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Steve Sylvester - 7/21/2009 12:45:48 PM I both agree and disagree entirely! It depends on the course content and the professor's abilities. I annotate powerpoints every lecture in some courses and rarely ever do so in other courses. Likewise, online courses are very effective learning tools if properly designed but can be dismal failures for individuals lacking self-discipline and I think this parallels directly the transition from pedagogy to andragogy.

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Patricia Murphy - 7/21/2009 1:20:14 PM Indeed going to class to hear a boring lecture is an inefficient use of time for both the faculty and the student. That is almost as bad, in this day an age, as coming to class to have the textbook READ to you. A podcast of lectures is a great method to start and online courses can have brillant designs that take the burden of redundancy off the professors shoulders. Education should come from experiential memorable time and conversing...trouble is that is hard when classes are 100 plus students...so break it down.. instead of an hour lecture 3 times a week.. put them all on podcasts and meet with a third of the class for discussion and questions. I believe everyone would be invigorated again. Learning could be fun!

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Linda ChalkerScott - 7/21/2009 1:22:48 PM I agree with Steve's comment above. I teach adult audiences as an Extension Urban Horticulturist and before that taught college courses for 15 years. If I'm trying to describe why landscapes fail, or show how a restoration site changes from year to year, there is no better tool than pictures on Powerpoint. The trick, of course, is to use the technology to support the lecture - not to replace it.

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Kari Quaas - 7/21/2009 4:07:59 PM I enjoyed this post. I think it's a good challenge for any public speaker to make their topic interesting and to avoid reading from a power point. One of the best classes I took at WSU covered the Renaissance and it was taught by Professor Schlessinger. He brought the subject matter to life by bringing in music, art, video, slides, and telling stories. It was fantastic. I contrast that with another professor who I don't recall the name who taught a similar class in such a dry manner that I don't remember much at all from it. The manner and method of teaching has such an impact on learning. I hope for the sake of learning that all students get the "Schlessingers" out there and not the "don't recall the names."

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Anonymous User - 7/21/2009 4:35:28 PM I completley agree. too many faculty couldnt teach their way out of a paper bag if the computer was out of order. They just stand there frozen. A good faculty member is able to deliver a lecture without aid.

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Anonymous User - 7/22/2009 10:37:50 AM Dr. Paul Ehrlich at Stanford University teaches this way and his lectures are enthralling and compelling. But I wonder how visual learners or the hearing impaired fair in courses where A/V is limited. Used right, technology can provide an easy way to engage students with different learning styles simultaneously.

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Kevin Haas - 7/23/2009 1:42:44 PM Insightful and brilliant. PowerPoint can easily become a stultifying design and education tool. I feel that learning happens best when there is engagement and interaction by both the student and teacher. I teach in fine arts and am fortunate that one on one interaction with students is a major part of what happens when we teach. In the area of design for instance, the computer is a primary and essential tool. But when it comes to learning many of the fundamental principles of design, the computer can limit a full and long term understanding of those concepts. A more direct and hands on approach (without a computer) can prove to be more effective. This emphasizes unmediated experiential learning, and again relates to the importance of engagement and interaction. I certainly would be lost trying to teach a large lecture class since it requires very different skills of engagement. I too had an outstanding teacher for an art history survey, perhaps much like Professor Schlessinger mentioned above. The courses taught by the late Bob Loescher at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, were just about the best you could do, without actually getting on a plane to go to Istanbul to visit the Hagia Sophia for instance. Again, it was how he inspired and engaged our imaginations. His booming voice probably helped too!

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