Blackboard2: Improve your online math class
Table of Contents
1 Improve your online math class
Which app do you use to deliver your online math class?
Does it allow adequate space to fit your entire content on one screen?
Or, do you have to use multiple pages and flip back and forth between them every time you need to reference an earlier step in your argument?
When you handwrite your formulae, are you comfortable with a stylus?
Do you teach repetitive classes? Do you get upset you have to repeat your entire presentation from scratch for your second and subsequent classes?
If you answer 'Yes' to any of those questions, you can improve the
efficiency of your presentation with Blackboard2.
1.1 Space issue
The most annoying issue when transitioning to online teaching from
traditional blackboard is a persistent lack of screen space!
Unless you show the simplest of math problems, you will need to flip a page or two to fit all of the essential elements of your math argument.
A math solution spread across multiple pages is harder to follow for students. The most accessible solutions are visible all at once on the screen.
In a moderately complex math solution, subsequent steps depend on the preceding ones. Both must be visible on the screen simultaneously to ensure that students follow the solution effortlessly.
That is why a traditional blackboard is so efficient. It offers a lot of space to lay out your argument in full for everyone to see at once.
Universities equip their lecture halls with massive multiple sliding blackboards for the same reason. And of course, all of us witnessed the fascinating pictures of NASA scientists or Feinman lectures with giant blackboards fully covered in complex computations.
Any online teaching app which does not offer a similar space
availability is a huge step back.
1.2 Handwriting issue
Not everyone has perfect handwriting, and when you switch to a stylus
or use your finger, it worsens. Handwriting with the stylus is a
skill that takes time and discipline to build.
It is far more forward-looking and beneficial to learn fast typing
skills and tricks to substitute handwriting with typing experience.
1.3 Repetition and re-usability issue
Let's face it! Professional teaching comes with a lot of repetition.
The same math solution may need to be delivered three-four times a
week.
Delivering on a blackboard each time from scratch includes a lot of repetition, and many parts are somewhat monotonous.
That is why many educators switch to Powerpoint in their daily professional lives.
It is a considerable step back!
Powerpoint delivery is rigid. There is no flexibility built into it.
You cannot shorten a Powerpoint presentation; you cannot add a few extra lines to address a particular student query. You cannot fix a typo in it on the fly.
2 Blackboard2 solves these issues and much more
Blackboard2 is designed and is constantly improved to resolve the
issues connected with online teaching.
It offers a vast amount of space thru canvas panning and zooming.
It permits to type beautifully typeset math formulae, which are easy to read. You can add the content in real-time if you build your fast typing skills or pre-type the content beforehand.
It offers several quick typing techniques.
Once you learn them, you will alter your content as quickly as on a traditional blackboard.
Blackboard2 helps remove monotonous repetition from your teaching. It permits you to re-use past presentations smartly. You will spend more time addressing personalised student issues.
Yet, your presentation will look fresh and new to your class with every next repetition!
Give it a try in your next class! Visit our Getting Started course.
