Using Powerpoint in the Finance Classroom: Pros, Cons, and Recommendations

6 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2002

See all articles by Kent L. Womack

Kent L. Womack

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management (Deceased)

Date Written: March 2002

Abstract

The advent of personal computer technology in the last two decades has brought with it new opportunities for pedagogy. While the principles of good pedagogy are essentially timeless, the cosmetic delivery of the message through course files and web pages, intra-net servers, and presentation software has become more sophisticated and certainly more efficient. For those who are considering a switch to PowerPoint, this paper makes recommendations on getting up the learning curve efficiently, including recommendations on additional hardware and software devices that make developing and presenting easier. At the entry level, PowerPoint is hardly more than a page-based word processing program. However, using its advanced features, it provides a highly professional system for class note organization and electronic delivery that can dominate the standard tools (transparencies and blackboard) of prior decades for some types of teaching. Not surprisingly, the use of PowerPoint has strengths and weaknesses, depending on the teaching style the professor employs. PowerPoint is least effective in a case-based environment and most effective when it is used to produce course notes, which supplement or replace a textbook, or background bullet points for a lecture.

Suggested Citation

Womack, Kent L., Using Powerpoint in the Finance Classroom: Pros, Cons, and Recommendations (March 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=302154

Kent L. Womack (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management (Deceased)

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