What I see in many introductory classes where powerpoints are used is that students are given handouts and sit back, as though they were watching TV. Watching television lulls the brain into a sleep-like state. In introductory classes without powerpoints the students take notes, actively involved in at least copying what’s said. Sometimes they must ask, “can you repeat what you just said?” so they can write it down which loosens up the atmosphere for asking content-related questions.

In higher-level classes powerpoints are rarely used, or they are used mainly to project physical papers when not everyone has one, and discussion is the main mode of information transmission. Using powerpoint to spoon-feed students instead of engaging them in discussion and letting them find the information in the text is setting them up for failure later on. See if you can find some of your best students from five years ago. Now they have experience under their belts ask which classes they prefer – powerpoint classes or “naked” lectures. Good students tend to prefer naked lectures while poor students prefer powerpoint lectures (because it means less work for them). Do we really want to choose the style that the poor students prefer?

We’ve been seeing a decline in education for the last few years, and part of me wonders if it’s because of instructors using this new technology.