Imagine a glass chalkboard pumped full of light. You face your online students and write on the board at the same time, in the same window, and what you write glows in front of you.
Associate Professor Stephen Zaima of the College of Visual and Performing Arts does a Lightboard Demonstration.
Imagine no more! Lightboard is a new instructional tool offered by Information Technology and Services (ITS) for use at Syracuse University. Created by Professor of Mechanical Engineering Michael Peshkin of Northwestern University, Lightboard is a quick and effective tool for high-quality, compelling video capture of your board-based instruction. It requires just one camera and reduces the need for extensive postproduction editing.
“Lightboard is another innovative tool for engaging our students,” says Stephen Zaima, associate dean and professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “It challenges me to rethink how I can deliver content.”
Lightboard is particularly beneficial to instructors of online and blended courses, who rely heavily on boards to teach, especially those who utilize video and are looking to enliven their courses. Written text and sketches stay visible, and the instructor remains a natural part of the visual presentation. The content is dynamic, easy to manipulate, more engaging and immediate.
Lightboard is a vertical sheet of glass mounted between the instructor and the camera, which records the session in a mirror. “Compared to other lecture recording technologies, the advantage of the Lightboard is that students can see the instructor and the board at the same time. This makes the technology very exciting,” says Professor Wenliang Du from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “It is definitely easy to use and fun. An instructor can just go into the room, and immediately start teaching; there is no need to do any setup for the instructor, which is very important. I showed a Lightboard video during a recent faculty meeting. Many were very impressed by this technology, and some of them even suggested we buy one for our department (they even checked out how much it costs)!”
You can see a short demonstration of Lightboard by Tom Downes, of ITS’s Online Learning Services team, in this video.
“I will be using Lightboard in my upcoming online class,” says Professor Zaima. “I look forward to seeing how others use it to enhance interactions with students.”
The ITS Learning Environments and Media Production (LEMP) team can get you started. They will orient you to their studio and the Lightboard equipment, help you prepare for your session and record your presentation. Lightboard and LEMP’s video production studio are available to the entire University community. The production studio boasts large green screens and other capabilities for sophisticated video production.
To learn more about Lightboard and LEMP’s studio, contact Andrew Wowelko at 315-443-5661 or aswowelk@syr.edu.
