| RELATED INFO |
| * Purdue Teaching and Learning Technologies Conference |
| * Sarah Robbins |
| * Twitter search |
| * "How to present while people are Twittering" |
April 29, 2009
Twitter, laser pointers engage conference attendees
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
But for attendees at the 12th annual Teaching and Learning Technology Conference held last week at Purdue University, playing with tech toys during presentations was part of the experience.
"The conference focused on using technology in the classroom, so there was an aspect of taking our own medicine," said Nancy Wilson Head, executive director of teaching and learning technologies for Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP). "But from our experience in using these tools in the classroom we also strongly believed we could use them to engage the audience, and it was very successful in doing that."
In keeping with the recent zeitgeist, Twitter was the most popular way for the conference participants to be involved.
During the keynote presentation the audience could view Twitter comments, or tweets, which were projected on large screens at each side of the room. Attendees sent their tweets using the hashtag #tlt09, which then presented all of the comments about the conference in one stream.
 |
Between breakout sessions attendees could view the latest tweets on flat-panel monitors that were placed in the hallways. The tweet-scrolling screens quickly became popular spots to gather and engage in conversations sparked by the comments.
Conference attendee Tristan Johnson, professor of instructional systems at Florida State University said the Twitter screens provided engagement without being obtrusive.
"You could glance at the screen and read some of the comments without getting lost in the presentation," he said. "My only problem is that some of the comments were using Twitter jargon that I didn't understand. But I liked getting a general feel for what the audience was thinking about what was being said."
As each attendee registered, they were also given a small red laser pointer sized to fit on a keychain. Some of the presenters had slides during their PowerPoint presentations that asked a question. Audience members were asked to shine their laser pointers at parts of the screen to vote in response.
Keynote speaker Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins, director of emerging technologies for the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, said she enjoyed the audience interaction during her presentation.
"Everybody in the room was a professional and probably qualified in some way to give the keynote presentation," she said. "Now I can review the Twitter stream to see what people thought of my presentation, and later I can respond to each person who had a question during the talk."
 |
Kyle Bowen, director of Informatics for ITaP, said the Twitter feeds and laser pointers were inexpensive and intuitive technologies.
"The laser pointers were branded with our logo and cost us less than $3 each, and it was easy to set up the screens for the Twitter feeds," he said. "At first some users had trouble aiming the laser pointers, but they soon learned to point them straight up at the ceiling and track them to the right spot on the screen."
The conference also used a more advanced technology commonly used on university campuses - classroom response pads - which appear similar to television remote controls, and are universally known as clickers. Following each presentation attendees responded to the feedback form electronically using the clickers instead of filling out a form.
But it was the more common technologies that created buzz.
During the keynote presentation one of the attendees asked other Twitter users what they thought of the use of technology during the presentation. Here are some of the responses:"
- "The use of Twitter and laser pointers (with a great presentation at the core) made for a fantastic keynote," said Twitter user nealcross.
- "Hard to aim but much less work-intense/expensive than clickers. I'll integrate into my preso tomorrow and we'll see," said jlknott.
- "The lasers were clever. Cheap. Involved the audience," said dscouch.
And, of course, people were having fun, too:
- "Wonders what would happen if they released a big box of cats here, with all our laser pointers at #tlt09," said "FluffTheBunny."
The official proceedings of the conference will be published electronically, but in the meantime attendees and any other Twitter user can read the comments from the conference by searching Twitter (https://search.twitter.com/) for #tlt09.
Writer: Steve Tally, 765-494-9809, tally@purdue.edu, Twitter: sciencewriter
Sources: Nancy Wilson Head, 765-496-3685, headn@purdue.edu
Tristan Johnson, 850-644-8770, tjohnson@lsi.fsu.edu
Sarah Robbins, intelligirl@gmail.com
Kyle Bowen, 765-496-7486, kbowen@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
Laser pointers provided audience feedback during presentations at Purdue's annual Teaching and Learning Technologies Conference. Attendees used pointers to respond to questions during presentations and also could view Twitter comments on large screens. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2009/bowen.laser1.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
Attendees at the Purdue Teaching and Learning Technologies conference respond to the keynote speaker by shining red lasers at a question on the screen. Users quickly learned to emphasize their responses by pointing to the side of the screen as well. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2009/bowen.laser2.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
Twitter screens were set up during presentations at the recent Purdue Teaching and Learning Technology Conference. Attendees could view comments while listening to presentations and view Twitter streams on flat-screen monitors placed in conference hallways. Organizers said the Twitter displays created more interaction and engagement in the conference. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2009/bowen.laser3.jpg
To the News Service home page