Post on 27-Mar-2015
Classroom Technology
Steve WolfmanUW CSE Education &
Educational Technology Research Group
Educational Technology
…in the winter of 1813 & '14 … I attended a mathematical school kept in Boston…On entering [the] room, we were struck at the appearance of an ample Black Board suspended on the wall, with lumps of chalk on a ledge below, and cloths hanging at either side. I had never heard of such a thing before. [Samuel J. May, 1855]
Technologies in the Classroom
Challenges for Classroom Technologies
“Raise the floor” [Nass]
Don’t “lower the ceiling” [Nass]
Sculpt an effective design space
Secure adoption!
Our projects
Classroom Presenter Initial development at MSR
Classroom Feedback System Structured Interaction
Presentations
Classroom Presenter
Initial problem Develop a distributed presentation
space for use in a distance learning class
Later Many of the same issues / challenges
in large lecture classroom
Large lecture classes
Challenges Maintaining attention Communication Feedback from students Flexibility in presentation materials Conducting activities in class
Background studies Studied UW CSE PMP
Interviews, Surveys, Observations Greatest pain in distance course
Presentation environment “PowerPoint is a pain for the same reason
it’s a pain in a non-distance course, the slides impose a rigid structure on the lecture and make it more difficult to adjust to the interactions that occur during it.”
“PowerPoint sucks the life out of a class.”
Important features
Wireless Integration of High Quality Ink and
Slides Multiple views “Performance UI”
Classroom Deployments Spring 2002
Database (Masters) Summer 2002
Introductory Programming (142)
Fall 2002 Introductory
Programming (Ext 142)
Introductory Programming (143)
Algorithms (417) Software
Engineering (403) Languages (413) Compilers
(Masters)
Results Observation, instructor comments,
logging Positive reception from instructors
Sustained use of writing through full term Wide range of use
Highlighting / Attention Derivations / Diagrams Recording comments
Studentresponse:
lessno
changemore
Attention to lecture
4% 39% 57%
Understanding of lecture
2% 52% 46%
Results System easy to use Flexible navigation important
Superior to shuffling transparencies Auxiliary inking surfaces useful
Whiteboard, border, mylar Pen based UI for navigation and controls
is critical Generally works well (large buttons,
workflow) Remaining issues
Questions What is the educational impact of
Presenter? Across different disciplines, teaching styles Different components of the system
UI Issues for delivering presentations Future development plans
Integration with viewer devices Expand use of ink Manipulatives to go beyond virtual whiteboard
Classroom Feedback System
Student feedback does not scale Encourage participation Ease of expression If the method does scale, how does
the instructor make sense of it
Design choices Low attention requirements Embed in context of the slide
Slides are the mediating artifact Fixed feedback
Avoid having to compose questions Instructor control of feedback
Example, More Information, Got It Slow Down, Question, Explain, Cool Topic
Experiment Roughly 12 students given laptops
to use in class 3 week deployment in CSE 142
4 weeks no intervention 2 weeks Tablet PC 3 weeks Tablet PC + feedback system
Extensive observations, logging, surveys, interviews
Results Mixed results
Classroom culture not what we had expected Instructor goals different than expected
Interactions did increase Pre CFS: 2.4 (spoken) episodes per class With CFS:
2.6 (spoken) episodes per class 14.8 (feedback) episodes per class
Discovered new interaction patterns
Structured Interaction Presentations
Assume students have wireless devices
Build interactive activities into lecture
Computer support to overcome logistical barriers
Why Computer Support?
Facilitate execution Unify design Enforce polices
Why Structure?
Attain broader participation and more input
Achieve specific goals Spread cognitive effort over planning
time Mediate classroom activity Share activities across instructors and
across terms
Example: America Before Columbus [Cross and Angelo]
1. How many people lived in North America in 1491?
2. How many years had they been there by 1491?
3. What significant achievements had they made in that time?
Your Impressions of America Before Columbus
1. About how many people lived in North America in 1491?
2. About how many years had they been on this continent by 1491?
3. What significant achievements had they made in that time?
1. About how many people lived in North America in 1491?
2. About how many years had they been on this continent by 1491?
3. What significant achievements had they made in that time?
Your Impressions of America Before Columbus
% completed
% completed
% completed
How many people?
From To400 2,500,000
0 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000
“Solving” Natural Language
Problem: handling free text responses in class is impractical
Solution: “distributed student computation” allows rapid, in-class turnaround can be pedagogically sound
Significant AchievementsGet together with your neighbor and:
rate the significance of each achievement note if an achievement repeats an earlier one
Significant AchievementsGet together with your neighbor and:
rate the significance of each achievement note if an achievement repeats an earlier one
Repeat of:
Repeat of:
Repeat of:
Insignificant Somewhat Significant Very Significant Crucial Didn't happen in NA before 1492
Repeat of:
Insignificant Somewhat Significant Very Significant Crucial Didn't happen in NA before 1492
Insignificant Somewhat Significant Very Significant Crucial Didn't happen in NA before 1492
Insignificant Somewhat Significant Very Significant Crucial Didn't happen in NA before 1492
Insignificant Somewhat Significant Very Significant Crucial Didn't happen in NA before 1492
Significant achievements
Credits
University of Washington Ruth Anderson, Steve Wolfman,
Tammy Vandegrift, Fred Videon, Ken Yasuhara
Microsoft Research, Learning Sciences and Technology Group Jay Beavers, Jack Davis, Randy
Hinrichs, Alvin Hui, Chris Moffat, Steve Wolfman
UW CSE Education & Educational Technology Projects
Professional Masters’ Program Tutored Video Instruction Program CSE 142/143 Classroom Assessment Tools