Using PPT as an Effective Cutting Edge Tool for Innovative Teaching- Learning

One of the fundamental purposes and goals of learning and teaching around the world has been the active participation of students in higher education institutions. The teacher's knowledge alone is insufficient to ensure that the students understand the subject during the curricular transaction. The manner in which the lecture is delivered is equally important. As a result, in addition to the conventional method, PowerPoint presentations are being used on a larger scale. Furthermore, it enhances students' sense of pleasure and commitment and assists the teacher in attaining its objectives. It can also play an important part in creating a dynamic environment for teaching and learning when deployed as an efficient cutting-edge tool. In this paper, the focus is given on understanding using PPT as an effective cutting edge tool for innovative teaching-learning and impressive presentation through a questionnaire-based online survey of 915 students and teachers from 20 different states and 2 Union Tertiaries of India and 6 overseas countries too. The analysis of the collected data confirms that using multiple modalities in PPT might bring together all types of learners, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual and provide them the opportunity to be active learners and increase their interactivity.


Introduction
The pressing issue in today's education is directing students' entire attention to the classroom and providing them with a clear comprehension of the topics. For this a teacher should use appropriate teaching methods and techniques as "teaching method is one of the significant components of curriculum and is an important stage of instructional design. Good teaching methods are useful tools to make helpful and meaningful learning. If teachers are familiar with different teaching methods, then several useful tools are available for them to give desired content and materials to learners" (Shah et.al., 2017). In the curricular transaction, use of teaching aids and applications are becoming more necessary and dynamic day-by-days. In the day-to-day classroom teaching-learning process, the instructor must employ a variety of strategies, techniques, applications and electronic devices. One of them is the computer programme named PowerPoint Presentation, a type of learning media software that substantially aids teachers in easily presenting material. Teaching with PPTs is one of the widely used and accepted techniques as "the instructional delivery mode employed by the teacher plays an important role in skills acquisition and meaningful learning" (Gambari et.al, 2015). Because the audio-visual processing pathways of the human mind register sights, words, and sounds in sensory memory, the audio-visual aids have been shown to be advantageous to learning. As a result, when audio-visual aids were provided, most learners were seen to be more attentive. The majority of students like their instructors' use of audio-visual aids because it boosts their attention and ability to remember the contents. If audio-visual aids were used in the teaching and learning process, they would be more driven to learn. The combination of verbal and visual features in computer-generated slides appeal to learners.
Though different people see and experience things differently, we all have a visual cortex, a region of the brain responsible for integrating what we see. Because of integration of sounds, music files, video files, photos, graphs and data in a good PPT, it appeals to our senses as "the degree of improved learning is a function of a complex set of interactions among learner and medium attributes" (Bryant & Hunton, 2000). More sensory stimulation is possible with the PowerPoint. The teacher's knowledge alone is insufficient to ensure that the students understand the subject. The presentation of the lecture is also crucial. As a result, in addition to the classic "chalk and talk" method, the use of PowerPoint presentations is rising day by day.
Student's active participation has emerged as one of the primary concern and goals of learning and teaching in higher education institutions all around the world. "Students were observed to be more attentive when audiovisual aids were played. Majority of students agreed that the use of audio-visual aids increase their interest to learn as well as ability to learn and remember the contents" (Tang, & Intai, 2018). PowerPoint, a Microsoft slide presentation application, has grown widespread in meetings and college courses since its inception in 1987. "Microsoft estimates that 30 million presentations are made each day using the PowerPoint program…having been installed on at least 1 billion computers" (Lumen, n.d.). Parker (2001) also brings out our attention to PowerPoint's widespread use when he remarked "to appear at a meeting without PowerPoint would be unwelcome and vaguely pretentious, like wearing no shoes".
A well-crafted PowerPoint presentation or lecture has the ability to disclose the organisation of a talk, emphasise a speaker's ideas, illustrate patterns and data, and capture and hold attention of the audience. However, many presentations do not make full advantage of PowerPoint's capabilities. A traditional presentation or lecture might be tedious. Students appreciate a good presentation, and how it is used has an impact on them.
Traditional methods are no longer meeting the demands of learners or advancing their cognitive development. The "advancement of technology has given new dimensions to teaching and learning. It expands teaching and learning beyond classrooms and the conventional chalk and talk method" (Tang, & Intai, 2018). The "disadvantage of lecturing mainly consists in low activation, practically zero feedback, and loss of students' attentiveness. These are the aspects where an appropriate use of presentations could be helpful" (Urbanová & Čtrnáctová, 2009). Learners must acquire specific scientific information and abilities that will aid them in communicating, problem solving, developing ideas, growing self-confidence, and becoming professional leaders in their future specialisations. As a result, PowerPoint presentations play a fundamental and necessary function in teaching. Furthermore, it improves the sense of enjoyment and engagement among students while assisting the teacher in achieving their goals. Additionally, when employed as an effective cutting edge tool, it can play a significant role in generating a dynamic environment for teaching and learning because "presenting materials on a computer as opposed to a normal textual presentation was found to increase both attention allocation and learning" (Reynolds &  Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 3(1) (2022), 1-12 | 3 Baker, 1987). In a study carried by (R V S N S, 2016), it is found that "85% of the students preferred PowerPoint and only 15% preferred conventional chalk talk". Even in the present study 94.2% participants felt PowerPoint as an effective and valuable tool for teaching-learning. The usage of PPT in education on a worldwide scale has effectively spanned and filled the gaps that have hampered traditional education for a long time. The end effect of all this innovation is that education has become considerably more inclusive, fascinating, and engaging than it has ever been. It also highlights the potential importance of use of PPT in instruction which cannot be underestimated and confirms that its use as an effective cutting edge tool is crucial for students and teachers to increase efficiency and desired outcomes of education. It appears that no research on the same problem has been undertaken on a wider scale with this point of view to date. The current paper tries to address this gap.

Background and Review of the Related Literature
Since schools, colleges, and universities, as well as other educational institutions, train students to live in a technologically-infused culture and environment, we now require instructors who can support students in learning via the use of technology. Because of the rapid pace at which technology is advancing and developing, our world is continuously reaching for greater heights. With new and improved ways of doing things made possible by technology, learning is now more accessible to students than ever before. ICT and educational innovations are primarily to credit for bringing education and success closer together than ever before in the field of education. It is true that modern learning techniques and methods have become more at ease in recent years and the conventional education is unlikely to disappear. It is essential to recognise that ICT integrated education is the new foundation for modern education standards in nearly every area that matters. Both conventional and modern approaches to education may coexist peacefully, but the incorporation of ICT technologies into teaching and learning is getting the most favourable reaction.
There are new ways of teaching being introduced into the education system, which have an entirely fresh perspective on learning and teaching. Traditional lecture technique/method refers to chalk and talk i.e. teaching classes using board with chalk or marker with oral description and explanations. Previous research on this has shown inadequacy in traditional methods as almost all students in today's classroom agree that the usage of various audiovisual resources makes the class more interesting and entertaining. Regarding integrating instruction with various audio-visual resources, (Nouri & Abdus, 2005:70) states that it "improves students' attitudes toward the instructor and course presentation". A long class might be quite difficult for students if the teacher fails to keep it engaging. They quickly lose interest in the lesson. However, several forms of AV aids can alleviate their boredom. When the instruction gets more appealing and attention-grabbing, they are able to pay greater attention to it. It has been observed in many instances that when teachers visualise the contents of any audio-visual media, students absorb the lesson more effectively. Moreover, the usage of PowerPoint presentations enhances attention and stimulation of the class. It adds variety to the class. For this the teacher, too, should be well trained and equipped with technical knowledge. (Shah et al., 2017:42) found that "The quality of PowerPoint presentations depends mainly on the instructor. Instructors should have enough knowledge and ability how to prepare PowerPoint presentations in terms of not only physical structure but also the content, Visuals including pictures, animations or videos related to content may be helpful to keep student attentive in lecture. According to students, clarity of words, illustrations, real pictures and summarizations were some of the attributes best deal with on PPT".
Microsoft Power-Point is a presentation application created by Microsoft Corporation in 1987, an American multinational technology company. It is a part of the Microsoft Office suite i.e. a component of the Microsoft Office system, which is widely used by professionals, educators, students, and trainers for their presentations. The review of related literature also explore it. (Boakye & Buabeng, 2016:80) observe that it "is a widely used presentation program that originated in the world of business but has now become commonplace in the world of educational technology" whereas (Sewasew et al., 2015) found that, "What is worrisome is that, the technology usage is perceived and practiced as effective and helpful for students, but on ground it is the opposite. Instructors only focus on completing courses on time using PPT but not about quality of lesson delivery and students' achievement. Surprisingly, though technological advancement has occurred over years, chalk and talk has maintained its significance for the current generation also. Students place greater value on lecturing skills in their learning experience than on whether or not technology is intensively used in the classroom… Teachers are trying to adopt Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 3(1) (2022), 1-12 | 4 the PPT in all courses without evaluating its effect on students' learning." (Hashemi et al., 2012) opines that "It was basically developed for presentation and not essentially for teaching". To (Hertz et al., 2015), "PowerPoint has received much criticism regarding excessive use of text and the lack of contact with the audience". Isseks (2021) points out that "the root problem of PowerPoint presentations is not the power or the point, but the presentation. A presentation, by its very nature, is one-sided. The presenter does everything-gathers information, eliminates extraneous points, and selects the direction and duration of the presentation. The role of the audience is to sit and absorb the information". (Cladellas Pros et al., 2013) observes "the use of technology can have a very positive influence on learning, provided that its use fits the circumstances inherent in learning at any given time, and efficient, flexible resources, like the traditional chalkboard and especially the flexibility and efficiency of a good education professional, are not sacrificed up to blind trust in the technological resource".
However, in a survey carried by Wahyuni, (n.d.) of Islamic University of As-Syafi'iyah, it is proved that "PowerPoint Presentation is useful as a teaching media. Since it has features which are often used by the teachers such as text; to highlight the key point of material, picture; to make the point clear, sound or video; to attract students interested, hyperlink and also animation". Priya (2012) als observes "PowerPoint is a very useful aid for teachers when used moderately and prepared correctly. The objective of the presentation must be to engage the audience, help them understand and provoke thoughts. Reachability of the presentation can be ensured only when the presentation respects the audience it aims at… PowerPoint continues to be the most popular, easy-to-use and effective tool in the field of teaching". Even Patel (2007) found that "used thoughtfully, PowerPoint can enhance your teaching sessions by providing a roadmap, reinforcing what you say and allowing you to use graphics and other multimedia to clarify understanding and to support different learning styles". Although numerous software programs and digital devices are becoming quite prevalent in today's university classrooms, as pointed out by (Adams, 2008), PowerPoint continues to "stand alone as the iconic staple of the late 20 -early 21st century lecture hall". According to Levasseur and Sawyer (2006), "PowerPoint slides may provide opportunities for instructors to couple-up visual information and verbal information, which may lead to better learning. In addition, slides may be well suited to the needs of different learners who possess different learning styles (e.g., visualizers and verbalizers), as they enable instructors to present multiple sources". To (Uzun & Kilis, 2019) "PowerPoint is one of the most used technologies both by students and teachers". (Hopper & Waugh, 2014) too, opines that "PowerPoint is one of the most widely used platforms in the world today dominating the world of teaching and training, from elementary school classrooms to graduate programs".
Despite the fact that the review of related literature has addressed both the benefits of using this technology and some criticisms of its application, the majority of studies show that PowerPoint presentations are a very good tool for improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning processes, as well as an excellent instructional medium and a key for facilitating an effective teaching-learning process. According to the findings of the preceding studies, students and teachers prefer the usage of PPTs in teaching-learning over traditional approaches. The reviewed literature covered here provides the necessary information in understanding the various benefits of integrating PPTs in instruction. Considering the aforementioned reviews, we have to believe that implementing more advanced technology and approaches, such as PPTs, will have a substantial impact on the educational process and students' perceptions. Accordingly, the current study aims to expand the current understanding of PowerPoint slide technology's efficacy by examining the phenomenon in terms of its use as an effective cutting edge tool in teacherstudent perspective.

Participants
This is an online survey of 925 undergraduate and postgraduate students and teachers from various Indian higher education institutions, as well as some from 7 other countries. There are 329 faculty members (35.6 percent) and 596 (64.4 percent) students among the participants. 547 (59.1 percent) of the 925 respondents are from rural areas, while 378 (40.9 percent) are from metropolitan areas. Out of all participants, 526 (56.9%) students and teachers are from Arts and Humanities faculty, 151 (16.3%) from Commerce, 112 (12.1%) from science whereas 136 (14.7%) belongs to different Professional Degree/Diploma/Courses. Students and teachers of 20 states and 2 union territories of India including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand,

Data Collection and Procedure:
A structured exploratory questionnaire in Google Form was created with the aid of a literature review and informal contacts with professors and students who are currently engaged/attending online classes. Participants who were chosen were sent a link of the Google form through different WhatsApp groups and emails. They disseminated the questionnaire to additional university and college students and professors after submitting their results. As a result, 925 replies from various Indian colleges and universities including a few from overseas were received, and they offered extensive information on the survey. This online survey was performed to collect information in 15 days from 2nd to16th July 2021, and the link was disabled after 15 days of circulating and collecting the Google forms. The Google form has 15 objective type questions, including demographic information. The questions were designed with two or more distinct alternatives for the respondent to choose from.

Data Analysis:
Demographic data was collected initially, followed by preferences, views, and ideas from participants. The statements were prepared following a comprehensive examination of the literature review and consultation with specialists to prevent participant's bias. A simple percentage distribution was generated to assess the learning status, mode of learning, and perspective on use of PowerPoint presentation in education in both rural and urban regions. To summarize the results, frequency and percentage were calculated for the majority of the questions. All of the analyses were carried out using Ms-Excel charts, and other comparable software. Aside from computing and charting the percentage, various charts are supplied for the clarity and simplicity of the interpretation.

Results
There is little doubt that the use of PowerPoint in the classroom is fraught with debate. Many teacherstudents feel it has improved student performance, while others say it has had little impact on their learning. However, present study suggests that using PPTs in instruction as an effective cutting edge tool has created new teaching and learning environments. It improves understanding of the topic and motivates students. The following are the results and findings of the data obtained from 925 higher education teacher-students participants as per aforesaid demographical details. Out of 925 participants, 689 (74.5%) were having basic/introductory level of knowledge of PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) whereas 236 (25.5%) has advance level knowledge and though having basic/introductory or advance level of knowledge of it, 871 (94.2%) participants felt PowerPoint as an effective and valuable tool for teaching-learning. Chart-2 and 3 given below illustrate these statistics.
Only 298 (32.2%) participants have given preference to traditional 'chalk and talk' method whereas 627 (67.8%) participants preferred need of PPT in teaching-learning. The chart-4 illustrates this data clearly.
Out of all participants, 831 (89.8%) respondents felt that PowerPoint develops confidence in students, 793 (85.8%) thought it promotes interactive study, 781 (84.4%) believed that it provides comfortable learning and even 788 (85.2%) participants assured that PowerPoint attracts the attention of students and helps to clarify the content. This data is clearly depicted in chart-5.  While responding to whether PPT is still teacher-centered and students/learners do not get enough chance to participate, 577 (62.4%) felt it as teacher-centering whereas only 348 (37.6%) felt it as not teacher centric i.e. students/learners, too, get enough chance to participate therein. However, 722 (78.1%) participants felt need to integrate PPT with different modalities and third party applications and tools for its audio-visual properties and overall effective presentation. Regarding the different tools/effect that appeals in PowerPoint presentations,257 (27.8%) participants preferred for integration of photos and graphs, 249 (26.9%) favored for animation, 240 (25.9%) liked audio/music effects while only 179 (19.4%) liked integrating videos therein. The illustration of these results are given in graph-6 and 7 below.
Regarding the choice of the participants in using different presentation software/application, it is found that majority of them i.e. 632 ( Chart-6: Participants who think of PPTs as teacher-centric and demand to integrate it with modalities.
Do you think that the approach of PPT is still teacher-centered and students/learners do not get enough chance to participate? Do you feel need to integrate PPT with third party applications and tools for effective presentation?
It is observed that PPT has become the world's most popular presentation programme. It is an all-inclusive presentation application that enables teachers to create professional-looking presentations in the classroom. It provides many features like animation. Besides, you may effortlessly convert a presentation into any popular format, which you can even embed on your website. As observed by (Cornwell, 2014), "If PowerPoint is used in lectures, Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 3(1) (2022), 1-12 | 9 the best practice is to limit the amount of information contained on each slide, and to consider developing slides that use the assertion-evidence (A-E) approach to the presentation of information". It may improve learning by offering a greater understanding and comprehension of the subjects as well as diverse methodologies, procedures, and techniques within the same slide. This range of tactics within the same slide, such as adding images, sounds, colours, and animations, might bring together all types of learners, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual, and provide them everyone the opportunity to be active learners and increase their interactivity. In our survey, 831 (89.8 percent) respondents said PowerPoint builds confidence in students, 793 (85.8 percent) said it promotes interactive study, 781 (84.4 percent) said it provides comfortable learning, and 788 (85.2 percent) said it attracts students' attention and helps to clarify the content. Hence, it seems that it is proving as a fantastic programme, a wonderful and adaptable solution that integrates with many useful apps and tools. Even Fateme (Lari, 2014) rightly observers as using PPT "operates as a powerful pedagogical tool".
The main cause for the drop in class attendance is a general lack of interest or boredom. Despite the recognized importance of class participation, students miss classes frequently and for a number of reasons. The most often mentioned cause by students appears to be boredom or a general lack of interest in attending class. The study carried by Wadesango & Machingambi, (2017) reveals that "student absenteeism is rampant in the universities under study due to reasons such as: lack of subject interest, poor teaching strategies by lecturers, unfavourable learning environment." In order to gauge how well we are meeting the needs of our students, absenteeism is one of the most important indications. How can these issues be answered if students aren't taking use of the instruction they're receiving? According to Graeff-Martins et al. (2006). "Absenteeism and school dropout rates of students in a country are discussed as an important criterion that shows the quality of education in that country and this is regarded as an important predictor of the existing and future problems of the education system". We must ask ourselves "What is wrong in this education?" and "Is something happening in our schools and classrooms that distract students from education?" (Shute & Cooper, 2015). It is universal truth that attendance in class improves performance of the students. To meet this, an effective instruction methods and delivery like use of PPT should be adopted depending on the interests and needs of students and suitable environments for the same should be kept at the institution.
PowerPoint presentations bring together the three groups of students (auditory, visual and kinesthetic). While visual learners want visuals and images, auditory learners require sounds. Furthermore, kinesthetic learners must participate in activities in order to acquire things and gain a better comprehension. Our 781 (84.4%) to 793 (85.8%) participants agreed with it. PowerPoint presentations including slides, animations, photographs, videos, clip arts, transitions, changing fonts, shapes, images, and animated text or charts that provide for customizable and interesting learning.
When used and structured correctly, Power Point Presentations can be an excellent approach to enhance teaching. As put by (Strasser, 2014) "While it is a great tool, using a more dynamic presentation editor may better capture the attention of a class or any other group of people". There are dozens of third party software and editing applications that we can integrate in our PPTs. Using multiple modalities, proper fonts, colour, images, audio, sound, music, animation and video and emphasizing on interactive slides help improve comprehension of the students. Using it as an effective cutting edge tool is important. There should be 'power' as well as 'point' in our presentation. In our survey, 722 (78.1%) participants recognised the necessity to connect PPT with other modalities and third-party apps and tools for its audio-visual characteristics and overall successful presentation.
Microsoft intended to give PowerPoint users a plethora of capabilities. However, this does not imply that you should employ all of them as "unrelated graphics in a presentation have a negative effect on the enjoyment and the learning of the material" (Bartsch & Cobern, 2003). In our survey, in terms of the various tools/effects that appeal in PowerPoint presentations, participants give different feedbacks. 257 (27.8 percent) participants preferred the integration of photos and graphs, 249 (26.9 percent) preferred animation, 240 (25.9 percent) preferred audio/music effects, and only 179 (19.4 percent) preferred the integration of videos. I indicates that it is better to use tools as per interest of your students/audience. Use anything that will help to make your presentation more interesting. For examples, captions should be added to all video and audio content. Captioning ensures that pupils can follow what is on the screen in real time. It is preferable to have multiple slides than to try to fit too much text on one. Instead of transcribing your lecture, use quick points rather than extended statements or paragraphs, and outline essential ideas rather than using long sentences or paragraphs. Use the Notes function to include information in your Indian J. Lang. Linguist., 3(1) (2022), 1-12 | 10 presentation that your audience will not see however, it will help you. To emphasise content, use italics, bold, and colour. Avoid utilising too many colours or changing colours too frequently throughout the lecture, as this might be distracting to students. Use clip art and graphics cautiously, and only when necessary add motion, sound, or music. Using animation will bring a touch of novelty to your presentation. Examine the presentation for spelling, proper word usage, information flow, and overall presentation appearance. Make your PowerPoint presentation multimodal.
Sitting through a dull presentation in which the speaker simply talks at the audience might lead eyes to glaze over and the speaker to lose interest and attentiveness. Only 298 (32.2%) participants have given preference to traditional 'chalk and talk' method. Including interactivity in your presentation is the ideal method to spice up your speech, engage your audience, and differentiate yourself from other presenters or teachers. 793 (85.8%) participants thought PPT promotes interactive study. A care should be taken by teachers to establish a connection, a good rapport with your students through PPTs because it was perceived as teacher-cantered by 577 (62.4 percent) of those polled. A well-informed and educated user is more likely to get the most out of this tool. Rowcliffe (2003) rightly stated "like any tool, PowerPoint needs to be used well for it to be used effectively, to accompany good teaching methods rather than to replace them".
We must take care that PowerPoint does not reduce the opportunity for classroom interaction by serving as the primary method of information dissemination or is designed without built-in opportunities for interaction, and that it does not "drive" the instruction, thereby limiting the opportunity for spontaneity and creative teaching.

Conclusion
Use of PowerPoint presentations (PPT) plays a key role in anatomy to learn and understand a particular topic because students learn what they enjoy more. As rightly stated by (Poole, 2007), it "provides an easy-to-use multimedia presentation production system, which you will no doubt enjoy learning and which you and your students will find useful for individual or group projects of all kinds". Using it integrating effective tools is equally important. Because, as like any technology, the way PowerPoint is used will determine its pedagogical effectiveness.
The findings of this study make it abundantly evident that PowerPoint may be an excellent pedagogical technology tool for classroom instruction, facilitating both teaching and learning. Teachers and students alike can benefit from it. Instructors, on the other hand, must ensure that their PPT presentations are tailored to match the needs of their students in order to help them develop all of the necessary skills and comprehension. As a result, the findings of this study recommend that educators should make an effort to use technology effectively as an cutting edge tool so that students will be motivated to learn. Although this research demonstrated that the majority of students considered PowerPoint-based lessons to be more efficient than those that did not use it, this study recommends that it should be integrated and supplemented well in conventional teaching methods as majority of teacher and students claimed that PowerPoint presentations in the form of lessons are more motivating since they are more interesting and engaging than traditional lectures. However, it is important to know that PowerPoint can only be seen as a good adjunct to a good teaching. There would be no 'point' in using PowerPoint, if it is not supplemented by a good subject knowledge of the teacher.