We have one Lightboard at Engineering. It is located in the ETO Studio (Bahen Centre, Room 3116). If you'd like to film using the Lightboard, please send a request for a studio recording session.
What is a lightboard?
If you haven't had a chance yet, you might want to check out our frequently asked questions article on Lightboards.
Below, you'll see a few samples of how the lightboard was used by Prof. Shai Cohen.
Plan and Rehearse your Content
Before using a lightboard, we recommend planning out your content. This can be quite low fidelity - grab a piece of paper and rehearse your lecture while drawing. Take note of how long it takes you to run through the content and make sure you've allocated enough space on your paper for each element you'll be writing/drawing. This rehearsal helps to ensure that you've got enough real estate to include your visual content, while sticking to the recommended video length of 5-7 minutes.
Bonus practice: If you are planning on drawing in multiple colours, practice this too! You'll want to have a plan in mind for what gets drawn in what colour and what that end result looks like. Remember that colour should not be the only indication of emphasis - if something is important, absolutely use a different colour, but also underline it, draw it more thickly, circle it, or use some other kind of visual indication of hierarchy.
If you're looking for more tips and advice on how to structure your content, review the article "Planning Effective and Efficient Online Content."
Pick your Wardrobe
Lightboard videos are filmed on a black background, which allows the marker colour to really pop. Any clothing that is too bright or patterned can lead to the loss of the contrast between the person and the marker. We recommend wearing more muted, solid clothing, but avoid black, because you'll blend into the background. You will also want to avoid wearing anything with logos or text because they will appear backwards in the final video, which is flipped horizontally so that your writing appears correctly on screen.
Write on the Lightboard
Dry erase markers are used for the lightboard, and there are a number of colours to choose from. When you are writing on the lightboard, it's helpful to keep a few things in mind:
- Avoid writing directly in front of you, especially in front of your face. If possible, plan to write your content in sections of the glass around you.
- Removing what has been written on the glass requires a good clean with a cloth and glass cleaner solution (both provided). It's good to keep this in mind if you think you'll be writing a lot on the board. If possible, plan to do this in separate clips (we'll do a good glass clean in between!) that can be assembled later in post-production.
- If you are pointing at something that you've drawn, try to point from the side so that your fingers are more visible against the dark background. It's also best to avoid using the markers (especially uncapped) to gesture, as they often still light up and can make the writing less clear.
Last Words of Advice
Your video does not need to be perfect. In fact, many students report that seeing an instructor be themselves, even with a few bumps, leads to a more authentic learning experience. One of the things that you can do with lightboard videos is model what happens when mistakes are made - it can be reassuring to students that even their instructors make mistakes!
Don't worry about your pacing - if someone needs a break, they can and will pause the video, so you don't need to artificially slow your voice down. Speak at your normal rate and don't be afraid to be enthusiastic. There is a touch of theatre technique to this. What seems large in real life often transfers as completely normal in video.