Sorry it bothers you, but my understanding of the processes of learning tells me that for teaching, it is pretty much universally worse than writing the notes yourself on a board as you speak. The basic way to get your audience to ignore and fail to retain your high points is to put them in a Power Point slide.
I strongly disagree with this. There are simply too many scenarios where using a board is not a good option. Consider the following cases:
- A teacher is giving a lecture in a very large forum, like an auditorium. Writing on a chalkboard may be difficult for people who are far away, or there may be no position for a board to be in good view for the entire audience. A large projection above the speaker is a better solution. This is especially true for longer lectures - chalkboards tend to get harder and harder to see each time they are erased unless they are completely washed down with water.
- A teacher has very bad handwriting, or cannot easily draw the graphs/charts needed). Using printed text helps people understand better.
- A teacher wants the audience to copy down a few quotes that are a little lengthy, but has a limited amount of time. Taking time to write down all the quotes on the board takes away from valuable lecture time.
- A teacher wants to show a drawing of an object moving (a wave experiment for physics, for example). Constantly redrawing is time consuming, and gets harder and harder to see as more modifications are made. Using an animation is clearer.
Note that I'm not saying using a board isn't a good option, I just disagree that it's "universally" better.
Humans simply retain more when another human is actively engaged in the act of presenting the information - the separation of the content from the person delivering it that is inherent in all Power Point is a hindrance to absorption of the information.
Why can't a human be actively engaged in a Powerpoint presentation? I've seen plenty of cases where the projection was at at a level where the presenter could walk up to the screen and point at things, or circle things with a pointer, etc. Along the same lines, why is a teacher in front of a chalkboard always connected to the content? I've seen plenty of teachers get lost on tangents, or write things on a board that are barely related to the content. In situations with a long board, you could end up being on the opposite side room from the content you need to refer to.
Also, why are the two options (Powerpoint and board) mutually exclusive? Why can't a teacher use a Powerpoint presentation for headers, pictures, and charts, and then use a board to write down details and work through problems?
Power Point is a tool. It has strengths and weaknesses, but that doesn't mean it is good for all purposes, or that you can always find a good way to use it. If I'm assembling a computer, I need to drive machine screws. A hammer's a great tool in a general sense, but for my specific task it is not helpful.
I never said Powerpoint was good for all purposes, I just think it gets a bad rap. I disagree that it's "universally worse", that it's "content-destroying software", that it "reduces complex thought to caricature" or that it's "crushing the kids' will to live", as people have claimed in this thread. As you said, it's a tool. It doesn't do any of these things without some real, actual, person taking the time to do it. And that same person could do the same damage with a chalkboard if they wanted to.
For further consideration, I implore you to review the examples given in this thread of why Powerpoint is bad, and try and find how many are actually specific to Powerpoint. "Powerpoint" is simply an easy name to target. You could use any program to project on a screen if you wanted to (hell, you could even even use an old fashioned slide projector). And if you go through this thread and replace every instance of "Powerpoint" with "computer and projector" I think it will be a bit easier to see how grognard-ish people are being.
