U. Wisconsin Professor Comments on Her Use of NIA2 in Discussions and Lecture

Nov. 17, 2007 • Posted by Ann Stuart

Dr. Donata Oertel sent me this entry for posting on the NIA blog:

"NIA2 has revolutionized my teaching. The simulations are wonderful for giving students a chance to get involved during discussion sections; the minimovies are wonderful during lectures. They are just the right length to illustrate a point, the screens have no distractions, and they are technically foolproof. It was especially fun to ask students what they thought would happen and then use a minimovie to do the experiment. The moans from the audiomonitor made us all laugh.

"For years I struggled to teach honors undergraduate students how to think about electrical signaling; it was always a particular challenge to help students envision three dimensions when considering voltage changes in both time and place. It was then a wonderful improvement to be able to use simulations in NIA to illustrate how signals propagate. There is a lot to do and think about while giving a lecture; one has to be considering what to say, how to say it, and what to write on the blackboard. Using simulations requires additional thinking about what parameters to change in what direction... In NIA2 I have the simulations for discussions and the minimovies for lectures. What fun it was this year for all of us!"