Approved-By:  "EDTECH Moderator" <21765EDT@MSU.BITNET>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.edtech
Date:         Sat, 10 Oct 1992 00:03:42 EDT
From:         IANHART@HKUCC.BITNET
Subject:      Quick & Dirty Survey Results

Two weeks ago I sent out this plea for help to the EDTECH and MEDIA-L
lists:

>I know this issue has been aired in bits and pieces recently, but I am in
> need of some quantitative (even qualitative!) data rather urgently. I'd
> be grateful if people could respond directly to me and I'll make the
> results known to the network asap.
>
> 1     Is your educational technology unit responsible for purchasing,
>       replacing and cleaning acetate rolls for overhead projectors?
>       (Or any combination thereof?)
>
> 2     If so: how many rolls are in circulation? who cleans them?
>       who replaces them?
>
> 3     What is your opinion on acetate rolls as a teaching medium -
>       compared to, say, cut sheets, chalk/white boards, or more
>       hi-teck solutions such as visualisers.
>
> Of course, any savvy educational technologist will know why I need this
> information.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Ian Hart
> Director, Centre for Media Resources,
> University of Hong Kong
> ianhart@hkucc.hku.hk

I received 37 responses - must be quite a hot topic.

Q1:     No = 21         Yes=16

Of the "Yes" answers, more than half said that they handled OHP rollers
reluctantly. Most respondents did not clean them, but threw them away
(a few admitted shamfacedly to adding to the world's burden of waste
plastic but suggested that the paper toweld saved migh be some meagre
compensation).

Cleaning rolls seems to be the responsibility of students on what seems
to be quaintly termed "work study programs" (an alien concept here).
Everyone agreed that it is dirty, mind-numbing and altogether unpleasant
work. [Our experience here is that cleaning and drying a 50 ft roll takes
about one hour and we go through 2-300 rolls per day].

All respondents agreed that in most cases cut sheets were more economical,
easier to handle and prepare, and more convenient. Rolls were especially
useful in computational subjects where long strings of equations need to
be derived.

WHY WAS THE SURVEY CONDUCTED?
At this university OHPs have always had rollers and the acetate rolls have
been supplied and replaced by this Centre. The cost has spiraled out of
hand as we now have over 60 centrally time-tabled rooms and are planning more.
The old OHPs are falling apart and most manufacturers these days do not
supply rollers. We are trying to rationalise their use as a "standard"
lecture room accessory, but many faculty members object, insisting that this
technology is essential to their teaching. Some, I suspect, are objecting
to the idea of change per se.

You may be interested to hear that the Hong Kong University record for
OHP rolls usage is 150ft in a one hour lecture (that's three rolls!)
If I do not hear from any competing claimant within 24 hours I will
submit it to the Guinness Book of Records.

Thanks to all who responded. Your remarks were sumarised for our
Committee of Management which agreed to rationalisation accompanied by
a training program for staff on better ways to use OHPs.

Ian Hart
IANHART@HKUCC.BITNET
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU