The evil reign of PowerPoint Lectures

[agoodusername]

Maybe I'm the only one, but this is bothering me enough to ask:

Does anyone else feel like their nursing education has been hijacked by Microsoft PowerPoint?

I feel like I sit in all of my senior lectures and am fed notes-page after notes-page of fill-in-the-blank format PowerPoint-ed information. My brain isn't required to think about anything besides listening at the moment when my professor says the next "blank," so that I can quickly fill it in and get back to la-la land. If the notes are handed to me/e-mailed to me before class and all that I am doing is filling in the blanks and listening to the professor READ, yes READ exactly what is on the page before me for two straight hours...what is the point?! I usually end up teaching myself all of the info for tests/practice, and although I'm doing well on exams...I feel like I'm paying A LOT of money to teach myself nursing.

I used to think that I was studying at a very reputable nursing school, and everywhere I have worked -- in clinical, externships and all healthcare fields in the area -- I've heard nothing but positive feedback about the nurses that come out of my program. But most days, I feel like I'm back in junior-high before I learned how to take notes (even in high school it wasn't this bad)....or even worse, bored in church, filling in preacher-made outlines just to pass the time.

This is just silliness and I'm not sure what to do about it. Anyone experience similar brain-numbing, bored-out-of-your-mind fill in the blank lectures??

[GratefulHeart]

I understand where the OP is coming from. When I returned to school after a number of years and encountered the PP lecture, I was a bit confounded and even angry. I guess I felt the instructor should somehow mystically impart to me their wisdom, rather than just going over projected slides.

However, today I come down firmly in the pro-PP camp. I like having most of my notes already recorded, and I use the lecture time to make my own notations explaining or augmenting the slide material. If I don't understand something or want an example, I raise my hand and ask. Plus, if I can't make a lecture or don't feel like going, I can get by quite nicely just by reading over the slides and comparing them to the text. The content of the slides gives me a very good idea of what the instructor's going to want to know on the test, and the organization of the slides makes it easy to study for the exam.

I'm pretty much a self-learner, which may be why the PP method works for me. Also, like another poster said, I remember sitting through a lot of boring lectures long before PowerPoint even existed!

I agree. I remember the days of the talking heads, LOL. It really is soooooo much nicer having something visual in addition to auditory.

Most of the time (thus far anyway) the Powerpoint outlines and lectures have been more of a reinforcement for me. The real *work* is what I do on my own when reading and outlining.

[not now, RN]

The power point is great, I get to listen instead of spending time writing.

Exactly! I had a teacher in Micro who didn't use power point and the whole lecture was 35 students trying to write down every.single.thing. She couldn't get through much because people kept asking what she just said. Nursing school goes through too much information in a short amount of time. We can't write everything down.

I usually get the outline (the night she e-mails it out) and rewrite it using the book to add information. Then when I get to lecture I just add on to what I already have. Most of the time I have all the information, I just ask questions to clarify things and I'm one night ahead of everyone else with studying!

[Megsd, BSN, RN]

I think a lot of it depends on the quality of the instructor. I had 4 courses this quarter and all of them used powerpoint to some degree. My foundations prof handed them out to us but really didn't stick to them (she'd basically say "you can read the slides later") and just flutter onto her own subject matter. My patho prof was a reader, but every once in a while she would elaborate on the slides and I would write them down. The slides were at least organized very well which made it easier to organize my own notes later. My assessment prof... well, first we had to listen to recorded lectures of someone ELSE lecturing from powerpoint, although she lectured really well. My med/surg prof was also a great lecturer and I still spent a lot of time writing to fill in what she did not put on the slides.

I learn best by writing, so after class I would rewrite all my notes (with my elaborations, stuff from the book, etc.) in a way that made sense to me. That way I still got the benefit of learning by writing without having to write really fast to keep up with my instructor, risk missing important info, or not being able to read my own handwriting.

I agree that if your instructor simply reads the slides, there's no real beneficial value unless you learn well simply by listening. But it does give my hand a big break and allow me to clue in on what's important (like what a prof elaborates on, what examples are given that might help me understand the concept later, etc.)

Sometimes with traditional (write at the speed of wind) lectures, I remember hearing something but didn't have enough time to write it down, thinking 'eh, it probably wasn't important' only to have it pop up on an exam a few weeks later. At least this way I already HAVE the basic info to remember, I just need to fill in the gaps to make it work for me.

[Rosa2Little]

PowerPoint can be a great tool, if it is used to augment the material. When professors simply read from the slides, or worse, have a slide show comprised of the tables or boxes that are in the text, it becomes PowerPointless.

[S.T.A.C.E.Y, LPN]

I am definitely pro-powerpoint, but only if the prof knows how to properly use it. How many of your profs only had to learn how to use the computer (let alone Powerpoint) in the last ten years?? I doubt anyone ever taught alot of these profs how to make effective slides, and b/c they are the ones teaching classes, not taking them, they don't have the benefit of seeing how other profs do it. I love powerpoint, but when not used well, it is definitely a waste of time.

[agoodusername]

Don't get me wrong, the invention of the PowerPoint program is great -- if used in the correct way. I have had great professors who have used it to add to their lectures, through guidance and visual aid, while still demanding my attention by giving a lot of information in an engaging way.

However, this is my problem. One: if you're in college, you should know how to take notes. Fill-in-the-blank is junior high. Two: if I'm paying $700+ a credit hour for these classes, I shouldn't have to teach myself the information. Review it and reinforce it, yes...but not teach.

I really like some of the suggestions -- bringing a text to class, especially. It's so easy for me to drift off into lala-land when all that I am doing is waiting for the next blank. And even when I do ask questions (which I try to do, and also am discouraged by lack of support from classmates), the absolute nature of the fill-in-the-blank method makes it impossible to engage in critical thought or conversation with the professor -- it's either in the blank or not.

The response, sadly...is always "Not enough time to talk about this, too much to cover!" But, ironically enough...I'm constantly let out of class early and given "notes pages," which have "See Table ##-#" all over them! Half of my last exam was over parts of the notes that weren't even TYPED up in the fill-in-the-blank handouts that the professors expected me to teach myself.

Why not just memorize the NCLEX book and save myself the money?

I don't know, I'm just really discouraged. I learn best when forced to critically think and analyze things and participate in class, and I feel like very few students and professors (in my experience) feel that way. I mean, we've all had that one professor that scared us to death because they EXPECT performance and interaction from all of their students, and even though its intimidating and scary at first, those are always the most beneficial classes...

Isn't that what education is about, anyways? Intellectual exchange?

Lots to think about...thanks for the replies!:)

[marilynmom, LPN, NP]

I like PowerPoint IF the instructor is not just reading them word for word--they need to elaborate on the slides...which most of my instructors do (but there is one that read just word for word, no use in even attending class).

I like that I can print it off before class and take notes on it. If I miss class I can still get the notes so I at least have an idea what the main topics of the class were when I'm reviewing for a test.

I can totally see the OP point, but I think it really depends on how your instructor utilizes powerpoint, not pp itself.

[bethin]

I hate pp. Why even bother going to class if the professor emails you the pp lectures and then reads straight from them during class? I had one like this. No blanks, just notes and he read directly from them. I don't want to memorize, I want to learn and retain. If you memorize you hold that info for a short time. I like to hold my info for longer periods.

[augigi, CNS]

The problem obviously isn't powerpoint, but the lecturers using it. It's a great tool, and meant to be used as an outline, which can be expanded on during the lecture. I'd die if I couldn't use it for my lectures! Everyone always wants copies of the lecture, but I make sure it doesn't take the place of attending.

[BoonersmomRN]

I love powerpoint because at my school all the lectures are also online...so if you happen to miss class at least you can get the PP's....of course it's only the outline format..and some classes give a LOT more notes outside what is on the PP's ( like my psych class) so mine are all scribbled on...but then I rewrite the notes when I get home.

What I hated about PP was my M/S 1 teacher who did nothing but stand there like a robot and read the PP's....and if you asked a question where the answer wasn't READILY found on the pp's.....she couldnt answer you.

[I RN A]

Depends on the insructor. This is my first quarter and my lecture insstructor is so boring. His jokes are boring, his lectures are boring and I have to learn everything on my own. His PP lectures are taken from the text word-to word. I don't understand why I have to come to this lecture, since it is the same as reading my text. I can read, I don't need an insructor to read to me, I have learned how to do it when I was a kid.

[BSNtobe2009]

Yes, they are great if professors use them properly, the problem is, they aren't usng them correctly.

Powerpoint presentations need to be used to enhance a lecture, not substitute for it. If Professors are going to use them instead of taking the time to lecture properly, then why do you need to pay the professor at all? Can't you learn everything from distance learning? It's not. I can read a PP from home.