PowerPoint in the Classroom. A few considerations Roberta Grandi Università della Valle d’Aosta
• “Appearing at a meeting without PowerPoint slides has even been compared to wearing no shoes”. • “for a faculty member to refrain from using PowerPoint is sometimes seen as a mark of seniority and privilege”
• The Viagra of the spoken word – a wonder pill for flabby lectures
• Powerpoint
/
“chalk and talk”
• Entertain
/
Educate
The benefits • Appreciation – 75% of students prefer PowerPoint
• Structure – Students believe that they learn more
• Test performance is not proved to be better. • The use of technology enhances selfdirected learning.
The drawbacks • inadequate pacing of presentation • depersonalization
The drawbacks • • • •
transitoriness of presented information negative impact on literacy hard to take notes in the dark give slides in advance?
The drawbacks • cognitive “overload” – suppression of listening • concise slides
• The process of writing a summary can be sketched as a five-step process: • read the source-text carefully, aiming at understanding its organization and its gist; • identify key sentences (thesis statement and topic sentences) – if necessary, look words up in a dictionary and find synonyms; • write the outline of the source-text indicating main ideas and notions as identified in point 2; this is going to be the 'skeleton' of your target-text too. • expand your outline by discussing single aspects of the given topic in single paragraphs (according to the intro-body-concl. structure sketched above) and using connectives – remember: 1. never copy the source-text, so express ideas in your own words (simplify sentence structures; use synonyms; rephrase); 2. never express your own ideas, opinions, or interpretations but stick to the source-text objectively; • revise what you have written for conceptual and grammar mistakes (if necessary, target your final summary for the required number of words) Begin a summary with a clear identification of the type of work, title, author, and main point (generally indicated in thesis statement, if present) in the present tense: for example “In the essay XZ, the author, YY, discusses the notion of grammatical words”.
1. 2. 3. 4.
5.
Read the text carefully to understand the main meaning. Read again to examine text organization and key concepts. Try to identify topic sentences and keywords. Write an outline of the main concepts and connections. Rewrite the text: 1. In paragraphs: (Topic sentences etc.) 2. In a simplified but cohesive and coherent structure: (use connectives and linking words). 3. In your own words: NO COLLAGE. Proofread target text for content and form (check the word limit!)
The drawbacks • cognitive “overload” – suppression of listening • concise slides • no unrelated pictures
The Great Fire of London - 1666 • The Great Fire of London began on the night of September 2, 1666. • It began as a small fire on Pudding Lane, in the bakeshop of Thomas Farynor, baker to King Charles II. • At one o'clock in the morning, a servant woke to find the house aflame, and the baker and his family escaped, but a fearstruck maid perished in the blaze.
The Great Fire of London - 1666 The Great Fire of London began on the night of September 2, 1666. It began as a small fire on Pudding Lane, in the bakeshop of Thomas Farynor, baker to King Charles II. At one o'clock in the morning, a servant woke to find the house aflame, and the baker and his family escaped, but a fear-struck maid perished in the blaze.
The Great Fire of London - 1666 • The Great Fire of London began on the night of September 2, 1666. • It began as a small fire on Pudding Lane, in the bakeshop of Thomas Farynor, baker to King Charles II. • At one o'clock in the morning, a servant woke to find the house aflame, and the baker and his family escaped, but a fear-struck maid perished in the blaze.
Final considerations • Decide if PPT is the best tool for your lecture. • Prepare slides for special needs – Second language acquisition – Learning disabilities