posted 20 years ago
OK, at Sun I was *always* in trouble because I never used overheads. I had a love-hate going. Obviously I liked the visual aspect, but I am an obsessive white board drawer, and I was rarely teaching in an environment where it was easy to switch back and forth. Another reason I didn't use them was because they, well, at the time, *sucked*. They were mostly bullet points, but we won't go there now.
A third reason I didn't use them was because I felt it constrained me too much to that one area, and made me focus on the projector instead of the room. I just liked having a completely unobstructed space between me, the students, and the whiteboard. If it was a class I didn't know well enough, then I had some kind of a podium somewhere to keep my notes on, and I would have to refer to that, but usually I would grab a handful of pages and then get back into the classroom. I just don't like being stuck up at the front of the room, unless I'm in a university setting where I'm in a big theater with a gazillion people. But I'm talking about the hands-on computer classes, where you have no more than 25 or so.
We'll have to start a different topic, I think, on WHAT should be in overheads... speaking of which, Tufte has a new book out on what *should* be done in PowerPoint! And it's either him or someone associated that said, "Power Corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely".
But at least there are good clear guidelines on what makes a good slide. Except... much of what I see on the use of slides in presentations doesn't distinguish between a 'presentation' (like, say, a briefing or two-hour lecture) and a training/learning scenario. For example, if I present at a conference, I ALWAYS use overheads, even though I virtually never use them in the classroom.
So, for this topic, I'd love to hear thoughts about using them, since I don't, but so many really good instructors use them, and must use them effectively.
Thoughts?
cheers,
Kathy