PowerPoint is definitely a useful tool for teachers since it allow them to
use it for their own instructional tool and provide them convenience and
efficiency. The article ‘Why should I use PowerPoint in my classroom’ reminded
me of my ESL class in Korea where I used PowerPoint for delivering class contents
instead of hand writing on board. Even though it took me more time to prepare
slides for every class, it was definitely better than my hand writing in terms
of its clarity, diversity, and effectiveness. Class organization was changed depends
on the use of PowerPoint, and the dynamics between me and my students were
different than when I only use worksheets and textbooks. Classes were more
exciting and students loved to see some visual images or videos in slides along
with texts. However, PowerPoint alone cannot facilitate or enhance students’
learning. Without clear and coherent objective and purpose for using PowerPoint,
there is no difference between the written text on white board and the words in
PowerPoint slides. The way teacher delivers the content need to correspond with
the objective and students also need to recognize the purpose of using
PowerPoint for their learning. Power Point with some visualized contents
definitely makes class more enjoyable and alive. However the agent who
internalize given information is students and to make this process effective is
the teachers who made that PowerPoint.
Hi Aram,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. It sounds as though PowerPoint improved your students' interest in learning. However, you make a great point that it's not just the tool, it's the way the teacher uses it that makes a difference. Did your use of PowerPoint change the way you teach? Did it change your view of learning (i.e., student-centered vs. teacher-driven)?
I can say that it changed not only my way of teaching but also my view of learning. I found that PowerPoint is very useful in terms of delivering or presenting what I think my students to know in clear way and allow me to use more multimedia contents. Using multimedia contents are definitely necessary for beginning L2 learners because not only they arouse learners interests but also they help learners to deal with language learning easily. PowerPoint used as a tool to boost those effects. One thing that I have to say is that even though I think both student-centered and teacher- driven learning need to be there in class, but I haven't rarely used PowerPoint for student- centered learning. I didn't know how to make lesson plan in that way and PowerPoint seems a tool mostly used by teachers rather students in class.
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