were glued in too. The other lecturer (microbiology) was really friendly and a relative young science geek. That geeky factor explains it all. Ok, she was quite pretty too... but that's beside the point... or is it?

June 01, 2011 | 07:59 AM

Posted By: Pedro Fernandes

I think that the negative aspects in slide presentations come from two sides:
- The ease of overflowing with information that any recorded medium (videos and slides included), with excessive information and at a rate that defies the capacity of any attentive learner.
- The static nature of most teaching materials. A still image from a camera, a slide that is presented too long, etc.

As a friend pointed out recently, our audiences are dynamic users of iPods, you tube videos, etc. Capturing their attention implies speaking that language in a way that potentiates human interaction, not in the way of replacing it.
Many positive steps can be used towards enriching the contents of presentations with dynamic contents, interactive tools, etc.

May 31, 2011 | 07:28 AM

Posted By: Nick Morris

Wow! Some excellent tips from Ross. I like to think I am passionate about my subject (student feedback suggests I am). I will have a look at the idea of moving the bulk of the material off the slide and in to the notes, and then making the slides and the notes available to the class (at present I just make the slides available as I don't really use the notes section).

May 31, 2011 | 07:23 AM

Posted By: Nick Morris

Interesting point from Khalil on making the lectures 'light and interesting' and pointing students in the direction of additional reading. I already do that (or I try to do it).

In lectures I give slides will have references to relevant additional material (i.e. I add references to slides just as if I were writing a paper). I also provide (normally as a blog post) a list (with links) to additional reading, which I divide in to 'essential' and general references.

Using this approach I hope that students will go and read the additional information, or find some of their own!

May 31, 2011 | 05:43 AM

Posted By: Ross Boden

One tool within PowerPoint that I use relentlessly is the Notes feature. It allows the presenter to keep the slides relatively simple while providing all the detail necessary. In my experience, once the audience realizes that they don't have to stress about capturing the details of the subject matter they become quite engaged in the discussion. That's another trick I've learned. Lecturing doesn't always mean learning. An active discussion with your audience will engage and invigorate them. The results are the same with three people or three hundred people. Obviously, this is easier to accomplish with a subject as personal as Safety (what I usually talk about) than it is with Biology, but if you can think up a way to engage your students (I suggest demonstrating to them your passion for the subject), and provide them with the lecture notes, I promise you will be on your way to the most popular Prof in the University.

May 31, 2011 | 05:13 AM

Posted By: Ross Boden

I'll add to Khalil's note (hopefully).

I've benefited from some high level training in presentation skills from an American ex-News Anchor. His message was, 'People will pay attention to you - you will lose people in slides'. His method was to speak from your gut and have slides help you in your presentation by pointing out the highlights (keeping you and your audience on track). If you use this style of presenting it is important to design slides that are bland. The flashier the slide, the more attention it will rob from you. I've used blank white slides with black print and nothing but bullets outlining my talk. I'll admit that this only works well if you believe and are passionate about the subject you are presenting.

I have delivered hundreds of presentations within the organization I work, from the CEO down to the Janitor. The one thing that is true regardless of whomever you present to; if you do not believe in your topic, your audience will not believe you.

May 31, 2011 | 01:10 AM

Posted By: Khalil A. Cassimally

I've always seen lectures as attempts to get people interested by giving a decent overview of the topic. As such, they must be relatively light and attention-grabbing.

This is not the case of most undergrad lectures though. Many of my friends went to the exam, reading no books or anything, only their lecture slides. This gives you an idea of how heavy the slides were.

Instead, why not concentrate on giving talks and point students to reading material (from books, papers, websites, handouts, etc)? Catch students' interests during the talks/lectures, direct them to more in-depth sources of knowledge, discuss anything that comes up in tutorials/seminars.

Death by PowerPoint - is PowerPoint killing learning?

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