This link has been bookmarked by 77 people . It was first bookmarked on 22 Jul 2009, by Stephen Jenkins.
This article discusses some problems the author see in classrooms with regards to technology. He see the teachers using PowerPoint presentations as a waste of possible discussion time. He sees technology as a resource, but does not see that technology is the wave of the future and society is leaning towards the completely virtual classroom.
THis article shows that not all teachers are for technology-filled classrooms and some want the students to use the various forms of technology on their own time and save class meetings for discussion without dependence on computers.
Strange article about a Uni Dean who wants to ban computers because teachers are giving boring lectures, and leaning heavily on boring powerpoint presentations. Small side point about one teacher who uses computers in an interesting way. Hm, perhaps ban powerpoint rather than the whole connected technology.. and perhaps teach lecturers to use the machine more engagingly.
Dean at Southern Methodist is removing computers from lecture halls to encourage faculty to teach in more interactive ways (as opposed to static ppts).
Teaching is better w/out technology.
Willy Kjellstrom on 2009-08-23
Aren't there digital equibalents to the "least boring" teaching methods? I am hesitant to throw out the digital equivalent of seminars and practical sessions, but group discussions can be had with "powerpoint" and backchannel chats. Try Google Docs.
RT @KirstenWinkler: Must Read and watch the Video: 'Teach Naked' Effort Strips Computers From Classrooms http://bit.ly/2lLddK [from http://twitter.com/daylemajor/statuses/3086342364]
College leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to
Interesting article in itself but perhaps a better example to show to students about how Diigo can be used to expand the discussion and thinking about web page content. Would be good to use in EDMT 380 when examining social bookmarking towards the end of the semester. Tie in to "independent self-directed lifelong learners" theme of course. Maybe have them add to discussion on article which is not about student viewpoint.
Alexandre Enkerli on 2009-08-12
Does it follow so directly? It's quite easy to integrate technology with "seminars, practical sessions, and group discussions."
One teacher removes technology from the classroom totally.
Teaching higher education without Powertpoint
College leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked"—by which he means, sans machines.
ollege leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked"—by which he means, sans machines.
More than any thing else, Mr. Bowen wants to discourage professors from using PowerPoint, because they often lean on the slide-display program as a crutch rather using it as a creative tool.
dean groom on 2009-08-05
Rubbish there is no reason to dumb down learning; and he obviously is not teaching 2500 students at one time. PPT is not the problem here, and this really is a collection of facile arguements that are not ironically substantiated. Lowering his overhead does not increase student learning - wheres the evidence?
Alexandre Enkerli on 2009-08-18
Come to think of it, it sounds like the argument was made more forcefully by Young than by Bowen himself. Bowen is certainly quite vocal but the "need... to survive" sounds a tad bit stronger than Bowen's project.
What's funny is that the video made Bowen sound almost opinionated. The article makes Young sound like he has his own axe to grind
Class time should be reserved for discussion, he contends, especially now that students can download lectures online and find libraries of information on the Web. When students reflect on their college years later in life, they're going to remember challenging debates and talks with their professors. Lively interactions are what teaching is all about, he says, but those give-and-takes are discouraged by preset collections of slides.
Students in the survey gave low marks not just to PowerPoint, but also to all kinds of computer-assisted classroom activities, even interactive exercises in computer labs. "The least boring teaching methods were found to be seminars, practical sessions, and group discussions," said the report. In other words, tech-free classrooms were the most engaging.
Take the boring PowerPoint out of the classroom. Create podcasts which can be seen before class, save your classtime for discussions
Excellent ideas for created compelling in class teaching and learning. The video touches on some excellent points. Not simply dismissing technology or powerpoint but rather emphasizing and leverage face to face time.
His philosophy is that the information delivery common in today's classroom lectures should be recorded and delivered to students as podcasts or online videos before class sessions. To make sure students tune in, he gives them short online multiple-choice
Shelly Blake-Plock on 2009-07-29
PowerPoint? Really? That's his beef?
Is he also going to ban us from using Windows 95?
Bowen obviously has no idea what's going on in ed tech regarding the integration of active social media, cloud computing, and mobile devices. All of these technologies can be and are regularly used to enhance classroom discussion and student learning.
dean groom on 2009-08-05
damn you got there first!
Shelly Blake-Plock on 2009-07-29
If so, then it's only because profs aren't bringing social technologies into their classrooms. Does the author of this article understand what's current in ed tech?
dean groom on 2009-08-05
the problem here is that in higher education, student satisfaction drives a service mentality - and students WANT summised PPTs and the want PODCASTS. Spoooon feeeeeed me - for I am paying.
Daniel Burk on 2009-07-29
That is what happens when the Techer doesn't know how to use a tool effectively. PPT can be very engaging if done correctly.
Rob Jacklin on 2009-07-29
Totally agree. I find myself using "less" PPT these days!
Daniel Burk on 2009-07-29
Take it a step farther, have the students create podcasts with these professionals and experts!
Alexandre Enkerli on 2009-08-18
One cool thing about these podcasting projects is that people can build upon them, one semester after the other. Interviews with practitioners do help provide a multiplicity of voices. And, yes, getting students to produce their own content is often a good way to go, especially if the topic is somehow related to the activity. Getting students in applied communication to create material does sound appropriate.
Carlos Cabanillas on 2009-07-28
Algunos podrian tomar ejemplo.
Alexandre Enkerli on 2009-08-18
Getting into the core of the issue. The reason it's so important to think about "new ways" to do things isn't necessarily that "old ways" weren't conducive to learning. It's because there are increased pressures on the system and some seem to perceive that cost-cutting and competition from online learning, making the issue so pressing.
Very thought-provoking article that discusses issues of using technology to do the same, old instructional methods and the need to engage learners in discussion/debate during class periods.
Nate Kogan on 2009-07-24
all of which require the most active participation, preparation, and engagement on the part of the students.
Nate Kogan on 2009-07-24
is this really the über-sophisticated, foward-looking type of assessment that will engage students? It seems that Dr. Bowen is happy to deride PPT while at the same time employing an equally antiquated and unengaging assessment formula via the multiple choice test.
Kim FLINTOFF on 2009-08-05
I don't think he's using the mc tests with an essessment focus rather an engagement focus - noit necessarily the most sophisticated but done playfully and creatively it can be a good first step to getting reluctatnt students to engage in first instance...
I like how Bowen is questioning the use of tech for tech's sake. This further shows how it's not about the technology, but about the teaching.
Patrick Higgins on 2009-07-23
Isn't this always the case? Students are very good at schooly things. Remove the standard lecture and what do they have to do? Think, work, be engaged, be active. Great stuff.
Nate Kogan on 2009-07-24
exactly...all those things above that were listed as "least boring" are also the most work intensive and intellectually engaging for students.
Patrick Higgins on 2009-07-23
How would the teaching staff react to this in your school/college? Could this be done in any discipline or just the humanities?
Alexandre Enkerli on 2009-08-12
This wouldn't be too difficult to do in social sciences and there are scenarios in which it would work wonderfully for lab sciences (if we think of "debate" as something similar to "discussion" sections in scientific articles).
At the same time, some people do react negatively to such approaches based not on discipline but on "responsibilities of the university." Some people even talk about responsibilities toward students' parents!
Article about a college dean advocating teaching without technology, specifically without boring powerpoint lectures. He suggests having discussion and debate instead.
Public Stiky Notes
It's not an uncommon perspective, in university teaching. In fact, it might be more common among French-speakers, as most of those I've heard say something like this were French-speakers.
I reacted quite negatively when I first heard some statement about university teachers not needing pedagogy. Don't they care about learning?
But... Isn't there a point to be made about "non-pedagogy?"
Not trying to be contrarian, here. Not playing devil's advocate. Nor am I going on the kind of "anti-anti" PoMo mode which seems not to fit too well in English-speaking communities. I'm just thinking about teacher-less learning. And a relativist's attitude to not judge before I know more. After all, can we safely assume that courses given by someone with such a reluctant attitude to learning pedagogy are inherently bad?
There are even some people out there who take constructivism and constructionism to such an extreme that they'd say teachers aren't needed. To an extent, the OLPC project has been going in that direction. "Students will teach themselves. We don't need to train teachers or to engage with them in building this project."
There's also a lot of discussion about learning outside of formal institutions. Including "on-the-job training" but also all sorts of learning strategies which don't rely on the teacher/student (mentee, apprentice, pupil...) hierarchy. For instance, actual learning occurs in a large set of online activities. Enthusiastic people learn about things that passion them by reading about the subject, participating in online discussions, presenting their work for feedback, etc. Oftentimes, there is a hierarchy in terms of prestige, but it's mostly negotiated through actions and not set in advance. More like "achieved status" than "ascribed status" (to use a convenient distinction from SOC101 courses). As this kind of training not infrequently leads to interesting careers, we'd be remiss to ignore the trend.
Speaking of trends... It's quite clear that many universities tend toward a more consumer-based approach. Students register and pay tuition to get "credentials" (good grades and impressive degrees). The notion that they might be there to do the actual learning is going by the wayside. In some professional contexts, people are quite explicit about how little they learnt in classrooms. It makes for difficult teaching contexts (especially at prestigious universities in the US), but it's also something with which people learn to cope.
My personal attitude is that "learning happens despite teachers." I still think teachers make a difference, that we should learn about learners and learning, that pedagogy matters a whole lot. In fact, I'm passionate about pedagogy and I do what I can to improve my teaching.
Yet the bottomline is: do people learn? If they do, does it matter what pedagogical training the teacher has? This isn't a rhetorical question.
Powerpoint is probably the most obvious target because oif its ubiquity - but I suspect that there will also be a backlash when the masses start adopting other technologies... they'll be misused just as effectively as PPT is.
When we can assume that all university lecturers/tutors are effective teachers then the argument will be moot... until then we'll continue to see death by powerpoint and powerpointlessness...
I'm a drama teacher and love the idea of active rooms filled with proactive engaged learners... and if we have proactive engaged learners we can more effectively deploy technology in the mix...
The world of teaching and learning is far from perfect and expectations seem to be geared towards a paradigm that says : "professors should tell me every last thing I need to know in order to get good grades and if students sat still and shut up long enough they might just learn something useful."
I even had one "lecturer" recently tell me "I'm a subject specialist, why do I need to know about pedagogy?" - sadly he was serious.
Is he also going to ban us from using Windows 95?
Bowen obviously has no idea what's going on in ed tech regarding the integration of active social media, cloud computing, and mobile devices. All of these technologies can be and are regularly used to enhance classroom discussion and student learning.
And the exact justification they give for lectures needing not to be boring.
Or if they discuss the broad implications of lecturing, as opposed to the many other teaching methods that we use.
Now, to be honest, I do use PPT in class. In fact, my PPT slides are the very example of what many people would consider boring: text outlines transformed into bullet points. Usually black on white, without images.
But, overall, students seem to find me engaging. In student evaluations, I do get the occasional comment about the course being boring, but that's also about the book and the nature of what we discuss.
I upload these PPT files to Slideshare before going to class. In seminars, I use the PPT file to outline some topics, themes, and questions brought up by students and I upload the updated file after class.
The PPT files on Slideshare are embedded into Moodle and serve as "course notes," in conjunction with the audio recordings from the class meetings. These slides may include material which wasn't covered in class.
During "lecture," I often spend extend periods of time discussing things with the class as a whole, leaving a slide up as a reminder of the general topic. Going from a bullet point to an extended discussion has the benefit of providing context for the discussion. When I started teaching, several students were saying that I'm "disorganized." I still get a few comments like that but they're much less frequent. And I still go on tangents, based on interactions with the group.
Once in a while, I refrain from using PPT altogether. Which can lead to interesting challenges, in part because of student expectations and the fact that the screen becomes an indicator that "teaching is going on."
Perhaps a more important point: I try to lecture as little as possible. My upper-level courses are rapidly transformed into seminars. Even in large classes, the last class meetings of the semester involve just a few minutes of lecturing.
This may all sound like a justification for my teaching method. But it's also a reaction to the frequent discussions about PPT as evil. I do hate PPT, but I still use it.
If only Google Wave could be released soon, we could use it to replace PPT. Wikis and microblogging tools are good and well, but they're not as efficient in terms of real-time collaboration on complex material.
Also if you're looking for great PPT examples, check out slideshare.net
If we look at "classroom experience" in different contexts, we do notice large differences. Not necessarily in a positive sense. Technology is an integral part of all sorts of changes happening in, around, and away from the classroom.
It would be quite different if that sentence said: "But institutional programs based on the adoption of specific tools in the classroom have hardly revolutionized..." It's still early to assess the effectiveness of these programs, especially if we think about lifelong learning and about ongoing social changes related to technology use. But the statement would make more sense if it were more directly tied to specific programs instead of being a blanket critique of "technology" (left undefined).
One thing we should probably not forget about student populations is that they're diverse. Chances are, some students in Meadows are delighted by the discussion focus. Others may be puzzled. It's likely an adaptation for most of them. And it doesn't sound like they were ever consulted about those changes.
An obvious example would be cellphones. Some administrators and teachers perceive them as a nuisance. Rather few people talk about educational opportunities with cellphones, even though they already are used by people in different parts of the World to empower themselves and to learn. Negroponte has explicltly dimissed the educational potential of cellphones but the World isn't waiting for approval from designers.
There's also a more "mundane" point about a kind of conflict in universities between academic material and performance. In French-speaking universities, at least, it's not uncommon to hear teachers talk about the necessity to be a "performer" as something of a distraction in teaching. Are teachers in front of the class to entertain students or is the classroom an environment in which to think and learn about difficult concepts? The consumer approach to universities, pushed in part by administrators who run universities like businesses, tends to emphasize the "entertainment paradigm," hence the whole "boredom" issue.
Having said all of this, Bowen's own attitude goes beyond this simplistic "entertainment paradigm." In fact, it sounds like he's specifically not advocating for lectures to become a series of TEDtalks. Judging from the interview, it sounds like he might say that TEDtalk-style presentation should be put online and classroom-time should be devoted to analyzing those presentations.
I do consider myself a performer, as I've been playing saxophone in a rather broad range of circumstances, from outdoor stages at festivals to concert halls. And my experience as a performer does influence the way I teach large classes. At the same time, it probably makes more salient the distinction between teaching and performing.
Like PPT, MCTs have some advantages, including because of student expectations.
But, of course, it's rather funny to hear Bowen talk about shaking things up and find out that he uses such tools. Still, the fact that these tests are online (and, one would think, taken outside of class time) goes well with Bowen's main point about class time vs. tech-enabled work outside of class.
At the same time, some people do react negatively to such approaches based not on discipline but on "responsibilities of the university." Some people even talk about responsibilities toward students' parents!
Still, there's room for improvement in the technology itself. For instance, it'd be nice to have Revver-style comments in the timeline.
One fascinating thing is the level of agreement, among teachers, about the necessity to have students who aren't passive. I certainly share this opinion but there are teachers in this World who actually do prefer students who are somewhat passive and... "obedient."
One version I've had in student evaluations is that the student felt like s/he was hearing too much from other students instead of from me. It did pain me, because of the disconnect between what I was trying to do and that student's notion of what university courses are supposed to bring her/him.
In this case, it's remarkable that despite the radical nature of Bowen's reform, we learn that there are teachers who record PPT-based presentations. It then sounds like the issue isn't so much about using PPT as it is about what is done in the classroom as opposed to what is done during the rest of the week.
Boring or not, PPT lectures, even some which aren't directly meant to engage students, can still find their place in the "teaching toolbox." A dogmatic anti-PPT stance (such as the one displayed by this journalist) is unlikely to foster conversations about tools and learning. Based on the fact that teachers are in fact doing PPT lectures to be used outside the classroom, one ends up seeing Bowen's perspective as much more open than that of the Chronicle's editorial staff.
PowerPoint DOES produce the yawns.
So, bring in active social technologies.
What's funny is that the video made Bowen sound almost opinionated. The article makes Young sound like he has his own axe to grind
Page Comments
Sorry. I'm bad. I really shouldn't go there.
But I guess I'm disappointed in myself. When I first watched the video interview, I was reacting fairly strongly against Bowen. After reading (very actively!) the whole piece, I now realize that Jeff Young is the one who set the whole thing up.
The problem with this is that I should know better. Right?
Well, ok, I wasn't that adamantly opposed to Bowen. I didn't shout at my computer screen or anything. But watching the video interview again, after reading the piece, I notice that I interpret as much more open a discussion than the setup made it sound like. In other words, I went from thinking that Bowen was imposing a radical view on members of his faculty to hearing Bowen proposing ideas about ways to cope with social changes surrounding university education.
The statement about most on-campus lectures being bad is rather bold, but it's nothing we haven't heard and it's a reasonable comment to make in such a context. The stronger statement against PPT is actually weakened by Bowen himself in two ways: he explicitly talks about using PPT online and he frames his comment in comparison with podcasts. It then sounds like his problem isn't with PPT itself. It's with the use of PPT in the classroom by comparison to both podcasts and PPTs online. He may be wrong about the relative merits of podcasts, online "presentations," and classroom lectures using PPT. But his opinion is much less radical than what I originally thought.
Still, there's room for much broader discussion of what classroom lectures and PPT presentations imply in teaching. Young's piece and several Diigo comments on it focus on the value of PPT either in the abstract or through appropriate use. But there's a lot more ground to cover, including such apparently simple issues as the effort needed to create compelling "presentation content" or students' (and future employers') expectations about PPT presentations.
Would you like to comment?
Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.