Using a tablet PC and screencasts when teaching mathematics to undergraduates
Joel Feinstein, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham
This case study was published in 2010 in the MoreMathsGrads collection Maths
at University: reflections on experience, practice and provision, editors Mike
Robinson, Neil Challis & Mike Thomlinson
The full collection is available from http://maths.sci.shu.ac.uk/moremathsgrads/
I use technology in my classes in a variety of ways. I use a tablet PC and a data
projector to display pre-prepared slides which I annotate during classes. I also record
screencasts of my classes (movies of everything that is displayed on the screen during
my classes, with synchronized sound), and I make these available to the students
online, along with the annotated slides and other supporting materials. I have made a
selection of my screencasts available as open educational resources. Feedback on this
use of technology is extremely positive.
I have taught the second-year module G12MAN Mathematical Analysis at Nottingham
for each of the last five years, to classes of up to 183 students. As students find this
material hard, I have looked at various ways to assist them with their learning.
Since 2006-7, I have used a tablet PC and a data projector to display slides which I
annotate during classes. In 2007-8, I also made audio recordings (podcasts) of all of my
classes. For more details concerning my earlier use of a tablet PC and audio recordings
(podcasts), see my previous case study .
From time to time, students would ask me whether I could also record screencasts of my
classes. In September 2008, during a visit to Nottingham, Professor Chris Triggs
(Auckland) showed me some screencasts of his own classes. The recording of
screencasts in statistics classes at the University of Auckland was already routine. Much
of the process is automated there, and full support is available from IT staff. This
minimizes the burden on the teaching staff involved.
This year (2009-10) I have begun recording screencasts of my classes. Along with other
resources, I make the annotated slides and recordings from classes available to the
students from the module web pages as soon as possible after each class. Annotated
slides and (audio) recordings from previous years also remain available to the students.
For further discussion of my teaching methodology, ideas and innovations, see my blog
Explaining Mathematics at http://explainingmaths.wordpress.com . I use this blog to
disseminate my ideas and methods, and to stimulate discussion. It is primarily aimed at
other university mathematics teachers, but it is also of interest to undergraduates.
For each class, I prepare a set of slides on my tablet PC which include an outline of the
material to be covered, but with gaps to be filled in. I prepare this outline using LaTeX,
and generate a PDF file, which I then import into Windows Journal in order to allow
annotation during the class. I issue the students with single-sided copies of the slides
(suitably scaled). This allows plenty of room for students to make their own notes during
classes. As well as the gaps, I can insert additional pages at any time if I need more
room to write when I am annotating the slides. See  for more details of the facilities I
found most useful when using a tablet PC.
I use a high-quality wireless microphone kit together with the screen-capture capabilities
of Camtasia Studio in order to record screencasts of my classes on my tablet. There are
many other options available, but this is a very portable solution.
Along with all of the other materials on the module web pages, after each class I make
the annotated slides from the class available in PDF format, and I make the screencasts
available in MP4 format. The web page includes details of which material is discussed in
each screencast. Within any given screencast, it is extremely easy to find the place
required by scrolling through the video until, for example, the relevant hand-written
annotation appears. This is a significant advantage over audio recordings, and should
be particularly beneficial for dyslexic students: such students can have difficulty putting
separate audio recordings together with the written notes. Students watching the
screencasts can also pause or rewind the recording in order to allow more time to think
about the trickier portions of the material. The synchronization of the audio and video in
the recording is particularly useful where I am drawing and discussing diagrams: the
final diagram alone does not tell the whole story.
Many of the resulting screencasts are suitable for publication as open educational
resources. I am making a growing number of these available directly, and also as part of
the University of Nottingham’s Open Educational Repository.
The major barriers to the implementation process were the following.
• The cost of the hardware and software
I am using a tablet PC running Windows Journal, a high quality wireless
microphone kit, and the educational edition of Camtasia Studio. The total price
comes to approximately £2000 excluding VAT.
• The time required to learn how to use the hardware and software effectively
Windows Journal has an excellent tutorial, and you can learn to use its basic
facilities in less than an hour. Similarly, it is very easy to make screen-capture
and audio recordings using Camtasia. However, finding the right hardware and
software settings and developing fluency in the facilities available does take
considerable time. I have described my screencasting experiences in full on my
blog, and I have also given details there of the settings that have worked best for
me. I hope that this will remove some of the barriers for others. Here I mention
the single most important obstacle that I had to overcome. Most of the apparent
bugs that were detracting from the quality of the recordings were due to me
running the tablet on battery power instead of mains power. This is because I
make particularly high demands on the system when I use Windows Journal and
Camtasia simultaneously in classes.
• The time required after each class to process the materials and to make
them available on the web
I am currently responsible myself for the processing of my Camtasia-produced
screencasts and other materials. However, now that I have determined all of the
settings that I need, the processing itself is fairly routine. Nevertheless, the
rendering of video is a long process even on a fast PC, and some patience is
required before the materials are available. My computer takes approximately as
long to do this as the length of the class itself. However, this processing can be
done in the background while I carry on with other tasks. I estimate that the
amount of my own time that I need to dedicate to processing all of the materials
and making them available on the web now comes to between twenty and thirty
minutes per class.
• The School of Mathematical Sciences has been very supportive in purchasing the
software and hardware that I have requested in order to develop the teaching
methodologies that I have been using.
• Information Services at the University of Nottingham (Teaching Support, IT
support and the Learning Team) have been very helpful by making constructive
suggestions when problems arose, by providing the significant streaming media
resources needed to stream a large number of videos, and by publishing a
growing number of my screencasts as part of the University’s Open Educational
Repository. You can find links to some of my teaching resources in the reference
• I found solutions to several of the technical problems I faced by searching the
World Wide Web. In adding details of my own set of solutions to my blog, I hope
that I have contributed to this enabler.
Evidence of success and quality assurance
In Nottingham, the popularity and success of my use of technology in teaching
mathematics has inspired several other members of staff in the School of Mathematical
Sciences to use tablet PC’s in their own teaching. Some members of staff are now
interested in recording screencasts.
Feedback from the students is extremely positive. The table below shows the average
results for relevant questions from the anonymous Student Evaluation of Teaching forms
for G12MAN. You can also find detailed feedback from the 2009-10 G12MAN students
on the web at http://explainingmaths.wordpress.com/feedback/
In this table, the responses are on a scale of 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly
Question 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10
average average average average
(78 (58 (50 (71
forms forms forms forms
returned) returned) returned) returned)
The supporting materials 1.8 1.5 1.3 1.3
presentation) were effective aids to my
The module was well-presented 1.9 1.4 1.4 1.3
Several staff and students also nominated me (successfully) this year for a University of
Nottingham Lord Dearing Teaching Award for my use of IT in teaching.
Many of the positive features identified in student feedback are as in . However, the
screencasts appear to be even more popular than the audio recordings were.
• Students find it very helpful to have access to the annotated slides and the
recordings shortly after each class. In particular, if they suspect that there
may be a mistake in their written notes, they can immediately check the
annotated slides online in order to avoid wasting time.
• Students who miss classes, for example through illness, strongly appreciate
the opportunity to have access to the annotated slides and the recordings at
times convenient to themselves. They find this far superior to having only a
copy of the notes.
• Students appreciate having the opportunity to revisit portions of the classes
where they feel that they may have missed some useful spoken explanation.
This is especially helpful for students who are not native English speakers.
• Students find large and clear writing helpful. This makes using the tablet
particularly effective in rooms with large data projection screens. For some
interviews relating to the benefits for dyslexic students, see the web page
If you are prepared to invest the effort required, these methods of teaching are highly
rewarding. Your students will strongly appreciate the provision, and you will be able to
produce high-quality learning materials which can be made available to a wider
The following recommendations and issues are worth considering.
• A data projector can only display one screen at a time. If necessary you can
scroll back through the preceding material, or display the slides at a smaller
scale. To some extent you can use dual projection facilities where these are
available (though the recorded screencast will only show one screen). Even
so, the amount of material visible at one time is far less than there would be
on a good set of blackboards/whiteboards.
• The microphone generally only picks up the voice of the teacher, and not the
students' responses and questions. It is best to repeat what the students say
both for the sake of the recording, and also for other students.
• While many students appreciate and take advantage of the materials available
in order to improve their understanding, other students may stop attending
classes, and may fall behind. (Even some students who are attending my
third-year classes have said that they are a long way behind, but they are
planning to catch up later.) As a result, some students may end up doing
worse than they would have done if less material had been made available.
One way to address this problem may be to have appropriate class tests or
assessed coursework to discourage students from falling too far behind.
On the technical side:
• If sufficient technical support is available, it is best if you can concentrate on
giving the class, and leave the settings and the processing of files to staff with
the relevant training.
• Otherwise, be prepared to invest a significant amount of time determining the
software and hardware settings which work best for you, and processing the
resulting files. You may find it helpful to read my blog entries in order to
facilitate this process.
• Make sure that you run your tablet on mains power and not on battery
power during classes!
 J.F. Feinstein, Using a tablet PC and audio podcasts in the teaching of
undergraduate mathematics modules, case study, in Giving a Lecture, Exley and
Dennick (April 2009)
This case study is also available in adapted form from the web page
• A selection of my screencasts can be found on the page
or from the University of Nottingham’s YouTube channel mathematics playlist
• Several of my presentations are available from the Nottingham U-Now pages
• My blog, Explaining Mathematics, is on the web at