Professors at research universities prefer teaching with old-fashioned whiteboards

[LWolf]

23. Not just at universities.

Because one teacher in my building teaches exclusively using "clicker" technology, my principal became so excited that he made sure we all had software and clickers and training ad nauseum, and for 3 years now the drumbeat to try to force us into using them has not diminished.

Regardless of how many times we point out that much of what we teach can't be translated into clicker T/F, Y/N, or multiple choice, and that, while it may be possible to twist it to use with other formats, it's more time consuming to create the stuff than it's worth.

My students, when asked to produce some sort of project or presentation, may choose from several formats. PowerPoint, though, is not on that list of choices. I don't care what fonts, colors, or animations they put into it; it's the information that counts, and I'm not going to torture myself by having to view 30 something PowerPoints full of crap because they think the bells and whistles distract from the weak content.

We use technology. Some students have notebooks, e-readers, and laptops. All students have access to desktops at some point in their day. We have document cameras and projectors. We have online gradebooks and assignment calendars. We have online request for anything in the regional library system to be delivered to and picked up from school. We have some smartboards in the building. We have ipods.

We just want the use of those technologies to be at our discretion.