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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.
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