One More Thing . . .

There is something to be said about Power Point presentations . . .


And I said it all last week. But if you’d like me to say something else, I guess I could make something up that sounds intelligent (politicians do it all the time, why can’t I?).

First, let me refer you to the following youtube link of a comedian showing how not to use PowerPoint. At least I think he’s a comedian. He could be an unemployed Business Analyst looking for a job. I’ll let you decide.

Video Link

But this guy brings up a good point. There are ways to screw up a good thing. Every piece of technology that has ever been invented someone has found a way to make the inventor want to puke. Give me an example. The automobile? Yeah that’s good, but some redneck/donkey hybrid decided a low-rider pickup truck would be cool (and no, it’s not cool if it’s completely ridiculous). How about the TV? That’s an invention even the poor people can’t even seem to live without. How could someone possibly mess up that? How about creating a TV show for kids (so you can scar them for life) about a homosexual purple dinosaur named Barney of all names? I’m getting sick just writing about him.

Now, anyone who works in education knows that students can and will surprise you. Sometimes those surprises are, well, not so good. We teachers are in positions of power though. We are in the position to dissuade or correct these mistakes. I prefer the unraveled metal coat hanger approach. When a student does something stupid I’d just whack him/her with the coat hanger. Hey, I could use a cat-of-nine-tails and just give’em an old fashioned flogging.

Anyways, PowerPoint is just one thing that could be a blessing or a curse in the classroom. My approach is to let the students experiment so that they at least feel like their creative juices are being acknowledged. And if the mess up? My friend the coat hanger will come to the rescue.