My Technoloy Tool

When reading the assignment of sharing a technological teaching tool, my initial thought was, “What tool can I positively not teach without…” Actually I can teach without anything, but I am a visual learner and I love to add as much modality to my teaching as possible.  My goal is that every type of learner will find at least some small thing that they can relate to.  If I have a white board or chalkboard, I will use that. If I don’t have those tools, I will use a piece of paper and draw connections and diagrams to illustrate my point.  So in the digital age, PowerPoint has become my chalkboard.  However, it is so ubiquitous that it has become marginalized and used in ways that does not fully realize its potential.  The program is often utilized poorly and both students and instructors tend to dread yet another “death by PPT presentation”.   Yet this is such a neglected tool, it is much like the obedient child in a large family…often overlooked and almost always underappreciated.

I think one of the essential things about all technological adaptations in education is that we truly look at what methods and tools can help accomplish the task of teaching with the tool “vanishing” and the student only being aware of what they are learning.  In user interface design, the goal is to design the technology so that the user can intuitively just perform an action and his or her objective is met.  For example, people love to look at pictures. Imagine sitting down on your sofa with a photo album in hand.  You gaze at the pictures and your hand reaches over and pulls the page over to access the next picture. You can close the book and pick up another one.  The iPad tries to give that same experience in the digital world.  The user can sit comfortably anywhere and with a swipe of the hand go from picture to picture.  Or, just by touching the book in a certain way, they can close the album and open another one.  It is so natural and intuitive that toddlers can learn to use it; the task is accomplished smoothly without the technology getting in the way.  In the same way, PowerPoint, or any other presentation tool, should be used to accomplish the instructor’s task.

Through careful design of the presentation, it can be very persuasive and help those with different learning styles to stay connected and add to the learning process.  When it is used poorly, it can detract from the learning process, even to the point of ruining the entire session and losing all the students.  It is a lot like seasoning to a dish, the right amounts make it absolutely wonderful; however, when there is too much, or used incorrectly, it can be unpalatable.