Upon launching the program, the instructor
view (Figure 2.2 I1) of Eclass has no lecture opened, no questions in the log,
and students have not yet logged in. After logging into the workstation, the instructor
is not required to login into the Eclass program a second time.
Figure 2.2 I1: Instructor Initial View
The instructor begins the lecture by opening the lecture for the week from the 'File' --> 'Open' menu item (Figure 2.2 I2).
Figure 2.2 I2: Instructor Opens 'Today's Lecture'
The 'Lecture Slides' window presents the slides as prepared in the 'Prep' mode (Figure 2.2 I3). There is a transparent 'Private' layer on top of the slides that provides many editing options, which are discussed in more detail in sections 2.4 Details of Instructor's Interface and 2.5 Details of Student's Interface. The buttons for the 'Private' layer and 'Lecture' layer become activated as do the buttons for 'Next Slide,' 'Go To...,' 'Expand,' and Collapse.' The 'Prev Slide' button remains deactivated since the lecture begins at the first slide. The names of students, who have logged into their workstations, are shown in blue.
Figure 2.2 I3: Slides appear in 'Lecture' window
The 'Lecture Slides' window appears on the overhead as well as on the screens of the instructor and all of the students. However, a difference is that the student's see their own 'Private' layer at their workstations, and the overhead presents the instructor's 'Private' layer. If the instructor gives students 'Individual Control,' a 'Public' layer appears on top of the instructor's layers as well as on the screen of the student with the 'Individual Control'. Details of the 'Public' layer and 'Individual Control' are discussed in sections 2.4 Details of Instructor's Interface and 2.7 Class Roster Window respectively.
The instructor expands the lecture notes and the data for the slide no longer fits within one screen. When preparing the lecture, the instructor chooses the option of inserting slide breaks or a scrollbar to accomadate the overflow of data. In this case, the instructor has chosen the option of inserting a scrollbar after expanding the data (Figure 2.2 I4). This also occurs in the student's view if the student is in 'Sync' with the instructor's slides. The steps of expanding a slide are covered in more detail in section 2.4 Details of Instructor's Interface.
Students begin asking questions
throughout the lecture. Their names and questions appear in the instructor's
'Q&A' window, which then activates the buttons giving the instructor the
option to 'Respond' to a question (Figure 2.2 I4). More details of this feature
are explained in section 2.4 Details of Instructor's
Interface.
As the instructor presents the material,
he/she highlights certain phrases of the text (Figure 2.2 I4) to note the importance.
This is one of the many tools available for the 'Private' layer.
Figure 2.2 I4: Highlighted Line and Answered Question
A specific slide is selected by clicking the 'Go To' button, which opens a window with all the slides avaialble (Figure 2.2 I5). The instructor selects the fifth slide and clicks 'Go.'
Figure 2.2 I5: 'Go To' Window
The 'Lecture' window will then switch to the selected slide.
Figure 2.2 I6: Jump to Slide 5
The instructor may also choose to quickly jump to a specific slide with the slide number box. The box that displays the slide numbers (e.g. "1 of 45") is actually editable. The instructor clicks once into the box and a cursor appears next to the number "1." He/She types in the desired slide number and hits enter. The slides jump to the selected slide.
Other tools are explained in section 2.4 Details of Instructor's Interface.