Abstract:

Educational videos have become indispensable in university settings and inverted classroom scenarios, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike various educational video techniques and screencasts (typically spoken PowerPoint presentations) that remain quite impersonal, Lightboard lectures offer a simple, quickly produced, "on-demand" solution for knowledge transfer. In these recordings, the instructor looks directly into the camera, thus "seeing" their students the entire time, and can simultaneously explain and write without losing "contact" with the front. This direct eye contact with the "audience" conveys a sense of personal address. A Lightboard, or learning glass, is a high-refractive index glass board, framed with LEDs, allowing the use of fluorescent markers to write on it like a traditional whiteboard. The advantages of Lightboard lectures include their ease of production, the ability to create short thematic sequences "just-in-time," minimal post-production effort, and the presentation of a single board image, keeping the conveyed content manageable for students. This paper describes the implementation of a Lightboard within a one-semester student project and the crucial conditions for student learning success when creating and implementing Lightboard videos in both in-person and online teaching, as well as in asynchronous self-study phases of foundational courses.

The project combined a peer-to-peer approach with project-based learning to create a Lightboard for HTW Berlin lecturers, facilitating direct interaction in online teaching. Students, working in defined work packages (design, ordering components, manufacturing, and documentation), gained practical experience and soft skills like communication and team building. Lecturers learned to make quicker decisions, set stricter specifications, and enforce deadlines. The method supported student creativity and responsibility, resulting in a beneficial learning experience despite varied grades. Overall, the approach enhanced understanding of project work, attention, and enjoyment in engineering studies.

Also, during the self-study phase in inverted classroom learning units, students take responsibility for their own learning process. This modern teaching method is seen as beneficial for learning performance, scientific understanding, concentration and attention, and the joy of learning and teaching. The success of the teaching method, however, is directly linked to the learning materials and guidance provided during self-study. Therefore, Lightboard instructional videos are a good alternative to traditional lecture recordings, as the lecturer always maintains "eye contact with the student," making the viewer feel personally addressed. Since the lecturer is visible in person, the content is typically easy to follow at the pace of a blackboard illustration, and the length is limited to a maximum of 10 minutes, students do not feel quantitatively overwhelmed. The lecturer also guarantees familiar content quality.

The main advantages of Lightboard lectures are:
- Low-threshold: anyone can start immediately
- Can be produced immediately upon student request
- Minimal post-production time required
- The lecturer maintains "eye contact" with the students
- Good pace and length (short input videos < 10 min.)

Keywords:

Lightboard, project work, educational videos, inverted classroom, self-study.