Presenting the Lightboard

The chalkboard is a symbol of antiquity for some, but it’s stuck around for good reason. Great teachers don’t just tell students how things work—they visualize their lessons. Chalkboards and whiteboards are used to show models, diagrams, or key terms from the lecture.

The problem is, using a chalkboard or whiteboard means turning your back to your students, sometimes even standing in the way of your own notes. This can really impact engagement in a course, especially one that’s delivered online.

The lightboard fixes that. It allows instructors to draw whatever they would on a chalkboard, while still facing the camera. It’s recorded on a plain black background so your writing stands out. Lecturers or their support staff can also superimpose graphics onto the screen in post-production, maximizing student engagement.

The lightboard at the Denney Digital Union lives in our ‘one-button’ video recording studio. In the coming weeks we are training the Digital Union staff on how to set up and troubleshoot the equipment (just slightly more complicated than Glare Prevention and Smudge Detection 101). Reservations for the lightboard will be available to faculty, staff and students at no cost. Keep an eye out for the big announcement.

We are excited to offer this free service for the university community as another way to show what you know, instead of just telling it.