To Powerpoint Or Not To Powerpoint?

[mundia]

Hi.

When you attend training courses, do you prefer there to be a powerpoint or not?

I can see for and against here and wondered what you all thought.

[Guest]

I'd rather see a powerpoint than be handed a sheaf of notes that either are : so thick and uninteresting I dump them in my bag and never read them or have them 'read' to me by the instructor who assumes because I work with under 4's I am unable to read them myself

 

I wouldn't want ALL my instruction to be via powerpoint as a migraine suffer its not good but as part of a mixed presentation I welcome it. It's like children isn't it, trainning works better when presented in various forms as we all are different types of learners.

[Cait]

Yes absolutely! It's useful to have copies of the slides, but only so i can scribble further information on them - they can be the main bullet points of the presentation, for discussion. It's helpful if you say 'upfront' that this is what's going to happen, so people can choose to make notes if they want. I've sat through some trainings where i've scribbled furiously for hours only to be told at the end almost that there will be handouts with all the information on!

[Chill]

Pet Hate: Power point presentation where the trainer proceeds to then read them out!!!

[Rea]

I personally dont like powerpoint but thats because I learn in a more practical way and through discussion. PP has to be short and sweet and definitly to the point for me to stay on task.

When I did the tutor training I was unable to see the benefits of it as a teaching aid especially when we can use handouts (alhtough the fewer the better if I'm expected to actually read them), group discussions and practical tasks.

 

Like Biccy says, its about a balance of various methods though.

[Inge]

Depends on the way they are used and content, and lots of other variables.. I like the bullet points and room to take notes.. but others I know dislike this.. as part of a varied training it can be useful to some and it all comes down to how we all learn.. what I find useful others may find irritating and irrelevant... so think it needs to be as part of training not the full focus of it.

 

Inge

[HappyMaz]

I like Powepoint because you can get a copy of the slides to scrawl on and amend whilst listening to the presentation - but I absolutely hate it with a passion when the presenter/tutor has learned all the bells and whistles available in Powerpoint and proceeds to use each and every one of them in a five slide presentation!

 

I prefer it when bullet points are used and the tutor expands on them - this helps keep me focused because I know I have to make notes of my own to give meaning to the slides and this in turn consolidates my learning. As biccy said, if the notes/handouts are too thick/uninteresting or poorly presented I am not likely to want to read them after the event!

 

I agree with what Rea says about practical activities and discussion - but I do believe Powerpoint has a place in conjunction with other teaching methods.

 

Does that help?

 

Maz

[JacquieL]

I don't like Powerpoints that are just notes which are then more or less read out. I can read notes myself so I could have stayed at home. I think that the most effective PP's have illustrations to support what the key point is to each slide, something memorable, not lots of print but pictures, cartoons, posters or whatever suits the subject. The notes the presenter has to talk about with each slide, should be bullet pointed and that is what is handed out for people to take home to remind them of what was said. PP's should support what the presenter want to put across rather than be the content of the talk.

[Guest]

I agree with all comments;

 

Dislike with a vengeance PP that are read word for word by trainer with a duplicate 'wad' on my lap.

 

Do like, powerpoints that are visually stimulating, use bullet points to hint for further discussion, uses open questions, introduces topic objectives, then sums up at the end.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

I agree too, and I am pleased to see it is not just our LA who believes we cannot read as we work with children who cannot read. I sometimes wonder how they think we complete their invoices as we clearly cannot count beyond ten either.

[Guest]

Having sat through 2 days of a paediatric first aid, which was so repetitive. I felt a bit of death by powerpoint. We were told there was no need to write anything because everything was in the handout. I would have found it a great help just to be able to scribble my own notes rather than sitting there watching powerpoints with everything being repeated over and over and over again, so you can see how I was beginning to feel. Generally I don't mind them.

[Beau]

I absolutely do not take in information through listening - I find that my mind starts to drift easily and before I know it several minutes have passed and I haven't taken in a single word that has been said. A good presentation using power point will stop that from happening, but only if it isn't then read out word for word as others have said. I also like to get notes to look at during the presentation which has space for me to scribble my own on.