Hello,
I am looking into using Collaborate to offer math help at a distance. I am wondering how others have found it for their math related endeavors. I have a few questions and any input is appreciated.
Did you use extra hardware, such as a tablet or pen mouse? Did the students have access to something similar to write with? How did you communicate long questions? I know there are a number of options for sharing math questions, I am wondering what works best - file share an image, dictate, write it out, share it as an image on the whiteboard?
We will essentially just be tutoring with it, so both parties need to be able to share questions and write easily.
Replies
We have a few instructors who use Collaborate for math courses and computer science courses with math. Most use tablets to present and explain the material. Students don't usually have tablets, unless they've been told ahead of time they must buy one (we're in higher ed.) I've heard mixed reviews about how successful this has been. Application sharing can also work, although it can be cluncky. All of the methods you have thought of would work to some degree. You'll probably need to experiment to see what works best for you.
Erika,
I am just learning to use Blackboard Collaborate to tutor math students and have the same questions (sorry, no answers yet!). Some of my adult students are not very comfortable with technology, so I am trying to figure out how to share math questions/ thoughts/ solutions on Blackboard Collaborate in a way that will not be too technologically intimidating for them - i.e. not too much clicking around or configuring settings.
Anne