OK, let's see how many can I offend with this post...
Unlike many in academia, I opted against TeX and decided to use
Equation Editor for my work. The doctoral dissertation surprised many
who learnt how it was put together. EE for equations, with MS Word for
the text and the composition, and Excel for most analysis. How messy
were those equations? Well, in some cases, a single equation required
almost a complete page.
So, it is hard for me to give credence to, or even understand, people
who claim that text boxes, however fancy, are superior to EE. But,
then, I am not impressed by those who make the same claim about TeX.
Thanks for this -- I almost made a more offensive post than this since I use
powerpoint to teach high school math (Including Trig and Calculus) on an
almost daily basis (at least during the school year) and have done for the
last 2 years. I find even to type in a simple polynomial it's easier to use
Math Type than deal with the exponents through the native processing
capabilities of powerpoint. I can't imagine trying to do the symbols for
integrals and limits not to mention infinity, implications, and yes, even
square roots and any fractions beyond the simplest ones, on the scale needed
to teach an ongoing course, by using text boxes and drawing tools.
I can't imagine anyone thinking that animating a drawn symbol together with a
text box is easier than animating a single object put out by Math Type. Yes,
Equation Editor is a pain in the butt -- because it is entirely mouse
dependant. Math Type, on the other hand, can be set up to be virtually
completely keyborad dependant.
The concern about printing out slides is a valid one but once I realized I had
to have the fonts print as graphics I had no trouble with that except when the
correct fonts were not installed on the computer doing the printing.
The one other problem is whether the fonts will be available on the machine on
which the presentation is played or printed. This one has bit me in the butt
on occasion (sp?) For a one shot workshop that would be a concern. For an
ongoing class you simply make sure you install those fonts on your computer
even if Math Type is not installed.
I know very little about TeX -- I think I had it once on the Amiga which tells
you how long ago it was -- so I can't speak about that but most educational
institutions these days have Powerpoint available and teachers may not have an
option to use other editors..
I do recommend for anyone using PPT to teach in a classroom (rather than for a
workshop) that you project on a marker board (Whether or not it is math you
are teaching). The combo of PPT presentation and handwritten notes (arrows,
underlines, fill in the blanks, add extra info etc.) is more powerful than
either form on its own.
OK Rant off -- and thanks again for your post.
BJ
NJ
