Over the past few years, presentation software programs like Microsoft PowerPoint have virtually taken over the classroom from the traditional black/ white boards or slides from the overhead projector. There is no doubt that these new software add value to both teaching and learning. On the one hand, not only are students able to obtain neat and organised notes from the lecture slides, they are also 'entertained' by the lecture itself, as it is filled with animation, sound and special effects. On the other hand, lecturers too find it easier and faster to prepare slides with PowerPoint or other similar software.

With all the apparent advantages, it seems that we should embrace these new software tools and forget about the 'old' ones. However, some have pointed out (McDaniel, T & McDaniel, K, 2005) that these software tools do have shortcomings that affect the teaching and learning experience. One of the more serious problems is that they induce a more 'leisurely' attitude in both lecturers and students. Lecturers tend to follow whatever is on screen and hence pay less attention to the flow of the content. Since the slides have already been prepared in advance, there is no space for spur-of-the-moment materials to be added during lectures. Students, too, may feel that attending lectures is no longer necessary as the entire lecture can be reproduced from the handouts. Furthermore, overusing certain features of the presentation software (e.g. animation in PowerPoint) may make the lecture tedious and boring.

Presentation software tools also lack some of the charms of the white/blackboard. From my experience as a teaching assistant, I find that using the whiteboard seems to get better responses from students. They claimed that because the diagram is drawn on the whiteboard and explained in real time, the answer is easier to understand and absorb and they have a better grasp of the logical flow of the topic. I also find that this style of presentation can retain students' attention longer. Since then, I have been thinking about ways to bring these advantages into software tools. In Semester 2, AY2005/2006, I tested some of these ideas in my course, CS2103 "Software Engineering". Below is a brief report on the setup and techniques used.

Setting up

The basic idea is to transform the PowerPoint presentation slides into a whiteboard so that drawing or writing can be added during the lecture. To achieve this effect, a touch screen monitor with a stylus pen (or Tablet PC) is required to allow real time drawing or writing. Usually, the lecturer would use the same set of lecture slides for handouts and presentation but this would discourage students from attending the lectures. Instead, two different sets of lecture slides are prepared. The differences between the two, as described below, are the main thrust of my scheme.

Intentional omission

For students' handouts, the following should be left out:

• The rationale behind a statement
• The answer to questions asked in the slides

These omissions should be made clear on the slides, possibly with a footnote to ask students to attempt the questions before the lecture. During the lecture, these omissions are filled in by the lecturer, preferably by a stylus pen. Additional explanation can also be given at the same time. Figure 1 is a simple example: student's handout is on the left and the lecturer's is on the right.

Explanatory notes

Additional explanatory notes can be added to the slides during the lecture. This technique is usually more effective with diagram-intensive lecture slides as the lecturer can explain parts of the diagram or show the action on the diagram (see Figure 2).

Figure 1. Students’ handouts vs lecturer’s ‘live’ version

Figure 2. Students’ handouts vs lecturer’s ‘live’ version

Figure 3. Students’ handouts vs lecturer’s ‘live’ version

Emphasis on important points

Lastly, if there is a need to emphasise particular points on the slide during the lecture, the stylus pen can also be used (see Figure 3).

Advantages

Since students will have a slightly different version of the lecture notes, they now have an incentive to listen closely to the lecture to fill in the intentional omissions. These omissions should be designed in such a way that it can both be an exercise before the lecture and as an example during it. Using the stylus pen transforms the lecture slide into an ad hoc white board. Careful design of the lecture slides allows additional diagrams and explanatory notes to be added spontaneously during lectures. Additionally, explanation given at the same time should deepen students' understanding. The stylus can also serve as a pointer, which allows better emphasis on important points in the lecture by underlining and highlighting.

Disadvantages

The major drawback of this scheme is the need to maintain two versions of the lecture slides. When Figure 1. Students' handouts vs lecturer's 'live' version there is a need to update the slides, the change must be consistently applied to both sets which could be a lot of work. Further, the use of a stylus pen and touch screen monitor or Tablet PC is a hefty investment.

Conclusion

Getting students' attention is key to any successful teaching. Passive PowerPoint presentations can easily lose the battle for students' attention as they expect everything to be already in the lecture handouts. The scheme attempts to actively involve students in the lecture by getting them to fill in the omissions in their notes. Although there is no quantitative measure of the scheme's usefulness, students' comments and feedback have been encouraging. Hopefully, the scheme presented in this article can help you to retain students' attention and interest in the lecture topic.

References

McDaniel, T.R. & McDaniel, K.N. (2005). 'The Perils of PowerPoint'. National Teaching and Learning Forum Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 34, reproduced in http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/663. html. Last accessed: 27 October, 2006.