There is a wide variety of teaching styles and needs of the diverse faculty at MCG. Some teachers have many lectures with large numbers of clinical slides, while others use mostly word slides or minimal clinical slides. However, there is a need to have all teaching material in a digitized format in order to facilitate the use of Web CT and internet teaching, to use CD or photographs in handouts for distribution of materials to students, to utilize the greater variety of teaching techniques available with modern technology to a generation accustomed to visual and computer input, and to promote sharing of teaching ideas on campus and globally via the internet. The use of video projectors also allows better room and multiple site teaching coverage. The following are examples of obstacles and solutions used by the Oral Rehabilitation Department in the Dental school. The hope is this list will serve as both information and a catalyst for further sharing of ideas and solutions:

Obstacle: Converting large numbers of clinical slides into digital images.

Solution: The department purchased slide scanners (Polaroid SprintScan 35) to connect to existing computers. Technology rooms were set up with scanning capabilities. Two rooms have an individual scanner and one scans 50 slides at a time. (Since medical illustration is $2.00 per slide, that option may be appropriate for the faculty with only a few slides and little computer expertise. For moderate numbers of slides, there is also a Nikon SuperCool 4000 ED scanner located in the faculty media center which is housed in the library. This scans into PhotoShop. Shawnee Sloop or Clare Billman, Director of OEDD, can be contacted for further assistance.)

Obstacle: Faculty finding time and having the experience to scan slides.

Solution: Write a protocol for the scanning machine and software so faculty, secretaries, work study students (or faculty’s children) can run the scanner and get the image digitized. List settings for the software program to be checked each time (they may be changed by other faculty with different needs, such as scanning radiographs rather than clinical slides). Some software settings had to made secure to avoid accidental changes by multiple faculty users.

Obstacle: Finding appropriate image size such that images could be used in lecture halls on large screens, as well as on Web CT.

Solution: Develop settings for scanner so file size in jpeg file is at least 150KB when saved from Adobe® or other imaging software. Scan at 300 dpi. (see attached sample instructions, Image sizes for jpeg should be less than 500KB or the presentation will get too large to run easily.)

Obstacle: Time and complexity it takes to adjust images in Adobe Photoshop®.

Solution: Develop a simple protocol which merely takes the slide image “as is” into PowerPoint [JRM1] ® in the sequence of the slide carousal. Use PowerPoint® to crop, add contrast, and lighten or darken. (See attached flow chart: Go to View, Toolbar, and select Picture. Then when the image is mouse clicked, the toolbar will appear. Use the crosshatch icon to crop, the black and white circle to add contrast, and the sun to lighten or darken. Images not easily adjusted can be later adjusted in another program.)

Obstacle: Finding that the font and color selected does not present well in the lecture hall.

Solution: Instructions for use of master slide formatting feature in PowerPoint® enables the changing of one slide to change all (There is a visual handout in progress: Select View, Master, Slide Master. Then Edit, Select All, Format, Font and make your choice {Arial, Bold, Shadow, and Default for new objects are good). Then select Format, Slide Color Scheme, and select from the examples to Apply to all. Finally, use Format, Bullet, and select a Color. Additional lines in the Master Slide can be standardized with the drawing toolbar.). Numerous web based subscription services have PowerPoint® templates and master slide formats available for download at reasonable fees. The Draw toolbar allows adding text, block arrows and colors.

Obstacle: Time it takes to insert images into PowerPoint®.

Solution: [JRM2] Shareware ($20) program,” PPTImport[JRM3] ”, can be downloaded from the internet, and will place a large group of images into the correct size in PowerPoint® very rapidly (60 seconds). To obtain PPTImport, go to http://www.consumerdvreviews.com/pptimport/ and select the appropriate file to download that corresponds with the version of PowerPointâ being used. Download and install. When the program is started, it displays a list of available image files in the currently selected folder. If is desired to import a group of images (jpeg, gif, bmp), select the first one, hold down the Shift key, and select the last one in the list (this should highlight the entire list. If random slides are needed, use the Control key while selecting). Check the boxes that says “Resize image to fit slide” and “create new presentation”. Then Import Images. If an existing presentation is already available to which you wish to add these images, do not select “create new presentation”, but choose whether the images should be imported at the beginning or at the end of the existing presentation.

Obstacle: Video projectors were not equal to the quality of 35mm slide projectors, so clinical photographs were not crisp in lecture hall presentations.

Solution: Invited video projector companies for several demonstration “shoot outs” of projectors. Lumens and contrast ratio are both important, as is uniform color distribution. Plan a 3-4 year life of the projector before it is outdated. From the original estimate of $25,000 for one projector, we found three projectors at less than $7000 each with 3500 lumens and 1/600 contrast ratio to mount in classrooms. There are smaller machines for $4-5000 that work well in conference rooms (1500 lumens with 1/250 contrast ratio, or 2200 lumens with 1/400 contrast ratio). (See Fran Omar for information concerning what is available on campus, and for company addresses)

Obstacle: Some original slides were not very good, but could not be replicated.

Solution: Use Adobe Photoshop® to edit. “Unsharpen Mask” is an important feature to give crispness to a slide scan (After opening the image, select Filter, Sharpen, Unsharpen Mask, and try 300%.). Also allowing program to give multiple options of color adjustment from which to choose was quicker than individual color modification. (Select Image, Adjust, Variations for the multiple, rather than Image, Adjust, Brightness or Color.. There is a visual handout in progress). MS Picture-Itâ is easier.

Obstacle: Storage of images uses all the computer hard drive.

Solution: CD burners can be installed in personal computers to which to save data. Purchase large quantities of inexpensive stacks of CD-R (average price is less than $0.10 per CD-R disc). Also use ZIP disks for works in progress so could continually save.

Obstacle: Getting information to students

Solution #1: Some faculty have burned entire course of lectures onto CD. To be effective and without software limitations (student may not own PowerPoint®), PowerPoint® presentations are converted to HTML based presentation which can be viewed with Internet Explorer® (PC or MAC). However, this is time consuming unless find mass burner for CDs. There is one on campus at Annex that will burn 8 at a time, but not generally accessible. Average time to produce one CD with 650MB of information in a 32X CD burner is eight minutes.

Solution #2: PowerPoint® feature for printing handouts is excellent visual teaching. However, the number of total slides should be reduced, and print 6 or 9 per page. Still takes lots of paper, but students have copies of actual slides for notes.

Solution #3: Web CT. PowerPoint® presentations can be broken into smaller units for ease of viewing, and the shadow feature removed from text. Email to Clare Billman, director of OEDD, for placement on web. Course content can be either specific for that single class of students, or be make accessible to students from the time they take the course until graduation. Grades and other information can also be posted so each student only sees their information.

Solution #4: Acrobat Reader (PDF) files can be made to fit a PDA. Then information can be beamed into individual student’s PDA. (see Ann Hinton for information) Documents to Go® is also available for PDAs and can convert and save Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® file to PDA accessible files.

Obstacle: Continuing time and cost for slide scanning to create lecture content (takes about 3-5 hours to convert a 1-hour lecture of clinical slides.)

Solution: Use digital cameras, purchased by departments. Each faculty member has their own memory card, so once they have taken their pictures, the camera can be accessible to the next person while the faculty retains the images on the memory card.

Obstacle: How do you get the digital images into the computer without using the camera?

Solution: Card readers for individual faculty, as well as at the scanning computer. Images can be placed in a shared file on the network to move from the scanning computer to the faculty computer. Use Windows Explorer to highlight the first image on the card reader. Holding the Shift key, go to the last image and select to highlight them all. Move the images to a folder created on the hard drive. Since folders take up very little room, make multiple folders for different topics to help sort images.

Obstacle: Quality and cost of digital cameras for a large number of faculty makes multiple purchases prohibitive.

Solution: Purchase departmental cameras, with attachments of camera to a secure storage board. Each faculty has a numbered key that is inserted to release the camera. The key stays in the place of the camera so other faculty can know where the camera is located.

Obstacle: Need for 1to 1 images, as well as large views, and complexity of camera in manual mode vs. simple point and shoot camera discourages use.

Solution: Purchase a simple point and shoot ($350: Fuji FinePix 2800) with a macro lens setting and good automatic flash like a home camera for simple lab photographs and product images. Purchase an intra-oral digital camera comparable to a 35mm camera with ring flash and manual settings ($5000:Cannon EOS D30). Faculty using these cameras have the storage cards for each (Smart Media and Compact Flash). Other faculty may use funds for personal cameras for convenience.

Obstacle: Some items are best taught with motion.

Solution: Purchase digital video camera and professional tripod for motion filming. Images are captured on a mini-DV camera, then imported into the computer which has a IEEE 1394 port video capture card. A video editor (Dazzleâ, or Video Wave Vâ) is used to edit the video and save in the appropriate output format (mpeg, etc.). This file can be imported into PowerPointâ or other presentation software.

Obstacle: Some older videos have excellent teaching materials, and would be impossible to recreate.

Solution: Use capture card to copy video into digital format (Dazzle®), then the segment needed in the course can be inserted in the PowerPoint presentation®. VHS tapes can also be digitized using digital video camera capture. This second mode captures video image at a higher quality than the Dazzle® system.

Obstacle: How can the faculty determine that this advanced teaching technology is teaching students?

Solution: Use an individual response system (Classroom Performance System, or CPS®) that gives each student a remote control. The computer will tabulate answers immediately, either by student as in an exam, or by percentages, to test class understanding “on the fly”. Questions can be from PowerPoint® slides, or oral / written.

Obstacle: How can faculty take new teaching materials to small groups on campus and in the state, especially if they do not have digital options.

Solution #1: Department purchased pair of laptops and portable video projectors that can be “checked out” by a departmental faculty member to use elsewhere (graduate seminars, study groups, local dental societies). Projector is in suitcase with wheels that is easily portable, and has good quality for small room. Laptop alone will work well when presenting continuing education courses where the projector is supplied by the course. Laptops should be booted up, then connected to video projector to avoid reformatting of the computer video settings. Computers (both laptop and desktop) can be purchased with “TV out” video capability which allows direct connection to large screen televisions for small group presentations. Existing computers can be used in the same manner with the purchase (less than $100.00) of a TV scan converter.

Solution #2: Fran Omar is working on MSHOW group, where the faculty can lecture from their office, and the group hear on amplified speaker telephone with a video projector/computer hookup. Faculty has control of changing slides. This has been demonstrated for this ARCAB committee, but not successfully field tested yet. Cost is $25 per hour per computer for use. Contact person for the business is Jessie Grear at 738-2949.

SUMMARY:

Technology is changing almost faster than it can be learned and utilized. This summary gives some reasonable solutions to ongoing problems. Once faculty are engaged in the newer technology, their own desire for improvement will keep abreast of developments if some forum is provided for exchange of ideas. It has been my personal experience that the benefits for flexibility in creating and updating teaching material, as well as the convenience of presenting continuing education programs far outweigh the obstacles for the transition.

At this time, the need for sharing of both obstacles and solutions will utilize the combined campus experience for a common good. Making faculty aware of the options may be best done with small group presentations, but needs to be done by persons who are using the technology in the classroom with specific goals in mind. Faculty would ideally bring one item for which they want to transfer to digitized format to get help in starting. Also, some staff support for the larger masses of slides may be helpful campus-wide, as individual purchases by departments do not allow access to the general faculty. Lists of courses provided by MCG, and having courses given at times accessible to all faculty (lunch and learn format) would be helpful.

Much thanks to Dr. Kevin Plummer, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, School of Dentistry, for his expertise in solving many of these problems.

[JRM1] Microsoft spells it as one word.

[JRM2] Shareware is not the same as freeware.

[JRM3] PPTImport is not a registered (®) trademark, and it appears that the author is not claiming any trademark (™) on the name.

[copyright.htm]

Medical College of Georgia
Please email comments, suggestions or questions to:
Rick McIndoe,

June 28, 2007