POWERPOINT AND PEDAGOGY MAINTAINING STUDENT INTEREST IN UNIVERSITY LECTURES Jennifer Clark Abstract. This author discusses the relationship between the use of presentation software and the maintenance of student interest in university lectures. ‘The evidence of surveyed universi ty students suggests that PowerPoint, used as a presentation tool in univer- sity lectures, is pedagogically effective only while it provides variety and stimulates interest in the learning environment. That stimulation can be increased if Power Point is used to bridge the direct and constructivist teaching models. Keyword: Lev in terfary institutions can be niworcusly bering The lecture tad tionally talks at sdemts Wil they lake notes Without thinking shoot whats being ssi. The eeaive use of information and communication tecarology (ICT. espe cially presemation software sich as Power Poin, can bring tenewed energy abd changed diction tothe lectue format Better laringoateomes canbe achieved inthe process b) stimulating Interest Jemijer Clark coches besry ae the Unwersy of New England ix Ausrtia. She is a repent of the Vce-Choncello for Excellence in Teaching and a ratona! Corie Citation for Outtending Contnbations te Sider Learning ops © 2008 Heide Pubticaaons Vol. 56/No. + 2 lectures, PowerPoint, student interest improving note taking, and promoting higher-order thinking. ICT can creatively enhance the lecture and help bridge the divide between direct and constructivist leaming models. The key element in the use of PowerPoint as a presentation tool is its potential 10 increase and maintain student interest and attention to the Iec- ‘ure When combined with active teaching and student involvement PowerPoint has not been introduced into the classroom or the boardroom with- ‘out some fear and trepidation, Much of the literature discussing PowerPoint focuses fon the training of users in an attempt to remove uncertainty and encourage confidence in a technocentrie environ: ‘ment (Adams and Blauer 1998; Baines 2000; Griggs 2002; Holz! 1997, Walsh and Frontezak 2003). Another body of research examines student use of Power: Point as» learning tool. Perry (2003) anal Sicgle and Foster 2001) report positively on this aspect. Pesy (64) panicularly argues for the application of PowerPoint ‘0 support multiple intelligences. Other researchers measure PowerPoiat’s effec- liveness in student assessment. Here the ‘sults are disputed. Reinhardt (1999), Parks (1999), and Lowry (1999) all Argued that PowerPoint use produced bet: fer assessment scores. Szabo and Hast. ings (2000, 187) disagreed, arguing that PowerPoint “does not result in superior academic performance.” Rankin and Hoaas (2001, 113) also found “there is ‘o significant effect in terms of student performance.” PowerPoint as a Presentation Tool in Lectures [My interestin experimenting with Power Point was specilically elated to its use as a presentation tool within & lecture program, 1 wanted to increase student intellectual participation in the lecture, to move toward 2 more constructivist, problem-solving approach 10 learning, and to refigure the staid lecture format in a more creative Way. In other words, I wanted to extend the work of Gilroy (1998), who believed “technology may provide one possible key for revitalizing the lecture” (5). Gilroy recognized that “many students are not receptive to lectures.” arguing 39that in a wehnologically driven society “the soreen is a fundamental part of their daily routines” (5). It seemed sensible, she suggested, t0 incorporate modern technol ‘ogy into the old-fashioned lecture format to “ereate a Jeaming environment that is consistently intriguing” (5), The immedi- ate focus of Gilroy's article is her percep- tion that talking alone is not enough and students today would be fappier learning {rum display, an approach that combines both visual and aural stimuli, sometimes in quite complex ways. The underly ing importance of Gilroy's article is her understanding of the connection between learning and the attraction of student {interest in this case, an interest stimulated by a variety of technological forms and techniques including the use of presenta tion software, Reinhardt (1999) disagrees: she argued that PowerPoint presentations cca create a passivity in student learning Students may not take notes if they sre provided for them on PowerPoint print outs, they may fall asleep because the wom is darkened to facilitate projection: and they may become “spectators rather than participants in a classroom where the professor ‘orchestrates’ a multimedia presentation” (49), What both Reinhardt and Giltoy are really beginning to address is the impact of presentation software fon students participation in their learn ing. Student participation is reliant om the effective encouragement of student inter est. Can PowerPoint, as one of the most popular and easily accessed forms of pre: sentation software, be a means to that end? Specifically, can using PowerPoint encour fage the development of a constructivist- learning environment? More broadly, can presentation software impact pedagogy in such a positive way’? Technology and Pedagogy ‘The debate over the impact of technol- ‘ogy on pedagogy is not new, In 1964, Marshall McLuhan aired his famous com- ments on the importance of the medium of communication, even above its content. More recently, in an article titled “How Computers Change the Way We Think.” Turkle (2004) quite explicitly claimed, “the tools we use lo think change the ‘ways in which we think” (B26)! Power Point “cares its own way of thinking, its own aesthetic.” she wrote. and “in that 40 Winter 2008 aesthetic, presentation becomes its own powerful ides” (B26). The implication is that the use of presentation sofiware in the corporate boardroom is indicative of a wider “culture of presentation” where “appearance is often more important than reality” (B27), Turkle argues in this example that presentation software has “fetishized the outline at the expense of the content” (B27). There is much truth to this argument, Turkle's reading of Tufte (2003), who condemns presentation sofi- ware as "PowerPoint Phluff.” 4) informs her views, Tufte criticizes PowerPoint for the paueity of space per slide allocated 19 original material, the replacement of com- plex. processes with oversimplified and unconnected bullet points, low-resolution image reproduction, restrictive templates, and peemotion of intellectual simplicity ‘Audience boredom is usually a content failure, not a decoration failure” 24), ‘The anxwer, according to Tufte. is nothing less than “product recall” Tufte i not alone in condemning Power Point. In July 2003, two months before Tufte published his book, Oliver Robinson reported in the Sydney Moning Herald that modern presentation technology was Killing our power to communicate. Gra- ham Jones, speechwriter and journalist, called it “Death by PowerPoint” (Robin- sou 1), “The difficult thing.” said speech: writer Brian Jenner “is if you're giving PowerPoint presentations, you're not using yourself to communicate, i's mere about {giving people information which doesn't ‘inject any passion into the message” (Rob- inson 1). According to Robinson, business leaders are tuming zway from PowerPoint and rediscovering the impact of otd- fashioned speechmaking, Robinson invited his audience to “forget the high-tech gad- gels when you're making 2 presentation. Just be yourself” (1). Those who write ‘shout PowerPoint use in education do. not go that far, but they do wam that Power- Point must “support effective teachiog” (Walsh and Frontezak 2003, 41) Frey and Birnbaum (2002) acknow!- edged that “PowerPoint is often the first step” for tertiary teachers wanting to Introduce ICT into the university lecture (7), Frey and Bimbaum surveyed 160 szudents aout their response 10 Power- Point and what value they gave its use as an instructional tool, Although the results were overwhelmingly positive, Frey and Bimbaum concluded that “continued research is needed on successful state gies for using presentation software to achieve course goals” given their belief that the literature in the instructional ase of PowerPoint was “limited” (8, 3). Its clear from the literature oni Power- Point use in education that we still know ‘ery litle about how best 10 use it, how to ‘overcome any inbuilt shortcomings, and how it might presuppose learning diree- tions, In particular, what clements of the PowerPoint presentation either contribute to or discourage the maintenance of stu- dent interest? How can teachers capitalize fon siudent response to improve learning ‘outcomes? How can PowerPoint be used ciffectively to support a more construc tivist pedagogy? Or does. instructional technology by its very nature, that is. the limitations of its “medium,” produce 4 learning environment so overwheim- ing that, as Apple (1991) suggests, "Lebe iscourse of the classroom will center on technique, and less on substance” (75) “The constructivist learning model's sim isto encourage students not just to remem ber information butto engage it, work with it take ownership of it, and understand it ‘hy adding to known knowledge and build ing on pew knowledge by exploring pos: sibilities. The key deseriptor, says Peskins (1992), is “active’—not just responding sim the behaviorist rubri, but ling, and seeking to make (49). This approach seers to offer no place for presentation so ‘ware that according to Tufte is “presenter oriented, and not content-oriented, not audience-oriented” (4), Following this position, PowerPoint is connected with displaying authority and therefore allied to the direct leaming model: “[lbe fans of PowerPoint are presenters rarely audi ‘ence members"). Presentation software, however, can add an exira dimension tthe Tecture that can allow the lecturer to turn 2 traditionally conservative practice into bridge between direet- and constructivist- learning models. Thisiswhere the teacher's role becomes crucial Tufie's examples of ineflective Power Point presentations all relate to inappro- priate, restrictive, repetitive, and unimagi- native uses of the software, such as rely- ing on fixed templates, limiting the type to stimuli COLLEGE TEACHING.of material presented on slides, and com- Promising the content to fit presentation patterns, For example, when Tufte criti- izes the “line-by-line slow reveal.” itis because the presenter “unveils and reads aloud the single line on the slide, then reveals the next line, reads that aloud, on ‘and On, as stupetied audience members impaticntly await the end of the talk” (23), My aim in examining PowerPoint use was to idemtify those areas thot made Power. Point an effective teaching tool and then ‘ascertain how best to capitalice on those features to produce more effective student participation in Jectares, Methodology ‘To explore whether PowerPoint could he used effectively in lectures, that is, ‘Whether form could enrich rather than stifle comtemt, U surveyed forty-six history ssuients in the second of thind years of their university degree across several sepa fate classes taught by different statl mem bers using a variety of styles end levels of PowerPoint competence The survey was saneny mous and axkministered by a neutral thied pany. ‘The questionnaire was used {o elicit qualitative information about the postive and negative aspects of Power- Point use in lectures and in particular, to identify those elements thet cou help to ‘naintain student interest. ANT sudenis had been exposed 10 some use of PowerPoint in Tectures: 39.13 petcent of respondents ‘aid they saw a PowerPoint presentation cedsionally, 36.96 percent most of the time, and 21.74 percent almost every lecture, Students responded favorably PowerPoint presentations: 76.09 percent thought Powe:Poin: was an excellent mnethod! of presentation, and 89,13 pereent Of Studem’s reported that they believed PowerPoint aided their learning Ic is impossible within the scope of this study t0 analyze in detail what the students undersiood by “learning” How- ever. their cornmenis about the perceived benefits of PowerPoint in their learning ewironment provide some insight into What areas of the learning experience they saw as important. These comments included the way hearing the lecture and secing projected information at the same time served to reinforce new material: the identification of key points made access 10 ‘ew information easier; information could Vol. 56/No. 1 be presented in a way that was easier to anderstand; displaying information assist- ‘ed note taking: the visual presentation of material, especially if accompanied by a Printout, allowed time just for listening: and the presentation ofa visual image with 4 verbal description made understanding easier. Some comments alse suggested students were able to understand the lec- ture better because of the increased clarity ‘of the presentation facilitated by Power- Point and because they could think about the whole lecture without scrambling to write down basic information, Students believed printed handouts increased their fetention of information and ideas pre sented in the lecture over time. In this context students included in thei ideas of learning, kaowing, remembering. under- standing, and thinking about new material in their ideas of learing Both Gilroy (1998) and Frey and Rirn- baum (2002) believed the use of ICT in tertiary education inereased student inter- €8t Sixty-nine percent of Frey and Bim: ‘baum’s surveyed students strongly agreed ‘or agreed that PowerPoint held thei atten: tion (3). My survey results confirmed Frey and Bimbaum’s study where stu dents commented that they found Power Point helped in note taking, aided study revision, and helped keep their attention OF the suidents in my survey, 95.55 per cent answered “yes” to the question “Is Your attention taintained throughout the PowerPoint presentation?” I wat most interested in why students believed lec: tures with PowerPoint held their inter St, Because | Wanted to use that data to explore ways to encourage greater intel- lectual participation in lectures, create ‘more dynamic lectures, and increase the active-teaming component of the lecture. PowerPoint should not be used to attract attention superficially so much as to mains tain interest for the purpose of encourag. ing genuine ongoing engagement with the eciure’s material Discussion of the Survey Results ‘The survey questions were designed to achieve some quantifiable data (yes/no answers), but primarily my purpose was to encourage students to write about Povt- erPointin their own words (see apperalix), ‘Most of the questions were open-ended. 1 wanted to discover whether PowerPoint Presentations, perhaps beciuse of their increasing use and the operators’ limited skill base, were boring. Most important, { wanted to elicit 4 response 10 the use of PowerPoint that was not necessarily irected by predetermined suggestions; that is. [tried to limit the questionnaire structure to see what concepts the studeuts worked with when asked to think about the PowerPoint presemtations they had seen, In this sense, I wanted to see the sonceptual level the students applied 1 the analysis of their own learning using PowerPoint as a starting point. I also ‘wanted t0 elicit ideas about those features of a lecture that held a student's atten- tion without directly asking. The data that imerested me most were not necessarily Statistically significant bat qualitatively significant, When students had an oppor tunity (0 give their opinion about the use of PowerPoint in lectures, what sons of Fesporses did they have and what did they say about the maintenance of imerest? Much of the student comment pre- Sented in the questionnaire about interest levels and maintenance came trom an appreciation of visual stimuli. PowerPoint presentations they siw not only projected the writen word as difficult iexts foreign words, complex spellings, summaries, OF main. points, but projections, invari. ably included diagrams, graphs, portraits, maps, landscapes, and examples of archi tecture and art, Something to look at other than the lecturer helped focus attention, Listening alone was considered more bor- {ng than watching and listening together. Students enjoyed seeing pictures. Some students explicitly identified the active ‘aspects of the visual stimuli as significant, but they did not differentiate between the animation within each slide and the pro- gression of slides and simply referred to the presence of “movement.” “Often there fe pictures/diagrams and the movernent gets your atteation,” reported one sludent? Interest was linked to anticipation: “You have to remain atentive, waiting for the next slide": “the movement of the slides keeps me going” Here the PowerPoint Presentation compares favorably with the ld-fashioned overtiead projections. Even when prepared clearly in color, oveshead tranyparencies are one-dimensional. The integration of more than one image is Uiffieult, the combination of imige and atext is clumsy and the renovation of the ‘overhead impossible. Design was also fn important element related to inter est: “colors and graphic design always atwracts my attention”; “it Keeps me more interested with the colors and the move- ‘ments; “there are also colors that make the lecture more abive rather than plain black and white overhead slide projec tions.” The key factor was, as one student sid, “pretty lights.” Twenty-six of the forty-six respondents specifically offered the variety of movement and coloras rea PowesPoint maintained student interest when the slides varied ip style, format, purpose, and frequency. When asked specifically, “Hve you ever felt bored with watching yet anoth. ex PowerPoint in lectures?” only 10.87 percent of surveyed students answered x” and 86,96 percent answered “no” Those who had not felt bored jus- tified their answer in tess of a posi tive response to variety: “There is always something new to read about and study"; “They are always, different—never the EDUCATIONALISTS ARE JUST DISCOVERING THE PEDAGOGICAL POTENTIAL OF PRESENTATION SOFTWARE, BUT IT 1S USEFUL TO THINK ABOUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH POWERPOINT CAN BE USED TO FACILITATE VARIETY IN THE LECTURE TO IAAINTAIN AND ENCOURAGE STUDENT INTEREST. sons for the maintenance of their interest in PowerPoint slides. The effectiveness of design was also commonly linked to the perceived skill of the lecturer in developing a Power- Point presentation. “Lecturers must use PowerPoint with some design flair and skill. Those without these could do with some taining of help with design,” said cone student. The experience of surveyed students pointed to the quality of Power Point as an important factor in main~ taining interest. It was not PowerPoint ‘itself that was interesting but how it was prepared and what feaures of the sofi- ‘ware were employed. For example, one student wrote: “When well created. ie. use a great mix of graphics snd text 10 really draw the viewer in they hold an audience” One student explained that PowesPoint lessons were effective “only when they are well presented: the cre- ator’s skill must be at a competent level.” Color, animation, variations in design, and slide progression elicited a positive response to PowerPoint, On the other hand, the absence of these features was linked to poor preparation, lack of skill, and consequent ineffectiveness: “when ill prepared, they are boring and repetitive” 42 Winter 2008 same." Variety extended past the presenta- tion tothe frequency of presentation style: “I don’t always get them, s0 T don't have ‘one class with PowerPoint after another.” Boredom “depends on whether they are Used all the time." PowerPoint “should be used not sparingly but at the same time not used continuously.” Students wanted to see PowcxPoint presentations because they understood their benefits, but at the same Ume a very small number, perhaps paradorically, acknowledged 2 potential for boredom. This boredom did not just relate to repetitive style or format, but one student acknowledged that using Power Point too Frequently caused boredom. ‘These survey responses superficially suggest that form, rather than content, impressed students. They equated variety, color, and movement with good teaching. But at the same time, thoy believed these features helped keep their attention and ‘maintain their interest in the lecture; that is, the form was directly related to their increased ability to focus on the content. This is where the studeat responses take issue with Tafte Students did not Fail to link the lec- turer with the success of PowerPoint. A good PowerPoint experience “is presented by interesting Lecturers"; “Attention is maintained most of the time if accom- panied by an interesting, good lecturer"; Interesting lectures also help”; “different teachers used them differently. so some are effective and others are not.” Teachers rust make effective use of the projected material, not “fick” through the slides ‘of laboroasly read what is on the sereen while standing with their back tothe class. “The teacher must be able to judge the pre- sentation’s pace as not 19 move too fast or too slowly through the sides, Some- times slides are useless in their brevity fr burdensome in their detail, The survey indicated very clearly thatthe level of stu- dent interest in a PowerPoint lecture was dependent on presentation management. Clearly, students did not see PowerPoint in isolation but rather as part of a peds- ogical package, including the interest the topic held for them, the personality and delivery style of the lecturer, andl even whether the lecture was delivered at the ceil of the day. The teacher's role is seen as cncial. There is aa integrated relaion- ship between the lecturer, ihe content, and the sfides. The students recognized the importance of this link, as did Turkle, “Ot ‘course in the hands of a master teacher, & PowerPoint presentation with few words ‘and powerful images can serve as the jumping-off point for a teilliant leture™ (B27) Implications Educationalists are just discovering the pedagogical poteatal of presentation soft- ware, but itis useful to think about the extent to which PowerPoint can be used to facilitate varity in the lecture to maintain and encourage student interest. Although my survey indicates an overwhelmingly postive response to PowerPoint, the col- lected comments show a. preoccupation ‘with difference, movement, change, and ‘variety asthe reason why interest is main tained and attention held. One response ‘even admitied that PowerPoint presen tations were “usually .. . made to be entertaining” PowerPoint is appreciated because it facilitates variety, Student per ception of iterest depended so heavily on the colors, design, and even the number of slides shown, although, most important, PowerPoint was deemed effective only when it was used by competent and inter- COLLEGE TEACHING, esting lecturers. Lecturers need to limit the use of the repetitive bullet-point style and instead incorporate diagrams, graphs, images, and sound bites when appropriste, PowerPoint offers a host of opportanities to present slides in a vanety of ways, and i is important that variety be exploited if interest in the lecture is to be maintained. PowerPoint, however, is only a deliv. ery system for presenting information to sludents. It is important that the variety Students identified as being so integral in ‘maintaining their attention is pedagogical- ly directed. Attractively presented slides are useless unless their intellectual con- ‘eat is challenging and important. Form without substance will not engage a class, but variety in form may help make new material more accessible, memorable, and easier to understand. Although the tech nology is inbuilt with variety, the greatest Variable tests with the teacher, who can Use the technology in pedagogically excit- ing ways, even in a lecture, Ici fashion- ble to criticize the direet-leaming mode! best exemplified by the lecture format, 44s “irrelevan{t) 10 the needs of today's ‘idents” (Roblyer 2003, $9-60). Roblyer believes that students are left unmoti- vated, cannot use skills in unfamiliar situ- ations, are unable to solve problems, and hhave trouble in cooperative situations Stulemis need to be stinulated to respond to presented material imaginatively, ana- lytically, and aesthetically so they. can think critically, question, and explore. The mujor Way 10 encourage student interest in lectures is (© seek their participation “Proficient technology-oriented teschers must learn to combine directed instruction and constructivist approaches" (36), With ICT, the lecturer can encourage a greater degree of constructivist learning within the lecture format. The easiest way to do this is by posing questions and prob- lems, offering visual imagery to stimulate a creative response to issues, and teaching across Gardne:'s multiple intelligences (Gardner and Hatch 1990), Wrinen text can be projected to allow for extended analysis, which provides mere opportuni tes for students to understand concepts and ideas. It is also possible 10 project fan image 10 use as the basis for a min discussion, of to screen multiple images for comparison, PowerPoint can be used 10 create sm emotional response in stu- Vol. 56/No. 1 dents by combining image. sound, and text. The visual or musical leaner can Particularly relste to the presentation of ‘material in this way. PowerPoint becomes ‘an essential ingredient in encouraging stu- dents to engage lecture material. Power- Point is best used as a tool to each learn- ing objectives, not as a means wo reinforce the direct-learning model’s worst features, PowerPoint need not be the authoritarian weapon of Tufte's scenario, “The lecturer is ultimately responsible for encouraging interest by remaining student focused, rather than presenter focused, and by enhancing his or her ICT vse and design knowledge. Each slide cams content of the lecturer's choosing. It does not have to be trivial, and it does ‘not have to be the only material presented to the students. Lecturers can encourage students to make their own connections and construct their own understanding of the visual and the sural stimuli. Lecturers must also be sate of their own pace, movement, injection of drama, systematic organization of material, and voice pro- diction as well asthe use of hal lighting ‘The lecturer must reintroduce spontaneity into the lecture and be confident enough in the structural preparation of the Power- Point presentation to break away from it and still know how to find his or her way back. It may be useful in some classes to abandon PowsrPoint altogether and 10 "proach the material in a completely dif- ferent way, to do something where note ‘aking is not required or where learning can be drawa from the students’ exper ences, In this way, PowerPoint’s benefits ean be optimized without losing thet 19 familianty and expectation, There is anag- «ging suspicion arising from this research that the software that promises to main- {ain interest because of its encouragement of variety will ultimately lose its novelty. The design features will not be new and different anymore, The flying text and the sound effecis will become boring. When variety is the key to maintaining interest, students may eventually tire of the kind of variety PowerPoint can offer. The survey respondents. identified novel stimuli as important to maintaining interest. This is why students enjoy PowerPoint lectures and why lecturers must be more aware of ‘he importance of management of vari- ation, To this end, lecturers must con- sider PowerPoiat’s more advanced and innovative features. I is clear from the survey that students favored higher levels of design skill in their classes and a more imaginative use of PowerPoint software, Students’ pref= erence for color and movement showed they were looking for-a presentation that held their interest. PowerPoint isan effec- tive delivery system for information, but neither fixed templates nor repetitive and ‘unimaginative use of the bullet point, which should be used to support rather than direct, the lecture, should restrict the lecturer, Presenting summarized informa- tion is PowerPoint’s most limiting feature. Yet it is the one most commonly used and for which the software is most noted. Surveyed students referred to taking notes from PowerPoint slides a both heneficial and difficult, Students took notes and lis- fened, but they could become lost if the teacher wandered away from the notes and the projected screen was seen in iso- lation. Students responded best to printed PowerPoint slides they could keep that reduced the impulsive desire 10 copy the notes from the screen, If printed slides are distributed, then the lecturer is in a better position to develop the constructivist tech- Iiques that move the lecture away trom dinect learning, With copying eliminated, students can be asked to comment on the notes, engage in discussion, and move out from the information given to explore deeper implications, Students can refer to notes in their hand and compare that information with material projected onto new screen. If desired, that information can be overlaid with sound bites. or an ‘explanation from the lecturer. Ulimately, and fundamentally, with note copying climinated, students can be asked to think bout what they hear and see in lectures and to make their own, personal notes; they can be confident that they already have the information the lecturer wants them to have. This development is essen- tial to the encouragement of higher-order thinking. Students should be encouraged ot fo copy, but to express; this conceptual shift should be possible within the lecture format with the use of PowerPoint We need t0 free ourselves from fixed formals and tried purposes and consider instead how to use PowerPoint more inno- vatively, This may involve exploring and 43injegrating is diverse capabilites: Power. Point can, for example, be used to project aU} kinds of material, prepared and select ed especialy to illustrate the lecture orto stimulate discussion, This materia can be Surnmaries oF notes, but also more eom- plex text, images, film clips, and sound bites. What we choose to project should reaquite deeper engagement by students and more higher-order thinking. Intemet access is another more com ples feature of PowerPoint that presets enormous opportunities to bring immedi: fey and interactivity into the Jectare nal Ins possible to use PowerPoint to hyper link to the Internet and access digitalized archival documents. interactive Web sites, the course's home page, up-tothe- ‘minute information such as news repons. for purpose-built Web sites. When used in this way PowerPoint is much more than presentation software used only to display information; rather, i! becomes a gateway through which a much wider range of resources can be accessed and a wider range of activities can be employed 10 encourage student leaming, Whatever #8 fytilatle on the Internet hecomes acces: sible inthe lecture ball and can be inte~ fated, as appropriate 10 the discipline, ito the lecture PowerPoint can also work in cos junction with compatible technology 10 fencourage higher-order thinking and more extensive student involvement in the lee ture hall, Using a Syrapodiam, itis now possible to project matenal onto a Smar= board (an interactive white board) and then edit or annotate directly onto the screen, This feature would be particu- larly advantageous, say in the discussion of a complex text, « set of figures, or a significant image. The slide would be Projected onto the Smartboard and then the lecturer could directly annotate the projected text. Studenis could participate in this process and the annotations could te edited and re-edited until the screen expressed the direction of he discussion cr met a particular leaming outcome, The new edited screen could then be saved. printed, e-mailed, or published 1 « Web rage for later reference or actos the basis fora student exercise 44 — Winter 2008 Conclusion Students appreciated PowerPoint only while itheld their interest, which occurred. when there was variety in the design of the presentations using color, movement. and frequency. That variety was a function vf the lecturer's expertise in creating and employing the presentation in the class. My survey's evidence suggests students recognized the benefits of a PowerPoint presentation but were critical enough t0 equate the success of the class with the lecturer's ability to use PowerPoint as f tool in meeting teaching and learn- ing objectives, rather than as the driving force of the lecture. IF we believe that technology determines: the educational ‘environment completely and rigidly, then we underestimate the importance of the teacher's role in delivering effective peda- ‘Rogy and the teacher's ability to engage the students by focusing on their learning as an active exercise—that is, by develop: ing a more constructivist eavironment PowerPoint can assist in meeting those goals when we use it t0 grasp ond main: tain student interest NOTES 1 My thanks to Carol B. MacKaight for directing me 1 this reference TD. All student comments ace taken from the open-ended questions in the anonymeus sudent survey REFERENCES: Adams. D., and C. Blauer, 1998, Presents: tion straegies: How t deliver your mes- sage with Rew technologies, THE Journal Gecknological Horizons. Education) 25 7: 18-20. ‘Apple, M. W, 1991. “The New Techpoiogy: Ts it prt ofthe solation of par af the prob Jem in education?” Computers in Schools 8 (1-3):75 Baines, L. 2000. 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Techy Trends $7(t), 1-45, COLLEGE TEACHINGVol. 56/No. 1 APPENDIX PowerPoint Questionnaire Sn |. Over what period have you experience the ase of PowerPoint precestations during Jecfures at LINE? 2. How often do you sce & PowerPoint presentation in history lectures? 3. What is your opinion sbout PowerPcint 26 a method of presentation in lectures? 4 What do you like bes about PowerPoint presentations? 5, What do you lke least about PowerPoint reseatations? 6. Do you telieve the PowerPoint presentation aids your caring? 2 Is your ateation meirtained throughout the PowerPoint presectation? Why cr why nce? '8 Have you received printouts of the PowerPoint slides as tes? If yes, do you take ‘ther notes as well or do you rly caly on the printouts for your lecture notes? 9. Has your opinion about PowerPoint as 1 method of presentation chenged overtime? I yes, why? 10. Have you ever felt bored with waiching PowerPoint in lectures? Why or why not? 11. Any other comments? 45