Chalkboard Replacement Program

October 8, 2011 7:32 PM

Replacing my chalkboard in class with my laptop and projector. Need the right program.

I'm a TA for a politics class and I spend most recitations giving lectures of some kind, but I usually do this somewhat interactively, asking students questions and writing their responses on the board. What I'm looking to do is do this with my computer and the room's projector. Ideally, I'm looking for a full screen program with 2-3 tools: 1. a text tool that allows me to click anywhere on the screen and type. 2. a tool that allows me to draw straight lines, and 3. a freehand tool. Does anyone know of a program that I can use to do this?

posted by trcook to Education (7 answers total)

Microsoft OneNote might work. It has all the features you're looking for. Sometimes drawing is kind of a pain, but to be fair, I'm usually trying to do it with a trackpad. A mouse would certainly be easier.
posted by chndrcks at 7:37 PM on October 8, 2011

This looks promising. Has a free trial, too.
posted by erstwhile at 7:43 PM on October 8, 2011

I feel slightly ridiculous suggesting this, but is there any reason Inkscape or even Xfig wouldn't get the job done? They're not fancy or 'productivity software' or anything, but it sounds like you're basically asking for your run of the mill drawing program.
posted by hoyland at 8:10 PM on October 8, 2011

One thing to think about is that the chalkboard can work damn well as a teaching tool. It keeps you from moving too fast, and also keeps you moving, which is a good thing- students will focus more on a moving object, and it takes just about everything to keep a student's attention.

If you are sure that using your laptop will improve your teaching, I think omnigraffle would cover what you need to do, and a whole lot more. I love omnigraffle.

If you need to draw, doing it with a mouse is always going to be fiddly and unsatisfactory. Do you have a tablet? I love my tablet. A tablet makes drawing shapes much, much easier.

Before you try it in from of a class, try it out, make sure that things flow the way you want them to. You do NOT want to have to spend time fussing with the computer.
posted by rockindata at 9:56 PM on October 8, 2011

For a pain-free way of doing this, you could pair an iPad or iPad 2 with an Apple Digital AV Adapter to connect it to a projector, and use an iPad app like OmniGraphSketcher, to do your sketches. That Omni app covers all three criteria you required, and has some other features, too.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:24 PM on October 8, 2011

Have you considered a document camera?
posted by john m at 8:51 AM on October 9, 2011

As a TA for a large (125+ student) class, I am in love with the document camera. I've only used it a few times, but it's -vastly- superior to the (tiny) whiteboard in the auditorium where I teach.

Agree that software will probably get in the way more than it hurts, unless you absolutely need video/etc (in which case you can switch back and forth between a document camera and a video feed from the laptop.
posted by Alterscape at 9:35 AM on October 9, 2011