The technology in classrooms debate never seems to end!

From Assorted Stuff comes another discussion about the debate over laptops in the classroom and now it's PowerPoint under the microscope too!

So, faculty members are mostly annoyed that students are surfing the web instead of paying attention to their lectures. Who?s fault is that?

Again, who?s fault is that? PowerPoint doesn?t ?induce? anything. Boring lectures are going to be boring with or without the accompanying slide show.

These points are bang on.  PowerPoint doesn't make be bad lectures!  Jeez what about a cool series of PPTs that have videos from YouTube illustrating a point?  Or a great quote that you throw up on screen in gignormous letters?  These are good uses of technology.  What about having students with laptops in small group brainstorming sessions using MindManager?  Maybe a little mini-network of folks in a group-collaboration environment working together during the lecture?

And let's not forget, some of us might actually retain more of the lecture if we mind map it.

Again, it's not a technology that is bad, it's how it's used.

Hat tip to ThinkLab.