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Students Assess Computer-Aided Classroom Presentations
A task force, appointed by the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and
representative of a broad range of departments and faculty, established
requirements for participation in the project, then evaluated faculty
proposals and selected participants. Most new faculty were required to
participate.
Various criteria were used to select 15 faculty members. Participants had
to represent a variety of departments, be fairly computer literate and be
good teachers. They also had to have little access to a computer in the
office or at home and demonstrate a need for a computer for off-site
presentations and for research. Most important, they had to display a
desire to improve their classes while currently using few visual aids in
class. Classes were, in general, fairly large general education courses.
Faculty had to agree to attend workshops, use the equipment in class,
and provide all necessary assessment information.
Equipment provided to each faculty member included a 486 notebook
computer, external monitor, inkjet printer and Asymetrix' Compel
multimedia presentation software. Other equipment purchased for group
use in this project included a color scanner and color inkjet printer, two
LCD panels with overhead projectors, a scan converter, a portable
CD-ROM drive and a portable external sound device.
After faculty were selected, I began a training program for them to
become familiar with the hardware and software. These workshops were
offered during fall and winter quarters. Faculty were required to begin
using the equipment by the spring quarter so we could select
assessment data. After an initial orientation to the computer and project
requirements, workshops were held on Compel, Windows, projection
equipment, CD-ROM and sound, and scanning. We also held informal
workshops during which faculty demonstrated how they were using the
equipment in class.
Student Assessment
At the end of the project, in addition to faculty assessment, I collected
information from the students in their classes. Over 500 students were
provided with evaluation forms in classes in music, anthropology,
sociology, history, political science, English and French. Faculty used
Compel to create their classroom presentations. Almost all used bullets
for their lecture points. A few incorporated scanned images and sound.
First, students were asked to indicate how often computer-aided
presentations were used in class. They were then asked to evaluate ten
statements about computer-aided presentations (see Figure 1). Students
also could make suggestions about improving computer presentations,
comment about the instructor's use of computer technology in the class,
and conclude whether the university should continue to promote
computer-aided presentations in the classroom.
