Chris Massad
In today's world, life would not be possible without computers. People rely more on computers than they do anything else in life, and it is becoming so in lecture halls as well. In elementary, middle and high school, most teachers are required to incorporate some sort of technology based learning in their curriculum. University professors use programs like PowerPoint to teach the class and often take pride in their "tech-smart" classrooms. In fact, PowerPoint has become the norm for presenting a lecture/lesson in universities. It seems as if the new age technology world would make teaching more efficient, but in many cases, using PowerPoint-like methods to teach do more harm than good.
José A. Bowen, a dean at Southern Methodist University has adopted the idea of teaching naked and is proudly removing all computers from lecture halls. He has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked." "More than any thing else, Mr. Bowen wants to discourage professors from using PowerPoint, because they often lean on the slide-display program as a crutch rather using it as a creative tool." This idea takes root in the fact that class time should be used for discussion and educated debate. Nowadays, lecture videos are posted online and any factual information can be found on the web.
However, the reason Bowen is encouraging the switch more than anything because students find lectures with PowerPoint boring and do not learn as much in result. A survey consisting of 211 students at a university in England was conducted by researchers at the University of Central Lancashire and found that "59 percent of students in a new survey reported that at least half of their lectures were boring, and that PowerPoint was one of the dullest methods they saw." Personally speaking, from a students perspective, powerpoint is a really boring method of teaching and the lectures I remember from the past are the ones with lively interactions, challenging debates, and scholarly discussions. Boredom in the classroom can be eradicated as soon as computers are taken out of the picture.
Bowen's Take on Teaching Naked.
In today's world, life would not be possible without computers. People rely more on computers than they do anything else in life, and it is becoming so in lecture halls as well. In elementary, middle and high school, most teachers are required to incorporate some sort of technology based learning in their curriculum. University professors use programs like PowerPoint to teach the class and often take pride in their "tech-smart" classrooms. In fact, PowerPoint has become the norm for presenting a lecture/lesson in universities. It seems as if the new age technology world would make teaching more efficient, but in many cases, using PowerPoint-like methods to teach do more harm than good.
José A. Bowen, a dean at Southern Methodist University has adopted the idea of teaching naked and is proudly removing all computers from lecture halls. He has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked." "More than any thing else, Mr. Bowen wants to discourage professors from using PowerPoint, because they often lean on the slide-display program as a crutch rather using it as a creative tool." This idea takes root in the fact that class time should be used for discussion and educated debate. Nowadays, lecture videos are posted online and any factual information can be found on the web.
However, the reason Bowen is encouraging the switch more than anything because students find lectures with PowerPoint boring and do not learn as much in result. A survey consisting of 211 students at a university in England was conducted by researchers at the University of Central Lancashire and found that "59 percent of students in a new survey reported that at least half of their lectures were boring, and that PowerPoint was one of the dullest methods they saw." Personally speaking, from a students perspective, powerpoint is a really boring method of teaching and the lectures I remember from the past are the ones with lively interactions, challenging debates, and scholarly discussions. Boredom in the classroom can be eradicated as soon as computers are taken out of the picture.
Bowen's Take on Teaching Naked.
Courtesy of The Chronicle of Higher Education
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