So this one is a little off the topic we have been talking about regarding simplicity, but I found it interesting and I thought I would share.
I came across an article that dealt with the use of technology in the classroom, and despite the general acclaim to which technology usually gets this article argued for stripping down classrooms and using a low-tech approach. In short it says professors use technology as a crutch, and a very boring crutch at that. Here’s an excerpt:
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. Class time should be reserved for discussion, he contends, especially now that students can download lectures online and find libraries of information on the Web. When students reflect on their college years later in life, they’re going to remember challenging debates and talks with their professors. Lively interactions are what teaching is all about, he says, but those give-and-takes are discouraged by preset collections of slides.
My experience mirrors this to some degree. My best class sessions aren’t the ones when I work through a prearranged set of slides, and my best memories of college and professors often had little to do with technology. In fact my best professors utilized a very low tech approach. For my own part I’m passionate about teaching, I got into graduate school because that is what I love to do. If simplicity helps raise the level of teaching I’m all for it, but then again if you don’t care about students or if you can’t teach it may not matter how much or how little technology you use.
Again if you’re interested you should check out the article.
PS. I think the same thing is true about preaching. Technology can enhance a sermon, but all the technology in the world can’t make a bad sermon good. Graphics, slides, video elements can all be great, but if more time goes into them than into the message I’m willing to bet it won’t matter.
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