At UWindsor, we have a new lightboard–a dry-erase board made of glass on which an instructor can draw or write while facing a video camera–that we can use to develop engaging online and blended learning resources.
The lightboard has been around for a 3 years now, ever since Michael Peshkin, an engineering professor at Northwestern, developed the first lightboard in 2013 and made his design freely available online (http://lightboard.info/).
Watch the following Youtube video of Peskin if you are not familiar with the lightboard:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1I4Afti6XE&w=560&h=315]
Cool, right? We built ours a few months ago so that we could create videos rapidly, in which an instructor uses fluorescent markers to write equations or draw diagrams to illustrate concepts and allow students to see all the non-verbal cues that good instructors use in their classrooms. Doing so can improve the instructor’s social presence and reduce the psychological distance (immediacy & intimacy) between the instructor and student. Increasing social presence is particularly helpful in fully online courses, where it is likely to enhance engagement and learner motivation (e.g. Borup, West, & Graham, 2012; Choi & Johnson, 2005).
Mark Lubrick and I will be presenting on the lightboard at the upcoming STLHE 2016 Conference in London, ON using the pecha kucha (a six-minute presentation that dwells 20 seconds each on 20 images) format. Come check us out on Thursday, June 23 from 13:45-14:45 in UCC 146 at Western University, London, ON. Click here to read the full program description.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
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