What Did We Learn From PowerPoint?

I've been teaching since 1999, and sometimes I like to pretend it's still 1999. That would mean a chalkboard, or perhaps a whiteboard, and maybe a technology station you'd roll in. And that would mean I'd be careful not to have my back turned to students while writing too much on the board. Most importantly, my focus would be on engaging students, posing questions, probing, encouraging civil conversation, answering questions, etc. The conditions for a good learning environment were on my side: no phones, no wired classrooms. Soon, though, things changed, and phones started to show up, and technology changed. I certainly didn't mind the demise of blackboards because I didn't like chalk all over me. I was happy with a whiteboard, a drop-down projection screen, and the ability to show videos in an efficient way. I also liked when YouTube came along, because short videos were a good option. When PowerPoint emerged, I was a skeptic, because it was a presentation program, and I think of teaching as something different than a presentation. The slides became the thing, with bulleted information, and gimmicks, and it seemed to me the focus was on the content and not how students engaged with the content. It gave too much power to technology, in my opinion. At some point I read a piece that pointed out that students can pay attention to the slides, or the professor, but not both, and that stuck with me. I always say this: I've seen great PowerPoint presentations, especially from my students. A nice, easy on the eyes PowerPoint (or Canva) can be a treat, and effective for delivering information and facilitating conversation. To be clear, talented instructors and students use presentation software in effective ways, and power to them. Overall, though, I don't know how much was gained by PowerPoint becoming a pedagogical norm. 

So much time on screens, with today's smartphones, ubiquitous Internet, and of course, our favorite villain, social media. Let's not try too hard here: 99% of us spend too much time on screens. The suggestion to "touch grass" is a good one. I don't miss newspapers in the same way I don't miss chalk. I don't miss ink on my hands. So, I'm not saying we should return to physical newspapers and chalkboards and leave out newer technologies. I'm saying we give too much over to technology, and that our eyes don't need to be on screens so much of every day. We can talk, debate, argue, and a lot of that can occur without technological aid. I'm not a dinosaur or scared of technology. I taught an online course called Sociology of TikTok. I guess I'm a hybrid, mix in the old with the new. 

Perhaps you see where I'm going. I think the AI skeptics have good reason to be skeptical. Of course AI can do good things and good professors and students will unleash a lot of positives in using it. But I think we should be careful and cautious and somehow focus on how to stay human in the age of AI. 

Conclusion: Too much technology, bro!