tl20011001-000 "Contr.( ter, we Monday www.thetowerlight.com 0 Mier 1 igh Published twice-weekly by students of Towson University 10/1/01 Faculty focuses on fair treatment New strategies for student financing 4 Fun features on 'Mummy' DVD 11 Tigers raise record to 14-1 Departments News Nation Campus brie Taking Stoc 3 5 6 7 A&E 9 ma Theater Near You.10 Soundbites 14 Sports /5 In This Corner., 16 Athlete of the Week....19 Op/Ed 22 Teaching with technology Students, teachers split over PowerPoint and LearnOnline Kris Piasecki The Towerlight Since the technological boom of the mid- 90s, almost everyone has tried to simplify their lives and their jobs with some sort of online service or software program. Towson professors are no exception. Our generation watched overhead projec-tors replace the chalkboard. And now, in many classrooms, students are witnessing a new invasion: PowerPoint, a user-friendly computer program that allows instructors to organize their notes into a slideshow presen-tation that can be accessed with the touch of button. An increasing number of professors rou-tinely present their lesson notes on PowerPoint slides. Mass communication professor Robert Gist said it can be especially useful in large classrooms where students in the back of the room may not be able to see handwritten notes on a chalkboard. ""Using the slides helps students pay atten-tion because they hold an element of profes-sionalism,"" Gist said. ""I've found that stu-dents respond more to the graphic designs."" But with any new trend, there are skeptics, as well as supporters. ""Some teachers are using the technology too much,"" sophomore computer science and math major Adam Durana said. ""It takes away from the traditional classroom experi-ence."" Mixed emotions have arisen among both students and professors � some embracing ""the cutting edge"" and some fearing that newer is not always better. Sophomore business administration major Jason Vultaggio said PowerPoint can make note-taking easier for students, but it often eliminates personal interaction between stu-dents and their professors. ""It does help the student learn because they know exactly what to write down,"" Vultaggio said, ""but it takes away from the professor actually teaching."" While the purpose of PowerPoint may be to present class notes and topic outlines that will complement a professor's lecture, some students feel that while they are frantically trying to copy the outline, they are missing the discussion. Sophomore business major Jackie Huebner said he can't keep up with how quickly some professors move through the slides. ""I hate the fact that my teacher reads the slides so fast that I don't get to write down all the notes before she goes on to the next one,"" he said. This raises the question of whether using PowerPoint is really an effective way to learn and teach, or if it merely represents a lack of effort on the part of both the teacher and the student. As more professors take advantage of this ""convenient"" technology, they also run the risk of class lessons being disrupted by corn-puter and projector equipment failing. Gist said, however, that this is rarely a problem. ""If the equipment went down I would con-tinue my lecture,"" he said. ""The students just wouldn't have the benefit of seeing what I was talking about."" Many professors are also taking advantage of the Internet by using Towson's LearnOnline program, known as Blackboard. This interactive site allows teachers to post announcements, assign-ments and course documents that students See TECHNOLOGY, page 4 Towson's Hank Levy remembered PlUX73 COLIM8Sy rine Arts Former music professor Hank Levy (left), who taught at Towson for 21 years, died on Sept. 17. In 1998, Levy received the TU Lifetime Achievement Award. See story, page 9. Today High 69 Low 50 Tuesday High 72 Low 49 Wednesday High 71 Low 52 Thursday High 71 Low 50 "
