The visualiser can be activated by selecting the Visualiser display button on the Crestron Panel.
Lift up the visualiser and turn it on using the On button located at the top.
Active teaching approaches
By incorporating a visualiser into your classroom, you can create a dynamic and interactive learning experience that enhances student engagement, comprehension, and retention of course material.
Why use a visualiser (Tips from academics at City St George's):
- You always face the room and make eye contact with students as you explain or demonstrate (as opposed to the whiteboard where back is turned).
- Visibility is very good as the light and enlargement capacity means that all can see (whether online or face to face).
- No special keyboard is needed i.e. Mathematics symbols can be drawn.
- Key benefit is that anything shown on the visualiser is lecture captured.
- PowerPoints tend to be still slides with lots of information. Using a visualiser can support breaking down a process or concept into manageable learning chunks.
- Notes created in class, using the visualiser, can be refined and later uploaded to Moodle. This is an excellent way for students to collect comprehensive revision notes.
- You can invite students to come and display their work, providing them and the class with a chance to present their findings and answers to questions of their peers.
Things to be aware of:
- Instructor needs to be mindful of the focus of the visualiser; always check what the screen is actually showing what you expect students to see on the screen in the room (or online).
- Handwriting; write slowly, with high contrast pens and lined paper if possible.
- Plan for an active teaching session i.e. coloured pens, paper, ruler, transparent overlay etc so that all information is clear.
Visual learning
According to Dual coding theory, the brain can handle words and pictures equally:
“Human cognition is unique in that it has become specialized for dealing simultaneously with language and with nonverbal objects and events’ (Paivio 1986).
For some students a visual explanation broken down into bitesize chunks can make concepts and processes much clearer. Two examples of this are:
- Confidence building for students with developing their own skills around visual explanations and diagrams (particularly for STEM subjects). Students see the instructor making their thinking visible.
- Visual thinking and mind mapping: Encourage visual thinking by using the visualiser for mind mapping exercises or brainstorming sessions. Write down ideas, draw connections, and visually represent concepts to help students organize their thoughts and generate new insights.
Hybrid classes
If you are teaching in a physical classroom, it is possible to stream the output of the visualiser to online students and record it on Zoom or Teams. A Co-pilot can assist you with this.
