Author: Joel Lanning
Joel Lanning is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Contact: joel.lanning@uci.edu
What course/lab are you planning/delivering?
ENGRCEE 155 – Structural Steel Design
The class teaches students to design steel structures (Figure 1). It covers relevant theory and procedures for drawing diagrams and figures, determining controlling design forces, and selecting appropriate shapes and sizes of steel members and their connections.
Figure 1:
A typical steel framed building under construction.
What are the main instructional goals?
The goals of this class are two-fold: to teach students how to use the specifications for steel design by the American Society of Steel Construction (AISC), which are required in practice, and to give students a strong connection between theory (engineering mechanics and strength of materials) and design (specific equations and procedures).
What steps are you taking to achieve these goals during the COVID-19 pandemic?
To achieve course goals in a conventional classroom environment, my lecturing style involves a lot of face-to-face engagement. I move around the room to make sure everyone can hear me and pick up on my body language, and so that we can exchange nonverbal communication and cues. I also draw figures on the board, bring demonstrations to class, and use multiple projected visuals. Figure 2 shows how a hands-on demonstration is paired with a visual projected on a screen behind me.
Figure 2:
In-person lecture with demonstrations and multiple projected visuals (others are out of view).
To support a similar type of instructional style for online delivery, I adopted the “light board” (or Learning Glass), which is available from UCI DTEI. This tool retains many of the in-person lecturing attributes I value, and is crafted in a professional studio (Figure 3). The instructor faces the camera while writing on a glass surface, which is illuminated along its edge trapping the light. When markers are used on the glass, the light escapes, making the markings vivid. Note that the camera is on the opposite side of the glass, so the writing will appear backwards until the video is flipped in post-production so the viewer is able to see the instructor and read what they are writing.
This technology supports several nice features: I can point and gesture, draw/write, and deliver nonverbal cues, making the experience much more personal. A major drawback, however, is that the DTEI studio cannot be used during the pandemic due to contagion risks. Additionally, this technology can only be used for asynchronous content delivery.
Figure 3:
Light board lecture video recorded in the DTEI studio that uses a very large board and professional lighting (above), video (left). Example of the studio set up.
To bring this type of teaching technology to my synchronous live-streamed Zoom lectures, I developed my own low-cost light board and ad-hoc studio (Figure 4). My light board is mostly made from 2×8 wood boards that I had around the house, and LED strip lights. You’ll need a camera that isn’t attached to your computer because your screen will reflect on your plexiglass and show up in your video feed. I am using an inexpensive external webcam and a simple free application, manycam, that can flip (mirror) the video feed in real time so that students can see the writing in the correct direction. This app also allows you to do picture-in-picture for your video feed.
Figure 4:
Low-cost light board and makeshift studio.
This video explains how to build your own light board and studio. The developer built a much simpler light board than mine (highly recommend) and used a much more elaborate studio (which I do not recommend). Importantly, the video description contains a list of all components with Amazon links. In total, it will cost about $100, mostly depending on the price of the plexiglass. I do not advise plexiglass less than 1/4” thick. Also, the acrylic cleaner listed is a good idea to get.
From using the light board in the DTEI studio, I’ve learned a few key things to make my videos (and now Zoom lectures) a little more engaging and effective. First, it’s important to try to leave space for your face – don’t underestimate the effect your facial cues and expressions make on communication. Your lighting is critical as well. I also like to try to keep the same types of information in the same general place on the screen from lecture to lecture. Steps in a process are in the upper right corner of the screen and problem prompts in the upper left. Finally, for online content it’s always a good idea to limit videos to no more than 15-20 minutes. To create higher quality recordings, have Zoom record locally first, rather than to your Cloud, and then upload on Yuja or YouTube.
Overall, the smaller board size, lower quality video, and shooting out of my garage will all present challenges, but the functionality that it provides me is a perfect fit for my teaching style.
Figure 5:
Screen shot after flipping the video using manycam video streaming software.
What’s one thing you would want other instructors to know based on your experience?
There are many ways to teach online, so use what works with your personality and teaching style.