OK, so I think its cool. No, I have never used Second Life, but who doesn't want to go to a virtual island?! But, my questions revolve around the use of Second Life in education. This didn't happen to me until I came to grad school. Someone, please agree with me on this next issue!
I as an MBA student, had to take statistics. Oh the joy.... So I have this professor, nice guy, knows a heck of a lot more then I do. How should he convey that information to me. Well, of course, new Era. PowerPoint. So we move along in our little math world, and I tell you maybe, just maybe twice he wrote on the whiteboard to explain some problems.
How is one supposed to learn the steps in statistics via PowerPoint. I can tell you friends, it wasn't easy.
Sometimes technology hinders our learning.
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14 years ago
First, it's hard to read the red font on your background! I object!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm with you in that it's hard to learn with all the technology sometimes. I'm a visual learner and it's really helpful to watch a Prof. work out a problem from start to finish.
Powerpoint can be an evil tool at times. Math is definitely one of those subjects where writing out the problem step by step is very helpful. Then the powerpoint slides can be used as a reference for the students.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I miss those elementary school days of chalk and blackboard.
I agree with you on the Stats issue. Not sure if you had the same professor I had (he was great!), but in this case, I think it's really a limitation of the tool. Have you tried freehand writing on a Live Meeting or Go to Meeting application? Not great. I'm taking one class now where even in the classroom it helps to encourage the professor to write it all out on the board step by step. Sometimes that works!
ReplyDeleteMore times than not, I think powerpoint errors are USER errors. Its a tough tool to use well, and too often relied upon improperly. I'm not sure that means the technology is hindering your education, so much as the poor use of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a big problem in higher education (and a growing problem in education as a whole). The world is changing, and the "for-profit" world of education, your University of Phoenix, DeVry, etc, are making out like bandits. People are looking for something that is convenient to their life, not conducive to their learning style. It's problematic, as higher education professionals attempt to work out what's more important: turning out quality students or the all-mighty dollar. In Kogod (just to preface, I do not work for Kogod, I am in a different school), the experiment of the hybrid learning environment came and went. I was in a number of those classes, and I hated them. Thus, I am prone to suggest to my faculty that though it may open new doors on how or where to teach, they need to do so in an extremely cautious manner, as it just didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteI remember taking that class!I think PowerPoint's over-used. It's used to grab people's attention with great pictures, fonts and templates. But, as you said sometimes PowerPoint just isn't appropriate. You ever wonder what will be the next 'PowerPoint' or next tool to help with presentations?
ReplyDelete