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scottahillI have to start thinking about how to teach this large introductory physics class, so I'll do a little brainstorming here and see what everyone thinks.
I've been thinking a lot about incorporating video podcasts into the class. First, I would like to videotape all class periods and put them on the web. This serves multiple purposes:
* Students who are sick or otherwise distracted can do what they have to do, and not miss out on class time.
* Students who take poor notes can double-check what they wrote.
* When a student asks me "What did I miss?" I can point them to the web.
* Students who would normally sit in the back of the classroom and look dreadfully bored can just stay home and watch from there. That way their glassy eyes won't sap the energy out of me.
There's a danger of course that students will use this as an excuse to skip all classes, and then try to do a marathon viewing before the exams; that would be dumb, but students have to learn not to do dumb things. :) (Also, in this class it's traditional to give students a test or quiz every week, which alleviates some of that danger.)
My second thought is to do additional video podcasts covering material I can't or don't want to cover in class. Some of this may be review-- for example, a math review for weaker students. Some of it may cover topics or derivations I think are really cool, but would be harder to follow for weaker students. My crazy dream is to end up doing podcasts of most of the material of the course, for the following reason: current physics education research suggests that the standard method of teaching physics, where the professor simply presents material already found in the textbook to the class, who write it down and use it later on to do homework problems, doesn't work very well. It's kind of a waste of time to make students write down equations and derivations in their notes that they already have in their expensive textbook. A better way is to devote class time to asking students questions, making them think about the consequences of what they've read, and defend their thoughts with other students. I'd love to teach a class that way. However, that requires that students actually read the textbook, and I am mindful that math-heavy textbooks can be a slog to read, particularly for students who are timid about the material, or who learn better in an audiovisual context. So I'm thinking that I would like to put together a series of podcasts in which I basically present the material in the textbook, just as I might do in a normal lecture. Students can watch the podcasts, or they can read the book, or both, whatever they like. I don't know if I'm ready to try that this semester, but it's in the back of my head.
There are technical questions, of course. Would I have access to a videocamera to film my lectures? Can I get a vantage point which shows everything I'm writing, without it being illegible because it's too far away? For the supplemental podcasts, I can use my computer's built-in camera, but where will I record them? How much work will they involve, and am I up to recording them every week? (Of course, I can reuse them from one semester to the next. Since I'm teaching the same large class in fall and spring, maybe I can start making these podcasts this fall, but only rely on them in the spring.) And do I have a good video presence, or will I look stupid?
I've been thinking a lot about incorporating video podcasts into the class. First, I would like to videotape all class periods and put them on the web. This serves multiple purposes:
* Students who are sick or otherwise distracted can do what they have to do, and not miss out on class time.
* Students who take poor notes can double-check what they wrote.
* When a student asks me "What did I miss?" I can point them to the web.
* Students who would normally sit in the back of the classroom and look dreadfully bored can just stay home and watch from there. That way their glassy eyes won't sap the energy out of me.
There's a danger of course that students will use this as an excuse to skip all classes, and then try to do a marathon viewing before the exams; that would be dumb, but students have to learn not to do dumb things. :) (Also, in this class it's traditional to give students a test or quiz every week, which alleviates some of that danger.)
My second thought is to do additional video podcasts covering material I can't or don't want to cover in class. Some of this may be review-- for example, a math review for weaker students. Some of it may cover topics or derivations I think are really cool, but would be harder to follow for weaker students. My crazy dream is to end up doing podcasts of most of the material of the course, for the following reason: current physics education research suggests that the standard method of teaching physics, where the professor simply presents material already found in the textbook to the class, who write it down and use it later on to do homework problems, doesn't work very well. It's kind of a waste of time to make students write down equations and derivations in their notes that they already have in their expensive textbook. A better way is to devote class time to asking students questions, making them think about the consequences of what they've read, and defend their thoughts with other students. I'd love to teach a class that way. However, that requires that students actually read the textbook, and I am mindful that math-heavy textbooks can be a slog to read, particularly for students who are timid about the material, or who learn better in an audiovisual context. So I'm thinking that I would like to put together a series of podcasts in which I basically present the material in the textbook, just as I might do in a normal lecture. Students can watch the podcasts, or they can read the book, or both, whatever they like. I don't know if I'm ready to try that this semester, but it's in the back of my head.
There are technical questions, of course. Would I have access to a videocamera to film my lectures? Can I get a vantage point which shows everything I'm writing, without it being illegible because it's too far away? For the supplemental podcasts, I can use my computer's built-in camera, but where will I record them? How much work will they involve, and am I up to recording them every week? (Of course, I can reuse them from one semester to the next. Since I'm teaching the same large class in fall and spring, maybe I can start making these podcasts this fall, but only rely on them in the spring.) And do I have a good video presence, or will I look stupid?
