Survey of Three Different Methods of Delivering Engineering Content in Lectures

Abstract

There has been a rapid increase in the use of technology in university classrooms. Many university classrooms and laboratories include an overhead projection unit, computer, and connections for laptops. More recently, tablet PCs have been investigated as another way to effectively engage students in a classroom environment. This study summarizes the results of student surveys comparing three different lecture delivery methods: using complete PowerPoint slides and handouts, using traditional chalkboard lectures without handouts, and using skeleton PowerPoint slides and handouts. Both PowerPoint lectures were delivered through a Tablet PC with a wireless link to an LCD projector, allowing for instructor mobility. Second year engineering students were asked to evaluate six learning assessment statements and to provide written feedback regarding the strengths and weaknesses for each of the three methods. Using the Tablet PC resulted in the highest overall scores but with much variance between the six survey questions.

Exploring tablet PC lectures: Lecturer experiences and student perceptions in biomedicine

“…Tablet PCs allow the user to communicate with the device and their student audience using familiar pen-like gestures. Although much has been written about the pedagogical benefits of this new class of tools (Derting & Cox, 2008;Lumkes, 2010;Yoon & Sneddon, 2011;Tintarev & Ryden, 2010), there is little information about actual classroom uses of the tool in practice (Tintarev & Ryden, 2010). This is not unusual in educational technology research, which tends to focus more on the "state of the art" than the "state of the actual" (Selwyn, 2010).…”

“…Tablet PCs commonly augment the traditional large lecture by providing live digital inking to supplement or replace static presentation of images. Used in this way, tablet PC technology in lectures can create a more interactive and adaptive classroom, relative to the rigidity of static prepared images with a laser pointer (Lumkes, 2010). Interactive is a potentially contentious word here, as it can have many meanings; we prefer the terms pedagogical interactivity (for teacher-student and student-student interaction) and technological interactivity (for interaction between students/teachers and technology) as proposed by Higgins et al in the interactive whiteboard literature (Higgins, Beauchamp & Miller, 2007).…”

“…However, laser pointers cannot be viewed on digital videos. The annotations and drawings on the video can aid student revision of the lecture material, especially if they are also posted as a printable file post-lecture (Lumkes, 2010;Yoon & Sneddon, 2011).…”

“…In another study, three different modes of lecture delivery were compared for undergraduate engineering students: PowerPoint slides and pre-and post-lecture handouts; traditional chalkboard (no handouts); and skeleton PowerPoint slides and pre-lecture handouts. Both PowerPoint lecture modes used a tablet PC, but the third mode of delivery made more use of the annotations (Lumkes, 2010). The majority of the students agreed that "It was easy to remain engaged in..." the chalkboard and skeleton PowerPoint (tablet PC) lectures, and the skeleton PowerPoint (tablet PC) lectures "enhanced [their] ability to learn" (Lumkes, 2010, p.357. Previous studies of student experiences of tablet PCs for teaching have indicated that students appreciate the different colours for highlighting, the use of multimedia, and the ability to digitally save lecture annotations for post-lecture viewing as a video or a static printable file (Lumkes 2010;Yoon & Sneddon, 2011).…”

“…Both PowerPoint lecture modes used a tablet PC, but the third mode of delivery made more use of the annotations (Lumkes, 2010). The majority of the students agreed that "It was easy to remain engaged in..." the chalkboard and skeleton PowerPoint (tablet PC) lectures, and the skeleton PowerPoint (tablet PC) lectures "enhanced [their] ability to learn" (Lumkes, 2010, p.357. Previous studies of student experiences of tablet PCs for teaching have indicated that students appreciate the different colours for highlighting, the use of multimedia, and the ability to digitally save lecture annotations for post-lecture viewing as a video or a static printable file (Lumkes 2010;Yoon & Sneddon, 2011). In a review of the research literature, Yoon and Sneddon (2011) report that students commonly use recorded tablet PC lectures to catch up on missed lectures (or to replace the live lecture), to replay the lecture to aid in the understanding of the lectures and for revision for exams and tests.…”