PowerPoint Makes Boring Teaching Easy
One professor says slides make teaching boring.
Recombinant Teaching: STEM Education Office Hours with Dr. Justin Shaffer
Sep 23, 2026 · 15 min · 7 segments
Murray Jensen from the University of Minnesota joins the show to poke and prod Justin with the question of is PowerPoint bad for teaching? As an avid PPT user, Justin pushes back but who wins the…
Murray JensenGuestJustin ShafferHost
PowerPoint a good thing? Is PowerPoint something that helps students learn? You know, and that's about as juicy of a question as you can
I'm like, hey, Murray, I think we're going to agree to disagree on here because I'm a big PowerPoint fan.
So maybe I can try to convince you and the audience or you can try to convince me of the pros and cons.
I'll try to find it of a comedian doing an act of I think it's called death by PowerPoint, actually, where he shows, you know, like the worst possible PowerPoint slides and graphics and how to present with it.
So it can be a terrible tool that just on a comedic scale, you know, so if I find that I'll put it in the show notes for everyone listening.
If you look at publisher materials, which I know, Murray, you know a lot of the A&P world.

PowerPoint a good thing? Is PowerPoint something that helps students learn? You know, and that's about as juicy of a question as you can
I'm like, hey, Murray, I think we're going to agree to disagree on here because I'm a big PowerPoint fan.
So maybe I can try to convince you and the audience or you can try to convince me of the pros and cons.
I'll try to find it of a comedian doing an act of I think it's called death by PowerPoint, actually, where he shows, you know, like the worst possible PowerPoint slides and graphics and how to present with it.
So it can be a terrible tool that just on a comedic scale, you know, so if I find that I'll put it in the show notes for everyone listening.
If you look at publisher materials, which I know, Murray, you know a lot of the A&P world.
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PowerPoint Makes Boring Teaching Easy
One professor says slides make teaching boring.
Teaching Materials For Free
A veteran educator offers classroom materials freely.
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