[edi581] Please Read First Assignment 2-Donna Carter

From: Donna Carter <dlc1213@xxxxxxxxx>
To: edi581@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 18:41:22 -0700 (PDT)
I sent out my draft paper by mistake! Please just read
this one and delete the other copy! Sorry! Thank you!
Donna

In the article, PowerPoint No, Cyberspace Yes, Creed
discourages the use of PowerPoint within classrooms.
Creed feels that PowerPoint does not allow good
pedagogy of learning to occur within the class.
According to Creed learning should be student centered
and controlled where students are constantly
communicating with one another. According to Creed,
the use of PowerPoint does not allow any of these
characteristics to occur.Instead PowerPoint fosters a
teacher controlled presentation using expensive
equipment that frequently doesn't work. His bottom
line is that teachers are still lecturing students and
just "adding color" to their lecture by using
PowerPoint. The use of PowerPoint turns the focus of
the classroom from the learning to the presentation.
Creed feels that instead of focusing on PowerPoint
schools should instead focus on electronic
communication that according to Creed, would promote
good pedagogy. 

Opinion:
I feel that while Creed does make some novel points he
fails to realize that each classroom is different. It
is not PowerPoint that decides if the pedagogy of the
class will be good or for that fact successful. It is
in fact the teacher of that classroom! Teachers use
PowerPoint to illustrate points, to allow students
that need visual and auditory simulation the needed
reinforcement, and to help with the general
presentation of the lesson. PowerPoint does not make
or break a lesson, the teacher does. PowerPoint does
not need to be teacher centered or teacher controlled.
It should be the students that drive the pace and
direction of the lesson in the first place not the
teacher or PowerPoint. In addition, I do not know of
any teachers that would not allow students to ask
questions during a PowerPoint presentation though
Creed alludes to this happening frequently. In
addition, teachers do not use PowerPoint on a daily
basis. Yes, lecture is a part of school and there are
times when a teacher needs to get information to their
students through lecture. The use of powerpoint in
conjunction to the lecture allows for the enhancement
of the lesson as it becomes more meaningful and more
interesting by highlighting important facts. Lastly, I
do agree that electronic communication is in fact
another important part of the classroom and student
learning. I agree with Creed that teachers should be
integrating its use into the class yet, I also
strongly believe that there should also be integration
of PowerPoint within the classroom.

In the second article, PowerPoint Is Not Evil, is an
article countering Creed's Powerpoint No, Cyberspace
Yes. This article, written by Tom Rocklin, puts a
positive spin on the use of PowerPoint in the
classroom. Rocklin views PowerPoint as a part of
technology that when used with the right tasks and
conditions might be quite useful within the classroom.
Within this article Rocklin uses a fictitious
professor named Professor Pearl to demonstrate the
advantages of PowerPoint within the class. Rocklin
highlights how PowerPoint can provide an excellent
organizational tool for teachers allowing easy access
to lessons and information that can be shared easily
with other teachers. In addition, Rocklin also
highlighted the use of PowerPoint to spell out
directions clearly, provide concrete examples, review
material, and allowed for easy small group
instruction. This article strongly demonstrates
through Professor Pearl how PowerPoint can help
teachers help their students to learn.  

Opinion:
I agree with many points that Rocklin made within this
article. PowerPoint can foster both good and bad
teaching. It is dependent on the individual teacher
and how they use the technology. Rocklin also points
out that teachers need to be aware of the appropriate
times to use PowerPoint in the classroom. Teachers
need to keep in mind their task and their conditions.
I also found the ideas given by Professor Pearl very
useful. Using Powerpoint as a review tool for small
group instruction was not something I had previously
thought of implementing within my own class. This
article made the positives of PowerPoint, such as the
organization and the help given to visual learners,
clear. Yet, I felt that Rocklin presented the
information in an unbiased manner that allowed the
reader to objectively look at the use of PowerPoint.
Rocklin clearly stated that PowerPoint could lead to
good or bad teaching. The ideas in this article allow
the reader to take away the good teaching ideas which
can allow PowerPoint to be successful within the
reader's class.

The third article, Ban It Now! Friends Don't Let
Friends Use PowerPOint, by Thomas Stewart was a
cynical look at the use of PowerPoint. Stewart paints
the picture of PowerPoint taking over business
presentations to the point that the speaker can no
longer function or speak without being accompanied by
a PowerPoint presentation. Stewart complains that that
PowerPoints are all the same and have been "dumbed
down" for the audience.Steward points out that the
presenter can hide their true point or view behind a
unstimulated unoriginal presentation. Stewart uses the
metaphor PowerPoint is like business TV to demonstrate
his extreme dislike of PowerPoint.   


Opinion:
I believe that this article did have some humor behind
it yet, I do not agree with Stewart's main point of
the discontinued use of PowerPoint. We as educators
must take this article with a grain of salt. This was
a jab at the business world's use of PowerPoint not
that of education. In education, teachers (hopefully)
would not simply read the PowerPoint presentation.
When using PowerPoint within the classroom it is used
as a tool for instruction not as a part of statistical
business presentation. PowerPoint's main purpose
within the classroom is to highlight important facts
and allow visual learners to benefit from its use. The
use of bullets in PowerPoint does not in fact "kill"
the viewer as suggested by Stewart. Quite the opposite
occurs in the classroom. Bullets allow students to see
the important facts that are being learned and may
also make note taking easier for students. Overall,
this article was written to attack business
presentations but should serve as a warning to not
over use PowerPoint within the class or it may follow
the business world's footsteps.   

Donna Carter
RCSD
2nd Grade


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[edi581] Please Read First Assignment 2-Donna Carter

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