Response to "Educators Question PowerPoint Usage"

This radio segment on NPR which aired in October of this year fundamentally questions the value of Microsoft PowerPoint in the public school classroom. According to the program, more than 10 million computers in U.S schools have PowerPoint available. Students are then able to use the program to give point-by-point presentations with bulleted information which imitates presentations from the professional world. One Yale professor states that a tool like PowerPoint is beneficial for those students who are inherently disorganized, as the program enables students to systematize information into a coherent and organized structure. Another educator critizices PowerPoint because students need to learn to have conversations, not just put forward "three points" with color explosions and special effects.
It would appear that although this news report calls into question PowerPoint and its perceived limitations, it discreetly supports the program and its use in public schools. The reporter states that students using PowerPoint mirror corporate executives by using the program. Whatever its limitations, the ability of PowerPoint to prepare students for the corporate world and other professions should be considered a benefit. Certainly those students who are disorganized will benefit more, but all students should have some knowledge of this presentational format. The criticism that students need to have conversations is duly noted, and certainly the objective of PowerPoint is not to have students simply read the points off the computer. The objective is instead that students look at the bulleted points, and then using them as a raw structure, create a conversational presentation on the given material. Students who simply read the points off the screen should suffer lower grades. I do not believe it is necessary to abandon PowerPoint because students can use it as a crutch or get sidetracked with color explosions and special effects. Rather, teachers set guidelines and expectations, and if students stray from what is expected, they pay the consequences. Furthermore, other activies in the classroom should provide students with an opportunity for ad-lib conversations which promote good listening skills and critical thinking. It would be my intention as an educator to provide my students with a host of different opportunities which provide a firm basis for further education and the professional world.