I am a college professor, teaching both grad and undergrad. I use a software package with a tablet pc that records the entire session, including audio, and the students, on their own, have been downloading the lectures onto video iPods and getting to review everything in different settings - like in the coffee shop, gym, etc. I do not take attendance, and openly let the students know that they face no penalty for not coming in because I do not want to penalize them doubly, once for missing valuable class discussion, and two for being absent.
Has it impacted attendance? Yes, attendance has gone UP! When I asked the students why they came in, they said (a) class was much more effective as a delivery mode than the recorded lecture, and (b) they came because they got to influence what went onto the recorded session. The latter was not something I was aware of till they told me this. So technology can work in ways unintended. And yes, as someone here pointed out, it does keep the troublemaker students away, as they are quite happy with the recorded material. So its a win in my case, big time.
Overall, I think students are a lot more conscientuous and a lot less cynical than professors (or the public) think they are.
I had the same experience, as I have gone from Windoze to a Linux+Mac environment. When my windows pc came up for replacement, I requested the standard campus issue Mac in my office, but they have decided that Macs can be replaced with PCs but not the other way around as the TOC (purchase price + maintenance) is lower.
I argued intensely that this totally misses the point because it does not factor in software savings (I use only open source), virus management, networking issues, workflow changes, and personal work style. Finally, the Dean's office sanctioned me a Mac while the tech dept keeps screaming bloody murder.
One stand at a time, thats what its going to take to get better tech environments - so dont give up!
Cliff,
If you use Mozilla as your browser (as I do in Red Hat 8.0), you can simply type in Ctrl+ as many times to change the font size on the fly. Or type Ctrl- to reduce the font. I use this all the time and it suits me very well.
Therefore, Linux already seems to be ahead of the curve here. Of course, this is not a generic fix, but a browser level fix, but thats where one tends to do most of one's reading (I guess).
Hope this helps.
cheers
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I am a college professor, teaching both grad and undergrad. I use a software package with a tablet pc that records the entire session, including audio, and the students, on their own, have been downloading the lectures onto video iPods and getting to review everything in different settings - like in the coffee shop, gym, etc. I do not take attendance, and openly let the students know that they face no penalty for not coming in because I do not want to penalize them doubly, once for missing valuable class discussion, and two for being absent. Has it impacted attendance? Yes, attendance has gone UP! When I asked the students why they came in, they said (a) class was much more effective as a delivery mode than the recorded lecture, and (b) they came because they got to influence what went onto the recorded session. The latter was not something I was aware of till they told me this. So technology can work in ways unintended. And yes, as someone here pointed out, it does keep the troublemaker students away, as they are quite happy with the recorded material. So its a win in my case, big time. Overall, I think students are a lot more conscientuous and a lot less cynical than professors (or the public) think they are.
I had the same experience, as I have gone from Windoze to a Linux+Mac environment. When my windows pc came up for replacement, I requested the standard campus issue Mac in my office, but they have decided that Macs can be replaced with PCs but not the other way around as the TOC (purchase price + maintenance) is lower. I argued intensely that this totally misses the point because it does not factor in software savings (I use only open source), virus management, networking issues, workflow changes, and personal work style. Finally, the Dean's office sanctioned me a Mac while the tech dept keeps screaming bloody murder. One stand at a time, thats what its going to take to get better tech environments - so dont give up!
Cliff, If you use Mozilla as your browser (as I do in Red Hat 8.0), you can simply type in Ctrl+ as many times to change the font size on the fly. Or type Ctrl- to reduce the font. I use this all the time and it suits me very well. Therefore, Linux already seems to be ahead of the curve here. Of course, this is not a generic fix, but a browser level fix, but thats where one tends to do most of one's reading (I guess). Hope this helps. cheers