Writing with Light: Building a Low-Cost Lightboard at Carleton College
Eric Mistry
Carleton College
Keywords: Lightboard, eLearning, Flipped Classroom, Video, Technology, Light
Abstract
The rise of “flipped” classrooms creates a challenge: how can we create interesting, usable content that works well on digital platforms? This challenge presents opportunities to create educational experiences that can’t exist in a normal classroom environment. We’ve built a Lightboard to explore those opportunities. A Lightboard is a clear whiteboard that is illuminated via LEDs. The instructor stands on one side of it and writes using fluorescent markers. A camera on the other side captures the writing that glows on the screen. The footage is then flipped, cropped, and edited. The end product is footage that captures not only what the instructors are writing, but also their expressions and personalities. This presentation will cover what a Lightboard is, and how we’re using it at Carleton. I’ll also discuss how we built an inexpensive version of the Lightboard, as well as our workflow for designing, capturing, and distributing content.
Author Biography
Eric Mistry, Carleton College
Eric Mistry is the Associate For Academic Technology at Carleton College. A graduate of Grinnell College (History/Technology Studies), he is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Educational Technology Leadership from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He lives in St. Paul and is an active outdoorsman and avid cook. Eric enjoys building, tinkering, web and graphic design, video editing, and digital scholarship. His areas of interest include Digital Badging, 3D-printing, Virtual Reality, and eLearning.
