scenario.txt

Updated on November 24, 1997

Brain Institute Classroom Scenarios Richard Rathe, MD - September 3, 1997 1. "Traditional" Instruction - The large classroom will handle traditional instructional media in several ways. The cabinet behind the instructor will contain two slide-to-video projectors with appropriate remote controls. Slides will appear side by side above the presenter's head on a single 8 x 16 foot screen. Standard VHS videotape and the laserdisc images can be combined with 35mm slides using the same system. Instructors who wish to use overhead transparencies will now use a portable document camera with the image projected through the video system. Finally, there is the issue of a white board. One option would be to require all instructors to use the document camera and avoid the use of white boards all together. There are several potential benefits to this approach, including: the instructor is not forced to turn his/her back to the audience, materials from earlier in the presentation can be easily retrieved since there is a permanent record on paper, the same materials would be scanned in before or after the presentation for electronic distribution, and we simplified the system overall by eliminating the whole category of equipment. An additional thought is that, since there are two projectors, the instructor should have the option to place a "freeze frame" on the second screen while the presentation progresses "live" on the first. 2. Videoteleconferencing - In the simplest case, the overhead screens will display the outgoing signal from the classroom on one side and the remote audience on the other side. When the instructor is not using audiovisual materials, the "local" screen will display the signal from the instructor's camera. One thing we need to consider is the ergonomics of the instructor's interaction with the remote audience. Under the current plan, there will be small monitors in the podium for the instructor to see the local and remote video. This may be inadequate for two reasons: a) many instructors are mobile, and (b) they will not be able to make eye contact with the remote participants. We can anticipate a need for larger four level monitors in some situations. In the most complex scenario, an assistant would be searching video between the instructor, the second audience camera, various audiovisual aids, and perhaps still images sent to/from the remote site. In the situation where we are using the classroom to receive teleconferenced instruction, there will be a minor problem with lack of eye contact for the remote instructor, since the audience camera will be placed below and to the right of the projection screens. 3. "High-Tech" Presentations - We anticipate that computer-based presentations will be the norm in this classroom. Options should include: (a) plugging in the instructor's laptop computer, (b) using the desktop computer system in the portable podium, and (c) bringing in a high-end silicon graphics workstation. In the case of the laptop, the podium should contain access to power, Ethernet, and the video projection system. The podium-based computer should be remote controllable in a variety of ways, including: previous/next remote control for programs such as PowerPoint, a wireless mouse, and possibly a laser pointer as if it were a mouse. Computer-based presentations are another situation where a "for still 2-second screen" capability could be very useful. In the case of a PowerPoint presentation, this might be automatic, always displaying the next to the last slide. In other situations, the instructor may wish to "push" images to the second screen on demand. 4. Laptop Computers - Every seat in the large classroom will potentially have access to power and Ethernet. This raises some interesting possibilities for students to enhance their classroom experience through the use of laptop computers. This is an area where it is difficult the truly useful from the merely "techy." My bias is that simpler systems will have the greatest benefit and I will outline several of them here: (a) The ability to observe and capture the instructor's audiovisuals in real time might be a core service. This might best be accomplished using Internet technology such as the World Wide Web. In one scenario, a WWW server would automatically "capture" still images from the instructor's presentation at 15 second intervals. Students would then "tune in" to this stream of images using conventional Web browsers. Students could then make their own permanent copies of selected images directly from their browsers. (b) The possibility also exists for the instructor to directly interact with the students through their laptop computers. One obvious application is an audience response system using customized software or the Web. The results of the groups responses could become part of the presentation. Students could also give the instructor direct feedback at the end of the presentation. (c) Other interactions are more speculative, but it's not hard to imagine students having access to a library of background materials for performing collective notetaking. This raises another serious issue--will direct access to the Internet actually detract from the classroom experience? I can imagine a situation where students will "read the virtual paper" or snipe at each other via email during a class. 5. Low Cost Distance Education - The World Wide Web capture of classroom images, when combined with live streaming audio, creates a very low cost means to distribute instruction to remote sites. Remote students would "tune in" to the class and hear the instructor in real time while watching images from the classroom updated every minute or so. Remote students could interact with the instructor using the variation of the audience response system outlined above. Text based questions from these students might even pop up on the instructor's monitor during the class.