Re: [Phys-l] presentation graphics (was whiteboarding ...)

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 04/29/2012 04:15 PM, Derek Chirnside wrote:
> Ha!!  Many rooms I have used recently do not have OHP facilities anymore.
> :-(
> My favourite teaching technology (after the photocopier) has become
> "obselete"
> Replaced by datashow + lousy PowerPoint.
> Hence my hare-brained thought of document camera.

That's further proof that common sense has left the building.

The price of an overhead projector is something like 1% of the price
of a datashow installation.  It's comparable to the price of the
/remote control/ clicker that comes with the datashow system.  It's
a small fraction of the cost of a decent document camera all by
itself.

In the real world, a problem such as the lack of an OHP would not
exist long enough for me to even find out about it.  Here's how it
would go down:  Somebody would notice that the OHP was missing.  They
would spend about 15 seconds checking with the department secretary 
to see if there was an OHP hiding in a closet somewhere.  If not,
they would whip out their corporate charge card and order one ...
or they would stop by the store on their way home from work and
buy one over the counter.

The rules are simple:  
 -- If it's a big problem, I want to hear about it, the sooner the 
  better.
 -- If it's a small problem, just make the problem go away.  I don't
  need to be asked about it.  I don't even need to be told about it.

To qualify as a "big" problem, it needs to be multiple orders of magnitude
more expensive than an overhead projector, *and* there needs to be some
appreciable chance that people will disagree as to what the proper solution 
is.

OTOH I am quite aware that real-world common-sense rules do not apply 
to the educational system.......