Re: [Phys-L] Power Point's Huge Waste of Paper
Anthony Lapinski on 9/2/14 at 10:13 pm wrote:
"Interesting discussion! I teach high school. Used to write all my notes on
the board -- too many. Students could not copy fast enough, and then I was
onto the the next concept, demo, etc. Very ineficient. I now give out paper
notes on the first day of each topic. Simple and straightforward, and kids
love them to study for tests. Much better than any textbook, and kids can
pay more attention to me in class. I put a skeleton of the main ideas on the
board, and I use that to guide what I will be teaching. Very effective.
Never used PowerPoint. Never will."
I realize that this is a matter of personal taste and style, but I have
found PowerPoint to be very useful. I start with an outline of main points
and then construct slides to fill in and present to the class. This keeps
me organized and certainly saves time writing on the board. Also, I am able
to use quality graphics and have an easy to maintain and edit electronic
record of what was presented for the next year. To maintain class interest
and, hopefully, prevent "Death by PowerPoint", I interrupt the presentation,
at suitable points, with a multiple choice thought question for the class to
answer. This helps me gauge how well the class is understanding the
material and whether I need to "back up". I also work a few numerical
examples, by hand, on the board. While doing this to break the monotony of
one PowerPoint slide after another, I always get the feeling of how much
time I could save if I also put the numerical example on a PowerPoint slide
rather than copying on the board! I don't give out hardcopy notes of the
lecture, but do post the PowerPoint presentation, after class, on the class
web page, so students can refer to it when reviewing their notes or studying
for exams, or print themselves.
Don
Dr. Donald Polvani
Adjunct Faculty, Physics, Retired
Anne Arundel Community College