Many instructors opt to use Microsoft PowerPoint rather than the white board in their lectures, but this can get boring to some students.

“It’s really hard to focus on a long PowerPoint lecture,” said Beth Denton, a special education graduate student. “We would never expect our students to sit and pay attention to PowerPoint slides for two hours. I think it’s a little boring and it doesn’t allow for us to grow as learners.”

Senior history major Maks Reytikh had similar feelings toward PowerPoint lectures.

“You end up in those classes trying to write everything down before the slide switches,” Reytikh said. “I prefer classes that use PowerPoint not as the ultimate source, but as a reference.”

Some instructors, like Ryan Hibbett, visiting assistant professor of English, try to use PowerPoint only to enhance learning for his students. He said that if he uses it too much, he worries that “it can be monotonous.”

“One [reason to use it] is to try to accommodate visual learning,” Hibbett said. “Some people learn better that way. I don’t personally use it for a whole class presentation.”

In Duk Kim, assistant professor of communication, has used PowerPoint frequently in her classes over the years. She said that she mainly uses it to make it easier for students.

“They seem to follow my points more easily if I have PowerPoint slides,” Kim said. “The most important thing is the students need some visual stimulation, and PowerPoint does help to give students something to see during the presentation.”

Kim said that while the PowerPoint slides have been successful for her in the past, she has begun to reconsider her usage.

“I see less and less students taking notes,” Kim said. “I think that’s because they know they have PowerPoint slides available for download.”

Kim added that if students focus only on the PowerPoints, they will miss some of the points she elaborates. It also diverts her attention from the students as well, as Kim now has to keep checking them throughout the lecture.

Despite her issues with PowerPoint, she said she intends to keep using it, although in a limited role.

“I want to stop posting slides to Blackboard, so I can encourage students to take notes in class, and so my PowerPoint can go back to its original function, which is a visual aid and not notes,” Kim said. “I forsee very strong student resistance, so I don’t know if that’s possible.”