Ask not for whom the powerpoint slide advances, it advances for … thee? me? we?

Workbook Page: Digital Submission

Ask not for whom the powerpoint slide advances, it advances for … thee? me? we?

June 18, 2025
3 Comments
Module: Tech and Tools

Choose a digital tool or platform you use regularly in your teaching (Canvas, Google Docs, Zoom, ChatGPT, etc.).

Name of Tool:

Microsoft Powerpoint

Description

Tell us a little about how you currently use the tool in your classes.

Most days in class, regardless of what we will actually DO together in class (discuss a reading, play a game, watch a video, etc.) I create a powerpoint slideshow ahead of time. A slide might have a key quote from a reading I want to make sure we go over. A slide might just be a sentence or two that serve as a free-write prompt. It might be bulleted instructions for a game or simulation. A slide could just be an image from a video we will watch, perhaps with a couple discussion questions that I have prepared in advance. I use the slideshow sort of like a visual guide for the class session — to help me as well as my students progress through various activities. Since I do not create detailed lecture notes, this is my way of preparing for the 100 minutes. I post these to Canvas after class, so that students can refer to them later to refresh their memories or catch up a bit after an absence. Another use for them is a record of past teaching — I refer to old powerpoints when I am going to teach a course again, often editing and remaking them. They are pretty spare on text and information and more like a visual guide for class time.

Where Does It Come From?

Who designed this tool? What assumptions about teaching and learning are embedded in it?

When I was in college in the late 1990s and early 2000s, teachers used overhead projectors with transparencies, which were thick sheets of clear plastic. The projector would shine light through to project whatever image or text was on the plastic transparency onto the wall in the classroom. Teachers would either write on these transparencies as the class progressed, or have them wholly or partially printed out in advance. Essentially they were used like fancy chalkboards though overhead projectors had advantages in that transparencies could be saved, and projected and re-projected easily and quickly, unlike a chalkboard that needs to be erased, and is usually just two tones (green or black background and white or yellow chalk). A Microsoft engineering team created Powerpoint as basically a digital version of an overhead projector and set of transparencies. Powerpoint functions similarly, although is trickier to add to once it is being projected and shared. The assumption built into this tool is that the professor has some information ready ahead of time that they can prepare, and then convey to students in a sequential show. It assumes a sort of performer lecture-style of teaching, and an audience watching-style of learning.

Who or What Does it Empower?

What power dynamics are reinforced through this tool’s structure or data practices?

The power dynamics embedded in Powerpoint are that expertise, preparation, and control of class time are all in the hands of the teacher. Students do not have the power to edit powerpoints as they are being projected.

What Kind of Learner Does it Benefit? Or Not Benefit?

Who might struggle to use this tool effectively? Who might benefit most?

Who might benefit from Powerpoint: People who remember ideas after seeing them (in addition or instead of just hearing them) benefit from Powerpoint. Students who struggle to stay on-task or remember what is being done during class time, or who might need to step out of class temporarily to use the bathroom or another reason, might benefit from having Powerpoint slides there to anchor or update them (without the professor needing to pause and catch them up to speed, or asking a classmate). Students with hearing issues might benefit from having text to read if they cannot hear what is being said (though this just helps for what the teacher has said, not their fellow students). Students who are English Language Learners, or who are used to another accent or regional dialect of English, might benefit from being able to read the text if they cannot easily understand it from listening. Or, professors who themselves are English Language Learners or have an accent unfamiliar to their students can benefit from having their spoken words reinforced by visual text. Students who struggle with note-taking can benefit from having a powerpoint to refer to after class has finished. And students who were not in attendance Who might struggle with Powerpoint: People who struggle to read or have vision issues won’t get as much use out of this tool, as it is primarily visual in nature. People with attention issues might find this tool creates overstimulation and find it hard to divide focus between what people are saying and doing in class and what is being projected in the slideshow at the same time. Professors with perfectionist tendencies, or without much experience teaching, can can waste precious hours making endless edits or searching for the perfect picture that don’t make meaningful changes to what students get out of the slideshow. (Is this last one from experience? You bet!)

Reflection

Given what you’ve explored here, would you consider not using this tool or using it differently? Why?

Lots to think about! What I am most concerned about is students thinking that the powerpoint IS the class, rather than a tool to help the class do things like talk, watch, listen, reflect, etc. I see this most when students are absent — they might say “I looked at the powerpoint!” and feel caught up, even though I know and try to convey to them that there is a lot that we DO in class that they powerpoint cannot help them make up. Long ago I used to not even share powerpoint slides with students in the hopes that this would encourage them to come to class, but it just meant lots of headaches. But by posting the slideshows to Canvas, do I send the message that this is the most important artifact from the day? I know some professors use Google Slides or Powerpoint in more interactive ways — having students edit or add to them for example. At this point I am not sure where to go from here, but this exercise is a good reminder of the hidden power dynamics and assumptions built into this tool that I often ignore.