The article reviews studies that have looked at the influence of
PowerPoint on performance in the course and course grades. Most
studies find that PowerPoint has “no measurable influence on
course performance and minimal effect on grades.” Yet students
often report a favorable view of PowerPoint, saying it helps
them with learning, content organization and note taking. The
students in this cohort confirmed these positive effects. What
students in this study said they liked about PowerPoint is part
of my concern. When asked to identify those features of
PowerPoint they found most helpful, about 80% said the software
organized lecture content and indicated which points were most
important. Eighty-two percent said they “always,” “almost
always, or “usually” copy the information on the slides. Does
copying down content word-for-word develop the skills needed to
organize material on your own? Does it expedite understanding
the relationships between ideas? Does it set students up to
master the material or to simply