Research points the finger at PowerPoint

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/03/1175366240499.html

by noisemaker • 19 years ago

6 5 19 years ago

smh.com.au

noisemaker• 19 years ago

I feel the title is too much of a pun, than a good indicator of what the story is about. But has some nice tips about how to use and compose a visual presentation.

BrandonM2• 19 years ago

This reminds me of Paul Graham's comment about Powerpoint,

"the stated purpose of Powerpoint is to present ideas. Its real role is to overcome people's fear of public speaking. It allows you to give an impressive-looking talk about nothing, and it causes the audience to sit in a dark room looking at slides, instead of a bright one looking at you."

(from http://paulgraham.com/hiring.html)

I for one would be happy to see it go by the wayside. In most cases, it makes for boring, formulaic presentations. When used properly, it can serve a good purpose, but most people use it for the purposes that pg stated. I preferred the time where people would instead focus on the speech itself, memorizing much of it. That made talks seem much more dynamic and interesting, in my opinion.

Elfan• 19 years ago

They have also challenged popular teaching methods, suggesting that teachers should focus more on giving students the answers, instead of asking them to solve problems on their own.

I don't understand how this connects to the rest of the study.

BrandonM2• 19 years ago

I think their overarching hypothesis was that sensory overload decreases learning. Supposedly, by requiring students to listen to a lecture and view Powerpoint slides at the same time, the information actually gets shoved into short term memory and forgotten, because it is too much to remember all at once.

By the same token, apparently, asking students to solve the problem forces them to focus on a specific problem, and it makes learning the concepts (or even remembering what methods went into solving the problem) more difficult, because of the same brain overload.

At least that's what I took from the article. I personally find that I learn best in a class when I listen closely to the professor and take very minimal notes. In doing so, I can focus on remembering what's being said instead of trying to read slides or write quickly. That's why I appreciate professors who put their notes online; I can listen closely in class and then review the notes later on to reiterate what I learned.

johnm• 19 years ago

Two good resources: PresentationZen blog (http://www.presentationzen.com/ ) and Beyond Bullet Points book (http://www.beyondbullets.com/ ).

Research points the finger at PowerPoint

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