Is studying with slides making us learn less?

Before the era of the internet and computers, people relied solely on books for knowledge. They would spend hours in libraries searching for the right book, flicking through chapters to find the right information, and even reading multiple books to understand a single concept. As time consuming as it was, it did help one develop a thorough understanding of the topic. 

In today's day and age, there is no need for such labour. Information can be accessed with a click of a button and concepts can be taught through different mediums, not just books. In many educational institutions, summarised notes are provided in the form of presentation slides. Teachers usually use slides to explain the concepts in a more interactive way, elaborating on each point as they teach.

The question here is – are slides beneficial or detrimental?

Slides, when well organised, can be a lifesaver when your preparation is not up to the mark. It can summarise and give an overview of the contents in a way that books can't. They are easy to read, time efficient and include only the significant portions of the study material. It's a useful tool to have for revision, but not necessarily for understanding the topic. In depth understanding requires more elaborate explanations, examples and depending on the subject, mathematical exercises. These things are usually found in textbooks.

However, many students tend to study for exams at the last minute and often end up only reading the slides, thus getting a superficial, half-baked idea of the subject. Despite knowing that slides are not a substitute for textbooks, many people are forced to choose the faster option when there's a lack of time. Gradually, students grow dependent on these slides and make it their primary learning material.

Creating slides and encouraging (or discouraging, for that matter) students to read them is part of a teacher's responsibility. They know that many students tend to take the easier way out, so they should act accordingly. Some teachers provide very detailed slides while others don't provide any at all. To encourage students to look towards textbooks, teachers can organise the content in such a way that it's easy to follow the book.

Slides aren't equally effective for every major. The subjects which are more maths and diagram heavy, such as applied statistics or computer science, are not suitable for summarised slides. Hence, for those students, they are forced to read from other sources. In fact, beyond slides and textbooks, there are various other sources of media that can help with studying. YouTube can be a great teacher, especially when trying to decipher a complicated topic. Step-by-step videos, workouts or demonstrations can be found which allows one to clear their concept.

Most of the time, students use a combination of tools to fully grasp a matter. Some read parts of the book and then look at videos, others start with the slide and move on to the text later on. Unlike previous generations, we're not limited to only consuming information through one single medium. Ultimately, it's about whatever works for the individual – be it audio, visuals or plain text. Having a clear, solid understanding is what matters the most.

Noyolee is either sleeping or procrastinating or both. Tell her to stop overthinking at [email protected]