The Impact of PowerPoint on Students

Students and teachers can incorporate graphs into PowerPoint presentations.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program that students and teachers often use to create slideshow presentations for their classes. The program is used by students at different educational levels, including by students at the college level. Before PowerPoint software became widely used, students and teachers often had to create their own visual aids to accompany their speeches, and they often didn’t have visual aids to accompany their teachers’ lectures. PowerPoint has made it easier for students to present and receive information, but it has caused them to rely less on traditional learning methods, such as taking detailed notes.

Multimedia Possibilities

Students often use PowerPoint slide shows during presentations because Microsoft PowerPoint offers a wide range of options for creating visual aids for presentations. PowerPoint has become widely-used because students can incorporate images, graphs and charts, sounds, videos and links into their slide-show presentations. PowerPoint also allows them to create virtual notes or outlines to use as a guide for their presentations. Students often organize these notes into different slides and use headings as categories for their thoughts. During presentations, students are able to learn in different ways because they can look at notes as well as listen to the speaker.

Notes

In the past, students sometimes had a difficult time trying to take good notes from their teachers’ lectures, especially if their teachers talked fast or went quickly from one topic to another. PowerPoint presentations often give students supplement notes and graphics to look at while they are listening to their teachers. They are able to spend less time writing or rewriting notes because many teachers make their PowerPoint presentations available online. Having these notes available comes in handy for students before tests because they are able to study slides or printouts of them, along with other classroom materials, before tests.

Creative Drawbacks

Many students rely on PowerPoint for every presentation, which means that they often don’t use other forms of visual representations, such as dioramas, posters, handouts, movies or skits, as much as students in the past. Although PowerPoint offers students different possibilities for being creative, it often hinders them from thinking artistically and trying to create something different from their peers. Sometimes students attempt to be too creative with their PowerPoint presentations, overusing graphics or colors, which can take away from the information or message in their speeches. When many students use PowerPoint presentations, they don’t treat it as a supplement but instead read directly from the text within their PowerPoint slide shows. Many students don’t develop their speaking skills during presentations because they rely heavily on slide shows instead of trying to speak to the audience in a conversational manner.

Learning Drawbacks

Some teachers use PowerPoint presentations so heavily that they stray away from talking to students more directly or having classroom conversations. This can affect the performance and enjoyment of certain students, especially those who learn from having in-depth conversations with their teachers and other students. A study by Hossein Nouri and Abdus Shahid in 2005 found that although PowerPoint does sometimes help students to learn materials, it doesn’t have a major impact on their ability to recall information and do well on tests. If teachers use PowerPoint presentations heavily in their classes, especially if they rely on them for test materials, students may not look at other materials, such as textbooks. Students often become distracted when teachers put up PowerPoint presentations, focusing on the slideshow notes instead of their teachers, which can affect how well they understand classroom materials, according to a website by attorney Steven H. Kaminski.

References

• “Global Perspectives on Accounting Education;” The Effect of PowerPoint Presentations on Student Learning and Attitudes; Nouri and Shahid; 2005; 53-73.
• Shkaminski.com; PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Steven H. Kaminski; January 2003.
• University of North Florida; Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for Teachers and Students; Terence W. Cavanaugh
• Teachnology: PowerPoint in the Classroom
• Byrdseed Gifted: PowerPoint Vs. Gifted Students
• Skill Sheets: (Dis) Advantages of PowerPoint
• Education World; PowerPoint: Creating Classroom Presentations; Linda Starr; June 2011
• American Society for Cell Biology; PowerPoint in the Classroom: Is It Really Necessary?; Diana Voss; Fall 2004
• “The Journal;” Creating an Interactive PowerPoint Lesson for the Classroom; August 2000

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Microsoft PowerPoint
• Internet4Classrooms: Ideas for Using PowerPoint in the Classroom
• Cobb County School District: PowerPoint and KidPix
• Educational Technology Network: Classroom Use of PowerPoint
• Educator’s Toolkit: PowerPoint in the Classroom