I have been using a lightboard for three or four years for my classes. I pulled together a few resources for those interested in learning more or trying to make one.

Here’s a short video clip of me using UW-Stout’s lightboard, called the Learning Glass.

For videos with me using my home-built lightboard, try my YouTube channel: McCullough Physics.

Basic info: https://lightboard.info/

Build one:

For teaching remotely, my husband Kelly made me one in our basement. His instructions are here. Mine isn’t as fancy, of course, but it does everything I need it to do!

Random notes:

  • Students see my face as I’m working problems.  They see me and hear me just as if I was in front of them. It’s actually more face-to-face than writing on a whiteboard in a classroom!
  • I specifically chose a clip where I’m blocking some text to show that I have to be careful where I stand. It was a learning process.
  • I can use four colors, using the “window glass” type dry erase markers. They come in packs of five but yellow and green are indistinguishable.
  • Erasing seems to work best with a microfiber cloth.
  • With the Learning Glass at Stout, I don’t want to wear all black because then I’m just a head and hands floating around. Solid dark colors are best. If I’m wearing a blue shirt, I’ll skip using the blue marker. With the lightboard at home I want to wear all black because of the other light sources; black is needed to see the text.
  • I had to learn to look at the camera; I don’t like being on video. But it does make a difference!
  • My international students love these videos.
  • UW-Stout did the captioning on my previous videos; I need to figure out the best way to caption ones from this year.
  • I discovered that early morning is not the best time for me to record. I end up squinting a lot when I look upwards because the lights are so bright! By midday my eyes are more awake.