LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 11 : 12 December 2011
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.

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Copyright © 2011
M. S. Thirumalai
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Faculty Perceptions and Use of PowerPoint

Renu Gupta, Ph.D.

Abstract

Educational institutions expect faculty to use presentation software, such as PowerPoint, for class lectures and conferences. Although studies have examined audience reactions to such presentations (in terms of interest and retention), faculty perceptions and use of such software are missing. This paper examines the attitudes of computer science and mathematics faculty to the use of PowerPoint along two dimensions: the physical affordances and the structural limitations of PowerPoint. The data indicate that while PowerPoint is adequate for packaged material at the undergraduate level, overhead transparencies offer greater flexibility during teaching and the presentation of complex arguments.

“Now that you’ve finished your PowerPoint presentation, can you start teaching us?
Student to a university professor during class

1. Introduction

As part of the push towards using technology in educational settings, university faculty are encouraged and expected to prepare and use PowerPoint presentations in their lectures. At academic conferences, the use of PowerPoint is even more prevalent and often it is difficult to obtain alternate presentation modes such as a projector for overhead transparencies (OHT) or a whiteboard. PowerPoint, which was originally developed for use in business and corporate settings to allow people to make succinct presentations to teams, supervisors, and clients, has come into the academic sphere where it is increasingly equated with being ‘technologically literate’.

Although the use of presentation software like PowerPoint is now taken for granted, it is not clear whether it is effective and, if so, how it helps. Here we need to distinguish between two features of such presentation programs: the digital feature and the structural features. The digital feature allows files to be stored on a computer and shared with colleagues and students; graphics and animation can be inserted, and the custom animation allows the presenter to control text display. Since considerable planning goes into preparing and creating the slides, the side effect is that such presentations are better organized than lectures where instructors can ‘wing it’. At the same time, since these are finished products, text or data cannot be added during the presentation and the speaker/ author has to resort to other display modes, such as whiteboards.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Renu Gupta, Ph.D.
renu@stanfordalumni.org
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