Compact Devices for Measuring Writing on Whiteboards and Blackboards During Lectures

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop low-cost compact devices for measuring writing on whiteboards and blackboards during university lectures. Both of the methods employed to tally 1 written stroke as 1 response can use the recording system described in Yoshioka and Fuji (2019a; in Japanese). In the first method, contact between a marker and the whiteboard is detected using the principle of leverage. When contact is made, the force applied at the tip of the marker is transmitted across a pivot with a spherical bearing attached to the rear end, pushing 1 of 4 micro-switch levers. In the second method, the vibrations produced by writing on a blackboard with chalk are detected using a sound sensor. In a test of the performance of the marker device, the contents of 8 slides were written on a whiteboard. The ratio of the recorded number of strokes to the actual total number of strokes (calculated assuming that block style was used throughout) ranged from 0.99 to 1.03. The chalk device was tested in a demonstration lecture; the ratio of the recorded number of strokes to the actual total number of strokes was 0.80. These results confirmed that each device has adequate accuracy for measuring the target responses. Future studies should investigate variables that affect the accuracy of measurements made with the sound sensor and explore ways to detect blackboard vibrations more effectively.