New approach to teaching combines various media
By Ernest Holsendolph, The Atlanta Journal-Constiution

Related links Classroom 2000 website

Aside from the overhead projector and the video tape, there probably have been no bell-ringing changes in the tools of classroom teaching in many a decade. But Gregory Abowd and his partners at Georgia Tech may have changed that, at least for college students.

Dubbed Classroom 2000, the new approach pulls together several media and brings them to bear on the teaching process. At the same time, the system frees students to concentrate and participate fully in class without the furious, head-down note taking characteristic of most college classrooms.

It is a system that can reward the most aggressive students with extra information, and provide a safety net and special assistance for others.

Under the system, in the works since 1995, specially outfitted classrooms are augmented with gear that includes one or more electronic white boards, as well as audio and video equipment. Slides and other images projected on white boards are recorded along with the voice of the lecturer, and even extra notes written in the margins of slides as the class progresses.

Employing a software program called ZenPad, the system captures the package of information on the Internet and organizes it into Web pages and it posts it on the Internet. Registered students in the class, at their convenience, can access the lessons on the Internet later and save them to study.

All of the teaching materials, and even additional material fetched from the Internet via a Web browser, can also be included in the presentation and preserved as part of the electronic class record. Only students with login authority can access the class material.

I watched a 90-minute lecture to a computing class by Abowd, who directed the development of the Classroom 2000 software, and sensed a unique atmosphere. There was a remnant of students, obviously wedded to old ways, who followed the lesson in a text book and took a fair amount of notes.

Standing room only

Others, however, came to class empty handed and kept their eyes fixed on the presentation, following the points closely and frequently asking questions to elicit additional information. A couple of students slept in the back of the class.

The good news for weary students is the program functions also as a kind of safety net that will preserve the continuity of the classes for those who miss sessions.

The class had standing-room attendance, which Abowd said is normal, indicating the technology does not encourage students to miss and catch the evening show instead.

The class I witnessed, mostly for doctoral students, was a history of interaction between humans and computers. It dealt with the enormous amount of effort since the late 1940s in places like Xerox Park in California and elsewhere to make the computer not only more powerful, but more handy and productive as well.

Passages from books were projected and worked into the electronic record, along with Abowd's comments, explanations, as well as input from the class.

Among the interesting points were the origins of "windows" or multiple displays of the work the computer performs, the invention of the mouse, which sped up commands, and the introduction of the desktop, simulating the way humans organize activity.

"An historic moment in computing," Abowd said, "was the introduction of the desktop on a Macintosh computer during (a commercial on) the 1984 Super Bowl, making the desktop a useful 'metaphor' that helped to de-mystify computers for many people."

Said one student: "Well it didn't de-mystify it for everybody, given the fact that many people still avoid computers." All agreed.

Students seem to appreciate the new classroom approach.

"I like the fact that you can add your own notes and comments, recording your reactions at the time they are presented," said Sam Collins, a second year doctoral candidate.

"I like the flexibility it gives students, including a chance to go back and get material you may have missed," said Tanisha Hall, a first year doctoral student.

Multitalented teacher

Several other schools, including Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, and Darnton College of Albany, are using Classroom 2000 to teach certain courses.

"I use it for teaching math," said Meghan A. Burke of Kennesaw. "But I use it differently from others, preferring to write equations on the white board while adding my voice to the presentation."

Dr. Burke continued: "Mine is a more traditional way of teaching, but it presents more options to the students."

The Classroom 2000 technology has broad possibilities for college classes beyond science and math, depending on the resourcefulness and ingenuity of teachers, she said. For instance, the Shakespeare scholar, striding across the room reciting Lear would have more powerful influence on students watching with heads up, relaxed and paying attention.

In another setting, the technology could prove useful also to business and industry for teaching complex subject matter and and providing in-service training for employees unaccustomed to taking voluminous notes at high speed.

A study of the effectiveness of Classroom 2000 is now in progress and results are expected later this fall, Georgia Tech officials said.

For more information on Classroom 2000 see the Website at http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/c2000/index.html

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