Technology and education are the “in”
thing today. If you are really with the times, include cloud
computing! Every well meaning citizen wants to contribute in some
way towards improvement of school education. Just like them, I too am
one such citizen – well meaning and wanting to contribute toward
this cause. After a relatively long IT career, I switched to
elementary education, full time. And like many of my peers I took a
deep interest in connecting technology and education. Seven years
into the education system, here are my thoughts on one aspect of
ICTs/ digital technology and education...... Exploring the point of
PowerPoints?
I was a user of the Office presentation
software during my IT career. For the first time after seeing it
used extensively in the education process I paused to think, why did
I ever use a PPT ? (Just like copy machines have become xerox
machines in India, so too have office presentations – PPTs). First,
to remind myself about what to talk in meetings (You see I have a
hopeless memory.) I also found it useful to anchor the audience with
short sentences so they could follow my train of thought. I probably
could use a white/black board to do the same, but then I have a
problem – I can't spell ! Its a learning disability I have had
growing up and one which I was conveniently able to get around thanks
to technology – i.e. spell checks. Also the infrastructure that
supported the use of digital technology was so good, that I never
felt the need to put pen on paper. In fact when I decided to become a
student again I actually forgot to take a pen for the exam! Now in
the education system, while the IT infrastructure is still being
built, it's a lot simpler to use paper and pen to get most of the
work done. So, after almost fifteen years of keyboarding I was back
to using a black board and writing in notebooks. Which actually made
me realise my inability to spell (I always blamed it on poor typing
skills)!
Now you might be wondering – What has
all this got to do with PPTs? Well, in the education sector, this
maybe a good tool for teachers and administrators to use while making
presentations in meetings and discussions. But this is not where I
see it used. Most teachers barely have time for meetings, let alone
make presentations for them! It is being used extensively as a
teaching-learning resource.
I have had teachers telling me “Make a PPT madam and children will
understand”. When I ask how children would understand,
the most common answer was “because its attractive and can catch
their attention.” Now, please think for a moment – What has
attraction got to do with understanding and learning? I could walk
in happy into a class and narrate an interesting story to catch my
students attention. This, actually, has worked a lot better for me.
A “good” presentation is one in which there is not too much text,
where one is able to convey important points in precise and short
sentences or phrases. In contrast, isn't the point of teaching
elementary children about describing and elaborating so children can
learn ?
There
must be a reason why we think technology is going to solve our
education woes. Yes, there are several reasons to use technology in
education, and I am a huge proponent of it, when
used appropriately. As
for solving education problems, this discussion may have to wait
till I take a walk in the clouds (!) If used effectively digital
technology can, at best, be a good aid or resource.
First,
it's inevitable that we will need to learn the skills of using
technology – Mobiles, computers etc.. because that is the nature of
technology. It is usually created to make life more convenient.
Eventually as society embraces the technology, it transitions from
being a luxury item to a necessity. I have seen many people fight the
use of mobiles, but none who have been able to reject it completely.
This is perhaps because it is no longer a luxury, and almost a
necessity unless one has decided to take sanyas.
Second, it is a great/easy/cheap (convenient) way to communicate. We
know why the Indian postal system sent out its last telegram on
Sunday July 14th 2013. Third, remember I told you I have a lousy
memory – so, how did I get the exact date? Simple I used a search
engine or “googled” it (yeah, “Search Engine” is one of those
generic names that has vanished). Now I don't have to fret about
remembering dates and facts, all I need is a simple smart phone.
Fourth, I can hear music, see pictures and movies. I can even “talk”
to my computer by making my resource dynamic and interactive – i.e. multi media. I can make my desktop into a planetarium or a
globe. I can picturise fractions, represent an equation graphically
dynamically and much more.
So,
what really is the point of powerpoints ? It's usually just short
text , sometimes a picture or two and you don't really need to see a
movie using it. If a teacher needs to prepare her lessons, she can
start with the textbook, search the web for extra information or
ideas and select appropriate multi-media when she thinks it is
necessary. I already told you it's a useless tool for children to
learn. So there is, I think, very little point of using powerpoints!
And
so, to all my well meaning friends, there is a shortage of resources
especially in the Indian languages, and we need your help. But
filling the lacuna with shortened texts is not going to help. Please
think outside the slides while you eagerly participate in these
processes.
