There are advantages for both students and instructors by utilizing slide programs like PowerPoint or any other of the commercial slide soft ware available. The visual learner will have a better chance of remembering the information The auditory learner will benefit from the resulting discussion and review The kinesthetic learner could be given the task of preparing a slide program on a particular topic or chapter. The slides assist in highlighting the major points, minor points, and supporting details of the topic. A logical order of presentation of the material is maintained during class despite the normal divergent directions a classroom discussion may take. The instructor made program can be downloaded by students to use as a review tool or the text printed as a handout.
Absent students can review the program.
If other instructors of the course wish to review or use the material, it is readily available to them. Despite the fact that slide programs can be time consuming to put together, once completed they are quite useful, easy to keep, and simple to edit in order for the information to remain current. The fact that the instructor has designated and highlighted the most important aspects in a body of material may be even more valuable to many college students today. There was a time thirty to forty years ago when university instructors could assign hundreds of pages to be read between class meetings and have a reason able expectation that most students would not only complete the task, but come to class with notes taken and questions ready. Class time would be spent expanding on the learning experience, not reviewing the material read.