To Slideware or Not to Slideware: Students’ Experiences with Powerpoint vs. Lecture

This study analyzes the performance and attitudes of technical writing students in PowerPoint-enhanced and in non-PowerPoint lectures. Four classes of upper-level undergraduates (n = 84) at a mid-sized, Southern university taking a one-semester technical writing course were surveyed at the beginning and end of the course about their perceptions of PowerPoint. Of the four sections, two classes were instructed using traditional lecture materials (teacher at podium, chalkboard, handouts); the other two sections were instructed with PowerPoint presentations. All four classes were given the same preand post-test to measure performance over the course of the semester. Traditional lecture or PowerPoint presentations consisted of at least 50% of the course, with the remaining time spent on exercises and small group work. Results reveal that while most students say they preferred PowerPoint, performance scores were higher in the sections with the traditional lecture format. INTRODUCTION: WHY A POWERPOINT STUDY?* In The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint, Edward Tufte argues that PowerPoint is “making us stupid, degrading the quality and credibility of our communication, turning us into bores, wasting our colleagues’ time” [1, p. 24] through *Portions of this introduction appeared in “Technology for Technology’s Sake: The Proliferation of PowerPoint.” Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference , 2004.