Reading #8 - Powerpointlessness (Brown, 2011)

I consistently used Powerpoints during my practicum.  They formed the basis upon which I taught new grammar concepts and delivered outlines of minor and major projects.  What I really like about Powerpoint is the fact that you can create it beforehand and it provides a chronological path that you can follow to make sure that you hit on all your key points that you wish to address.  I also like Powerpoints because you can use written and visual supports to assist in student comprehension of your lectures.

Some ways that I hoped would improve the effectiveness of my Powerpoints included...

• minimizing the text on my slides
• using similar fonts and presentation patterns for all grammar concepts 
• 'theming' my Powerpoints (i.e. presenting 'les adjectifs possessifs' through pictures and sentence examples related to Harry Potter).  I found that this engaged my students.

I also realize how Powerpoint can be incredibly time consuming and I do not think it would be possible to continue the quantity/quality of powerpoint examples I used in practicum during my future full-time teaching career.  I will have to be more selective of what I choose to present using Powerpoint.

I have been a student in classes, however, where Powerpoint was not used effectively.  As the author of the blog pointed out, these Powerpoints included too much text and were poorly organized.  I also had the chance to be a student in a course where an instructor repeated verbatim what was listed on her slides.  This created a terribly boring atmosphere where the 'boring' content was not being improved AT ALL by seeing the content twice (both verbally and in written format).