Re: Issues with AV support and Re: old-school notetaking

[Harinder Khangura <khangura@sfu.ca>]

Hi Anke,

I too prefer the interactivity and slowing-down characteristics of writing in lecture. After becoming tired of having hands constantly covered in overhead pen ink, a few years back I started using a technological solution. I use Powerpoint slides with a writing tablet attached to my laptop. This allows me to write directly on my slides using a digitizer pen. I make partially-complete slides available to students before lecture, and we fill in examples as we go.

You could also use a laptop with digitizer pen capability (formerly called tablet PCs), which gives you the added benefit of being able to write directly on the screen, so that you can easily see where you are writing. Nowadays, even an iPad might be a decent possibility; there's an app called iAnnotate that allows you to use a capacitive pen to write on top of PDF files (which are easily created via Powerpoint).

Regards,
Harinder S. Khangura
School of Computing Science
Simon Fraser University

----- Original Message -----
> Dear all,
> 
> 
> The study that Evan alerted us to and the preceding discussion ties
> in well with the problems I was encountering while teaching my 3rd
> year Econ class this semester. The class has 120 students enrolled
> and I've been teaching it for a number of years now.
> 
> 
> (as a side remark, I do not allow laptops or handheld devices in the
> class, and am glad that I can now rely on actual evidence to justify
> this. Thank you, Evan.)
> 
> 
> I do use the projector to present PowerPoint slides (which students
> can download them ahead of time from the class website), but I also
> have in the past relied heavily on notes written in class on an
> overhead projector.
> 
> 
> In my view, this encourages student note taking, class participation,
> instructor-student interaction, allows for more flexibility in
> leading the discussion, and, perhaps most importantly for the
> students, real-time writing slows me down when I present the
> material. The feedback is invariably positive - I occasional do a
> quick poll on whether people want me use the overhead or PowerPoint,
> and the majority always favors the overhead.
> 
> 
> Unfortunately, this type of teaching seems to be dying out, at least
> judging from the difficulties I encountered this year. The first
> class room I was assigned to was flat, very wide and not very deep,
> SWH 1004. The design necessitates 2 projector screens, located at
> opposite ends of the classroom. While this arrangement works if you
> are using a computer to project slides onto the screen, it is
> obviously impossible to write on an overhead on both screens
> simultaneously. To be sure, there were two overhead projectors
> located in the class, but their functionality eludes me. Frankly, it
> was *impossible* to use the overhead as a teaching tool in this
> particular classroom, because the AV (in conjunction with the
> classroom design) simply wasn't set up for it, and couldn't be
> changed.
> 
> 
> Consequently, I asked for a room change and (lucky me) was indeed
> assigned a new lecture hall, this time WMC 3260. The layout is much
> better (amphitheatre), it has only one centrally aligned projector
> screen, and an overhead projector. I was very happy with the change,
> until I discovered about 10 minutes into the lecture, that it is
> impossible for me, as the instructor, to temporarily shut off the
> projector from teh computer to switch to the overhead. I called AV
> services and they informed me that there is no remote control for
> the projector and I would have to *call them EVERY time I'd like the
> projector switched on, or off*. In other words, I cannot present
> something on a PowerPoint slide, say, and then explain it in more
> detail, by writing notes on the overhead. Except, that is, if I am
> willing to subject myself to the whim of AV and call them whenever I
> wish to do so. It seems to me that not investing in a handheld
> remote that allows an instructor to control the media in her
> classroom and relying on a centrally controlled system instead is
> putting the carriage before the horse.
> 
> 
> (There are creative ways to get around the problem, as I discovered
> later, but the basic issue of course remains)
> 
> 
> I was wondering whether anyone has had similar problems or whether I
> am the only one bothered by this. The budget for IT services has
> increased dramatically over the years if I am not mistaken.
> 
> 
> Anke
> 
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> 
> Anke Kessler
> Department of Economics
> Simon Fraser University
> 
> 
> akessler@sfu.ca
> +1-778-782-3443
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 12-Sep-13, at 11:17 AM, Evan Tiffany wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This reminded me of a report on CBC radio a few weeks back on note
> taking and multi-tasking. They were reporting on a recent study at
> McMaster. I haven't had a chance to look at the published study, but
> the CBC summary can be found at
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/08/14/technology-laptop-grades.html
> )
> 
> The results showed that students taking notes on laptops vs.
> pen-and-paper did 11% worse on a test they were given after the
> lecture they were asked to take motes on. Most remarkable was that
> students who were seated near a student who was multi-tasking on
> their laptop did 17% worse than students not distracted. And those
> students did not even realize that they were being distracted ( they
> did not report feeling distracted on the exit survey). This seems
> like strong evidence in favour of banning laptops from lectures (or
> at the very least making them sit at the back where no one else can
> see).
> 
> 
> Evan
> 
> Sent from my iPhone.
> 
> On 2013-09-11, at 9:28 PM, JD Fleming < jfleming@sfu.ca > wrote:
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> 
> This term, coming back to full teaching load after 2 yrs in an
> administrative role, I have been struck by how many of my students
> -- I would say 90% -- have gone back to pen-and-paper notetaking in
> class, as opposed to laptop or tablet. I mentioned this in a seminar
> today and was rewarded with fervent nodding and murmuring. Are
> students receiving encouragement to go back to the future in this
> way? Or has it just happened? And are there implications for online
> learning, etc.? JD Fleming
> 
> --
> 
> James Dougal Fleming
> Associate Professor
> Department of English
> Simon Fraser University
> 778-782-4713
> 
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