Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Classroom Capture
Homegrown Software Boosts Interactivity at Community College
3/19/2008
In search of an inexpensive solution to engage students in challenging courses like physics and astronomy, a semi-retired professor has created a popular interactive software tool that reportedly increases classroom participation and boosts grades and learning.The software, still in somewhat of a developmental stage, is called FarSightNet and is in use at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston by several professors, including Joan Brenner, a professor in the science department who teaches physics and astronomy.
She also happens to be married to Jeff Brenner, the quasi-retired professor who wrote the FarSightNet software several years ago under his company name, SpaceTimeLinks LLC. He was intrigued by the idea of using simple interactive document software to truly engage students in hands-on problem-solving in classes like physics. "Too many people are delivering lectures with lovely PowerPoint presentations," Brenner said. "There's nothing that forces the student to think through the problem."
Brenner's FarSightNet software allows a professor to mark up PowerPoint slides or other material on a tablet computer in class during a lecture. The slides and notes are projected onto a large screen for students to view. The software saves the marked-up slides, with all handwritten notes captured as well, so that students can download them later. In that sense, the software isn't unlike other commercial collaboration products already available. Where FarSightNet differs from some products--although again, there are other commercial products in the field that offer this feature--is that it also allows interactive written responses from students in class, each of whom is equipped with a wireless tablet computer. FarSightNet allows the professor to "call" on a student to solve an equation, for example, and can project that response on the board for everyone to see.
Lectures imported into FarSightNet can be in a wide variety of formats, including PowerPoint, Word, Photoshop, and many others. Other material can include textbook contents from a CD, a typed document, or an Internet site. The software converts the content into pages, then presents it in scrollable windows, allowing the instructor to add notes by drawing on or marking up any screen. Jeff Brenner said that the software uses little server processing power, relying on the client instead. And there are no constraints in FarSightNet on the number of students who can connect wirelessly at one time.
Benefits of the software include the cost--Brenner isn't charging Bunker Hill Community College anything for its use--as well as its interactive classroom capabilities and low server overhead. Also, the ability to save a professor's handwritten notes for distribution via the Internet and later review by students is a powerful asset, Joan Brenner said.
Recommended Reading
- Business Intelligence Tool Means Healthy Data at UVA
University IT groups will recognize the challenge of combining disparate data from more than one department in order to create meaningful reports for various users. At the University of Virginia Department of Medicine, which is overseen by UVA's School of Medicine, data was coming from two very different accounting systems, which meant problems for faculty members whenever they needed to run reports.
- Exec Describes Microsoft's 'Social Networking' Vision
A Microsoft executive involved with the company's Windows Live efforts outlined some of the company's ideas about cloud-based computing and social networking technologies Tuesday. The talk was presented by Brian Hall, general manager of the Windows Live Business Group, at the 2008 Merrill Lynch Technology Conference May 6.
- Graduate School, USDA Standardizes on Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro for E-learning
The Graduate School, USDA has standardized on Acrobat Connect Pro, a Web conferencing and e-learning platform from Adobe Systems. The school is a self-sustaining government entity created 87 years ago by the United States Department of Agriculture to provide adult continuing education.
- Texas A&M System Signs Distribution Deal for Virtual Clinical Learning Lab
Texas A&M University has signed a license agreement with BreakAway Ltd., a developer of game-based technology, for the worldwide rights to Pulse!! The Virtual Clinical Learning Lab. Pulse is a federally funded project in development at the Corpus Christi campus that allows medical professionals to practice decision-making protocol and experiential skills on PCs in a virtual hospital setting. The agreement grants BreakAway the rights to develop, market and distribute Pulse.
- Tegrity Records 325,000 Hours of Lectures
Ed tech developer Tegrity reported this week that usage of its Campus 2.0 classroom capture system hit record levels last year, including, among other things, capturing 325,000 hours of faculty lectures on Tegrity servers in a 12-month period.
- JavaOne Keynote: Neil Young Likes Java
Rock legend Neil Young joined Sun Microsystems' Executive Vice President of Software Rich Green on stage during the opening keynote of the 13th annual JavaOne conference, underway this week in San Francisco.
