4 ms·

Slightly off topic, but when I was in college a few years ago nobody ever expected slides unless the teacher actually used PowerPoint slides. If a teacher gave

by nilkn 13y ago

Slightly off topic, but when I was in college a few years ago nobody ever expected slides unless the teacher actually used PowerPoint slides. If a teacher gave boring PowerPoint presentations and then refused to provide them to their students, that did hugely impact the way students viewed them and the class. It feels like resources are being withheld and amplifies the feeling that the class is just jumping through hoops, a game to be gamified, not something to be taken seriously. Sort of like extremely restrictive DRM on music or games--it just feels disrespectful.

timr 13y ago
I've had students ask me for "copies" of transparencies that I wrote, during the lecture, using an overhead projector with an acetate scroll. Granted, these were not always the brightest students, but still -- this is a new level of expectation. When the instructor begins writing on an overhead projector, it's a clue that it's time to start taking notes. That said, nobody is required to give you copies of their slides, just like they're not required to give you a free copy of the course text, or allow you to record the lecture and sell it online. And while you're free as an adult to disregard any course you choose, the instructor is not required to make your life easier to earn your attention. If you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class.
- Perseids 13y ago
  > the instructor is not required to make your life easier to earn your attention. On the other hand I find it kind of disrespectful to waste my time writing down the official notes instead of using that time to understand what the lecturer is trying to teach me, when those notes exist digitally or could be just scanned from a master copy. For some people at least copying and listening to the lecture are mutually exclusive.
- nilkn 13y ago
  Your final remark is rather callous for someone whose job, presumably, is to educate and connect with students. Perhaps ironically, it seems to reinforce the point I was making--that withholding existing resources which are trivially and by their nature redistributable from students is disrespectful. Saying "if you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class" really isn't helping your case.
  - timr 13y ago
    "Saying "if you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class" really isn't helping your case." This may come as a surprise to people of a certain age, but the instructor's job is not to appease you. It is not "disrespectful" to ask you to do some work in class. If the instructor believes that you'll learn more effectively by taking notes (and yes, most students will), they're entitled to do anything they wish to make that happen. It's their classroom, not yours. If you want someone to coddle your unique snowflake needs, pay for a tutor. No one is chaining you to a desk. But hey...I do love the sense of indignant consumer entitlement ("your job is to make me happy!"), coupled with the sense of absolute helplessness ("you can't possibly ask me to choose a different product!"). It really defines the current generation of students.
    - mindcrime 13y ago
      This may come as a surprise to people of a certain age, but the instructor's job is not to appease you. True, but totally unrelated to the text you quoted from the parent post above. * If the instructor believes that you'll learn more effectively by taking notes (and yes, most students will), they're entitled to do anything they wish to make that happen* Including beating you with a metal chain and depriving you of food and water? It's their classroom, not yours. If you want someone to coddle your unique snowflake needs, pay for a tutor. No one is chaining you to a desk. It's all a question of perspective. When I've taught, I've always tried to keep in mind that not everyone learns the same way, learns at the same rate, or needs the same inputs. But if I, as an instructor, want everyone to learn (and I do) then it is incumbent on me to, within reason, adapt to the needs of the individuals in the room. But hey...I do love the sense of indignant consumer entitlement ("your job is to make me happy!"), coupled with the sense of absolute helplessness ("you can't possibly ask me to choose a different product!"). It really defines the current generation of students. Bah... people have been making comments like this about "the current generation of students" for probably as long as their have been students. And students have been complaining (rightly) that some teachers are terrible teachers and/or terrible human beings, for as long as there have been students and teachers. Nothing has changed.
    - deleted 13y ago

by nilkn 13y ago

timr 13y ago

I've had students ask me for "copies" of transparencies that I wrote, during the lecture, using an overhead projector with an acetate scroll. Granted, these were not always the brightest students, but still -- this is a new level of expectation. When the instructor begins writing on an overhead projector, it's a clue that it's time to start taking notes. That said, nobody is required to give you copies of their slides, just like they're not required to give you a free copy of the course text, or allow you to record the lecture and sell it online. And while you're free as an adult to disregard any course you choose, the instructor is not required to make your life easier to earn your attention. If you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class.

Perseids 13y ago
> the instructor is not required to make your life easier to earn your attention. On the other hand I find it kind of disrespectful to waste my time writing down the official notes instead of using that time to understand what the lecturer is trying to teach me, when those notes exist digitally or could be just scanned from a master copy. For some people at least copying and listening to the lecture are mutually exclusive.
nilkn 13y ago
Your final remark is rather callous for someone whose job, presumably, is to educate and connect with students. Perhaps ironically, it seems to reinforce the point I was making--that withholding existing resources which are trivially and by their nature redistributable from students is disrespectful. Saying "if you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class" really isn't helping your case.
- timr 13y ago
  "Saying "if you don't like the terms of the deal, you can choose not to take the class" really isn't helping your case." This may come as a surprise to people of a certain age, but the instructor's job is not to appease you. It is not "disrespectful" to ask you to do some work in class. If the instructor believes that you'll learn more effectively by taking notes (and yes, most students will), they're entitled to do anything they wish to make that happen. It's their classroom, not yours. If you want someone to coddle your unique snowflake needs, pay for a tutor. No one is chaining you to a desk. But hey...I do love the sense of indignant consumer entitlement ("your job is to make me happy!"), coupled with the sense of absolute helplessness ("you can't possibly ask me to choose a different product!"). It really defines the current generation of students.
  - mindcrime 13y ago
    This may come as a surprise to people of a certain age, but the instructor's job is not to appease you. True, but totally unrelated to the text you quoted from the parent post above. * If the instructor believes that you'll learn more effectively by taking notes (and yes, most students will), they're entitled to do anything they wish to make that happen* Including beating you with a metal chain and depriving you of food and water? It's their classroom, not yours. If you want someone to coddle your unique snowflake needs, pay for a tutor. No one is chaining you to a desk. It's all a question of perspective. When I've taught, I've always tried to keep in mind that not everyone learns the same way, learns at the same rate, or needs the same inputs. But if I, as an instructor, want everyone to learn (and I do) then it is incumbent on me to, within reason, adapt to the needs of the individuals in the room. But hey...I do love the sense of indignant consumer entitlement ("your job is to make me happy!"), coupled with the sense of absolute helplessness ("you can't possibly ask me to choose a different product!"). It really defines the current generation of students. Bah... people have been making comments like this about "the current generation of students" for probably as long as their have been students. And students have been complaining (rightly) that some teachers are terrible teachers and/or terrible human beings, for as long as there have been students and teachers. Nothing has changed.
  - deleted 13y ago