Donald Hall, Humanities Faculty, GateWay Community College |
PowerPoint and new presentation technologies have been used in many teaching disciplines. The following interview with Donald Hall, Humanities faculty, and Gloria Stahmer, Associate Dean of Technology, GateWay Community College, illustrates the powerful use of these technologies in the Humanities.
Donald, can you tell us a little about yourself?
Donald: In 1985 I was teaching film-acting and theater part-time at Scottsdale. I went to GateWay in 1987 to teach Humanities and Cinema at night, and eventually moved into a full-time position.
What technologies were used in the 1980s to teach Humanities?
Donald: I was using an overhead projector (writing on transparencies with my awful penmanship), a TV-VCR, and often holding up in front of the class a textbook to show what was many times
a very small picture.
Gloria, can you tell us how you started working with Donald?
Gloria: Donald described a problem where his students could not see the intricate details in images of paintings he showed in class. He was using a document camera attached to a 32-inch television and wanted me to buy a larger, back-lit TV monitor. I told him "no" -- not because he was unreasonable -- but because even with a bigger monitor, the pixels were so far apart that the detail would not be clear. I suggested using the document camera with a computer data projector. Donald showed up at a technology demonstration where we showed the detail one could display with data projector -- and he was hooked.
Donald, what was that hook?
Donald: I cannot emphasize more the impact and power of the zoom feature
on the document camera. It is the most important piece of technology and I cannot teach without it!
Before class in the Health Education auditorium, Donald prepares the multiple sources of media: document camera, compuer, and DVD player. |
Let's say we are studying Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper." There is a tremendous amount of symbolism and hidden meaning in that painting. You have to look not only at the whole, but the pieces. You must zoom in on the groupings of people, the use of perspective, the religious symbolism of things such as Jesus' hands forming a triangle representing the Trinity, how the pediment behind him represents a halo. Or, say we are studying the Parthenon.
We can zoom in to see how the columns are not a single piece of marble. Students can see how the pieces are attached, and other important features such as the ornamentation and the style of the capitals.
In looking at the symbolism of the Byzantine Empire in studying "Emperor Justinian and his Courtiers," we see how the shields indicate loyalties. And better yet, when we rotate the image, we can see that the shield contains two sets of symbols. Each symbol has a dual meaning. In Donatello's "David," David is standing on Goliath's head -- students do not always see it in a traditional image because the head is turned sideways. Being able to rotate the image helps students to identify Goliath.
What other technologies have you integrated into your classes?
Donald: I had been using 35mm slides, but again, you cannot zoom. And when you show slide images, there is no text there to reinforce the subject. So we have been "PowerPointing the Renaissance." There is a lot of terminology in the Humanities -- chiaroscuro, sfumato, "linear perspective" -- when they can see the image and read the term on the PowerPoint, it helps them to connect the visual components and to focus on the material.
In PowerPoint, I can show an image of Donatellos' David, have a few bullet points fly in, and then we may push a button and move to the document camera with the image of this sculpture. We zoom in to key details such as the Tuscan hat, the contrapposto position. The two technologies go hand in hand.
Donald Hall moves fluidly between mediums during his Cinema lectures. |
Gloria: I have been emphasizing to our faculty that using the image in PowerPoint with the text can reinforce the connection between the images and information such as the painter, the style, or the historical period -- these are the ideas we want students to be able to tie together.
What are some of the results you have seen?
Donald: My Cinema classes begin with a review of cinema vocabulary, before we can analyze movies. I integrate into my PowerPoint still images from movies where I wanted to show examples of "blocking," "framing," "stage-left," "down-stage," "medium-shot close-up," and the students are engaged -- they are fighting to be the first to identify what movie the examples come from. The visuals help the students learn composition and positioning.
I experimented with the testing "process." Before, our average grade was a B- on a standard paper test -- no pictures at all. But when I added to the tests items where students had to identify the terms from images displayed during the exam in PowerPoint, average grades went up to an A-. The "content" of the exam was exactly the same. Two years ago when I started using this method, students actually applauded at the end of the exam! We have occupational program students saying, "Mr. Hall, this is great. We love tests like that. Give us more tests like that."
And the students come back. I have a lot of repeat students. They bring friends, spouses, parents, kids, etc. One of the air conditioning program students started by saying "this is not my cup of tea." He came back for two more classes.
Gloria: And we have enough indications that show this is working. We looked at the dropout rate, which is almost down to zero in Donald's classes, the increasing numbers of students signing up, the grades have come up -- these are all factors that help me put more money into supporting technology. Donald went from the first class of 16 students in Cinema a few years back to a section of 50 students last year in the auditorium, the largest Humanities class in the history of GateWay. Now he is teaching two sections of 40+ students. We have had to hire a new instructor to teach two more sections in the Humanities, which has not happened here in a long time.
Donald will use these DVDs on one classs on cinema. |
What led to your next step of adding DVDs to the technology mix?
Donald: I usually have more than one section of a Cinema class, we have holidays, sometimes more questions in one section, special events, so you almost never stop in the same place. With a VCR, it takes more time to find your next starting point, you have to fast-forward and rewind -- it becomes an unbelievable waste of time. With DVDs and the chapter menus, you can easily jump to exactly where you need to go. You get excellent clarity when you pause, you can show the effect of lighting, the blocking, or some subtle communication. It is very important for me to know what chapter we are on, how many minutes are left, how long the chapter is, because I can judge how long the segment is and if I can fit it in before the end of class.
Fifteen years ago we would watch six or seven full-length features in a Cinema class. Now I only show one or two in a semester. With the DVDs, we can use just the relevant clips, maybe 40 or 50 of them, from dozens of films. And if the students like it, they can go to the video store and rent the film to see the whole movie. And they do.
So, if I am talking about how figures are weak when they are at the bottom of a frame, I show them a slide in PowerPoint. Then we can watch a DVD clip from North by Northwest where the plane is chasing Cary Grant in the field. They need to see the action in the context of the movie. There are some clips that really let students understand what editing is all about, say the chase scene with Steve McQueen in Bullitt. Up until 1967, that was the best-edited chase sequence in the history of cinema.
We spend a few weeks on Ancient Greece, but from a DVD we can show just 10 minutes about the Parthenon. The students like it so much, they went to Borders and bought it for themselves. And this is an educational DVD, not North by Northwest or The Godfather!
Gloria: I would like to add a point that I stress with our faculty. When you show a 30-minute video to any class, Cinema, Nursing, Surgical Technician, the students often do not know the important features you want them to see. That is why we have encouraged them to use DVDs because they can easily access the relevant 5-minute portion.
I understand that you have also integrated CD-ROMs...
Donald: I heard that the Biology department here was using an interactive CD-ROM of a frog dissection, andŠI got jealous! So, working with Gloria we did some research and found some titles on ancient Greece and Rome, the Gothic churches, the Renaissance, and Impressionist Art. We got copies for both of the campus Learning Centers. But it is hard to find content on ancient cultures that is rich and interactive. We are lacking ones on African cultures.
However, the CDs did not include a decent instruction manual. How would I analyze all of that content? Yvonne Zeka, at that time Director of the Learning Center, had a better idea -- let the students review the CDs! We had the students work in pairs to explore the CDs, using a Y-cord with two headphones so they could both hear the audio. Their assignment was to create a navigational chart of the CD, and to find one aspect about the CD, say Roman agriculture or economy, that they would like to share with the class. It makes a difference when they are creating a resource for their fellow students rather than just doing an assignment for me to see.
Gloria: One of the best parts of Yvonne's suggestion was to have the students work through the navigation themselves, because they would then explore most of the CD rather than just a specific section selected by the instructor.
Describe how you use the technology in the large auditorium -- wasn't that facility built for the health education classes?
Donald: I am not even supposed to be in there! This place has stadium seating, nice chairs, a big center screen, and a pair of side screens. What a great place to watch movies and to teach a cinema class. So, they let me in on a trial basis for one semester, almost three years ago. Now, administration won't let me leave. Class size and sections keep increasing.
Donald Hall discusses a DVD film clip on the center screen, while a side screen displays his concepts in PowerPoint. |
I can show on the side screens of the theater a PowerPoint slide with what I want them to be looking for, maybe it is the acting, the cinematography, the score, what happens in the first five minutes of the film, the sets, or the lighting, or the visual effects. Then I show a clip that demonstrates it on the center screen. When it is done, then we talk about it a few minutes. Then we go to the next example, and so on.
How important is your administrative support?
Donald: You must have the support of your administration. My success is a complete team effort; it is my Dean of Instruction and Associate Dean of Technology, along with the technical staff, the learning center, not just Donald.
One thing that has helped support the use of Blackboard is that we have trained our Learning Center staff to answer questions from students (who can also call them from home). We do not have a 24/7 helpdesk for students, or for that matter, a helpdesk at all for students, so we need a way to support these students.
And what are the newest things in Donald's technology mix?
Donald: We are moving into digital video production. Using my theater acting class, we are going to make a movie for the physical therapy program, demonstrating the right and wrong ways in which to treat a patient. We will storyboard it, film it on digital video, edit, and produce our own DVD. The students will learn the process and the Physical Therapy program will gain a teaching resource.
I put portions of all of my classes onto Blackboard, not to teach on the Internet, but to have an online component. Say we take a test on Ancient Greece tonight. Typically, our more motivated students want the study guide for the next segment immediately! If I do not have it, then we may waste a whole week and they will be less prepared for class the following week. With Blackboard, I can let them know that, if I do not have the new materials in my hand, I will have it posted on Blackboard in a few days. It is there for them 24/7, so there is no excuse for students not having the class materials.
I give them the syllabus, the handouts, the assignments, and numerous external resource links. I use the announcements quite a bit, since we do community learning and we have events going on at the Orpheum Theater and the Phoenix Art Museum.
In my Contemporary Cinema class, I came up with an assignment for the students to create music videos in PowerPoint. They had to take a favorite song and identify the concept. Then they imported images, either realistic or abstract into PowerPoint. The challenge was to have the images match the lyrics.To better help them deal with numerous types of media, we paired this class up with a one credit CIS PowerPoint class. They learned how to work with the software and manage the media that would play on all types of computers. They were really able to understand the power of storyboarding. And they have to create something their fellow students will understand, not just something for the teacher.
I use it all. At the League for Innovation conference last year, we did not show just one piece of technology, but five. Say the topic is the Parthenon. We may start off with a PowerPoint, and then jump to a DVD movie clip to show a walk through. Perhaps we return to PowerPoint, and then go to the document camera to review the architectural details. I may next bring in a CD-ROM assignment on exploring Ancient Greece. Then we can go to Blackboard to remind them of their upcoming assignment posted on the web site and to review information on the Perseus Project web site.
I am the same guy I was fifteen years ago. Maybe I know a few more things but basically I am using the training and experience I had before I came to GateWay. I am just using some new tools. And it is a measured use. I still have students writing. We go to cultural events. We have discussion. They do reflections on their own culture. Technology helps us tie it all together.
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