Am I suspicious of virtual whiteboards? No.
Do I really need Powerpoint for every single lesson? No.
Can't students wait when we're writing on the virtual whiteboard? Of course, they can.
Though I suspect the online mode of communication has subtly changed our expectations. Some would argue that a culture of 'instant information' has taken hold thanks to Google. What do you do when you want to find information about something? Google (it's even become a verb!) it and you'll have the information available in a matter of seconds, which brings me back to the last question above.
Being a fast typer myself, I'm able to minimise student waiting time (SWT?) , but I still prefer pre-written Powerpoint sildes which work exactly as a planned whiteboard. It saves lesson time, which translates to 'greater practice time' (potentially) for the students.
Perhaps I should ask myself these questions instead:
- Do I really need to include a visual? Does it serve any teaching or learning purpose?
- Do I need to share my Powerpoint slides for the entire lesson?
- Can I put some slides on a digital worksheet so that my students can work 'off-screen (share)'?