[etni] Powerpoint

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Hi All,
In reply to the article Steve sent us to about Powerpoint, I'm sure I'm not
the first or last person to respond but I'll give my views just to get it
off my chest.

I take strong exception to Edward Tufts claims in the 'Wired' article.  His
statements remind me of the kind of arguments that say that using computers
to teach reduces teaching to a stimulus-response type of dumb learning,
will put teachers out of work, etc. etc, you know the rest.

As with using any kind of technology, everything depends on HOW it is used,
not whether or not it is used.
Powerpoint in the hands of a lazy presenter is a bore, but then, that
presenter would be just as much a bore without Powerpoint.
Used in the hands of an experienced, creative presenter, Powerpoint adds a
visual impact through another sense, appeals to visual learners and aids
memory.

Here are some of its advantages for EFL teaching:
Instead of trivializing input, it can force students to summarize,
recognize/produce the main idea, recognize/produce supporting examples &
details, organize their thoughts  
It serves as a prop for speaking - gives confidence to shy students who
find it difficult to speak and/or speak before an audience.
It's a lot more fun for kids to prepare, and their classmates to listen to
presentations

Naturally, the teacher has to (know themselves and) teach the kids the
difference between a long-winded, read off the slides, graphically confused
presentation and a main points, concise, well-organized, well-practiced and
fluidly presented and creatively designed presentation.
As  the judge said about pornography and art, we all recognize which  is
which when we see it  ;-)

Renee
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