An Introduction to the Light Board Pedagogy

Some weeks ago, Will Doherty sent to me an interesting introduction to the  Light Board pedadogy that I will share with you today. The Light Boad  is a teaching device that can be used in order to create dynamic digital lectures.

by Will Doherty,  The “Light Board” is a  Teaching Device for On Line Lectures

1. Presenting the new teaching device

Student attention, learning retention is the key to teaching. The moment you turn your back and write on the white board or flip chart you disengage with the audience. Imagine a method where you can avoid this by writing on glass, facing the audience with the message being seen and read at the same time on both sides. This is the Light Board.

Professors Matt Anderson and Michael Peshkin are the founders of the Light Board concept. Together these experts developed a new approach that allows freedom to free script as well as show and annotate Power Point images. Their research and experience has confirmed how the Light Board can benefit STEM related subjects.

In the UK,  a smaller version: Mini Light Board (MLB) by Will Doherty.. Designed for the low budget market, it lends itself to High Education tutors and teachers. Ideal for coaching and tutoring students in on line courses or classes, the Light Board and Skype can make learning interactive and adaptable to any subject. The MLB can be built for under £100.

This device can also be used in on line teaching and interaction with students in remote areas. An example includes teaching “real time” from a base in Edinburgh or Glasgow reaching out to the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, Orkney Islands or Scandinavia. If the students and the teachers have a Light Board both can show and tell, demonstrate and see. Free scripting can take place allowing scribbles, drawing and demonstration.

2. Why  is significant?

Light board and similiar tools such as the MBL offer a way to create videos that complement flipped classrooms and other online or hybrid learning models. These videos can provide highly effective assistance for problem explanations, homework explication, and course review. Those who frequently explain or lecture using a board may find these tools a natural fit for presentation.

As such, it can help overcome the reservations of instructors who are uneasy about video production. In addition, the technology presents new opportunities for creative use as presenters annotate images or video. These simple and elegant tools enable lecturers to face the camera while illustrating and annotating their talk, making the content both easier for the viewer to follow and more interesting to watch.

Although the technology is meant to enable quick video production, some recordings might still require some postproduction video editing and encoding. Therefore, it is  desirable for videos to be completed in a single take, obliging those using this technology to carefully plan their presentations.

3. Implications for teaching and learning

Light board and similar tools like the MLB meet the student’s need for clear and informative lecture capture while offering the instructor a quick and effective method of video production that includes visual aids. The technology is especially valuable for instructors in  economics, who often work through formulae or explain complex processes using  diagrams and illustrations.

The resulting lectures are easy to watch and the lecturer’s face remains a natural part of the presentation.

4. Workshops on the MLB

The MLB project  has been launched and trialled at Manchester and Strathclyde University in order to support on line learning and creativity by moving away from bullet point slides to interactive free hand scripting.

In 2017 a workshop was held at Manchester University, Turing Institute. Here senior lecturers identified how the mini light board will help with on line Maths tutorials both UK and overseas. Several of the lecturers carry out voluntary work teaching Maths to students across Africa and this will help with the delivery and learning.

Some months ago, in 2018, Strathclyde University hosted the first Mini Light Board workshop. Lecturers and senior managers attended the workshop to learn and see how the MLB concept could augment their on line lecturing strategy as well as build a proto type mini version. The day was succesful, the team developed their own new prototype which is now being tested throughout Scotland. During the plenary discussion  students identified new applications and enhancements for the MLB  also in the primary school market.

As the Light Board teaching concept has provenance from the USA market, more evidence is certainly need on how we can use and apply it to augment existing teaching pedagogies in the UK and other countries.

For more details check https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1I4Afti6XE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVwREldUvtc

 

About Will Doherty: Lecturer and University Staff Governor Blackburn College, Programme Leader BA (Hons) Business & HRM Lancaster University Programme, Author and Business Consultant. Among his articles and publicatoons:  Introduction to Light Board Pedagogy , Copyright theft, Why Training Doesn’t Work!,  Why Have an L&D Dept?, Development Needs Analysis, Global Businesses Need global standards.