46 BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION July 1977 Vol. 5 No. 2

DO-IT-YOURSELF PREPARATION

OF VISUAL AIDS

An earlier paper (1) described how complex biochemical pathways can be presented on overhead projector transparencies. Two underlying design features of the technique were 'advance organizers' and presentation by 'progressive parts ' . The advance organizer, a d iagram giving an overall view of the pathway and emphasizing its functions, was reduced in size and reproduced in the corner of later transparencies describing individual reactions in detail. Students found that this ar rangement enabled them to grasp the place of each reaction in the overall structure of the pathway. Progressive parts teaching was usually implemented by sets of t ransparent overlays. Each step in a reaction sequence was reproduced on a separate transparency, so that the complete structure could be built up in easily grasped steps by superimposing '.hese on at a time.

Such extensive use of the overhead projector requires more sophisticated methods than simply writing on clear acetate sheets using a felt-tipped pen. Since 1974 there has existed at Manchester University a Staff Teaching Workshop in which lecturers, aided by an audio-visual technician, can prepare teaching aids using equipment which few depar tments would be able to purchase for themselves. The Workshop, which occupies a large room on two levels, is open for most of the year. Emphas is is on self-help - - how the Workshop is used depends on how the individual lecturer wishes to use it. Three main facilities are provided. The first is information on educational methods and materials. There is also a preparation area, provided with the necessary equipment , in which lecturers can design and produce their own visual aids. Although extensive facilities are provided by the University of Manches t e r /UMIST Audio Visual Service for the professional production of slides, transparencies, etc., 'do-it-yourself' activities in the Workshop enable lecturers to both obtain material the same day, and exeriment with different techniques before committ ing themselves to the one they eventually utilize. Finally, the Workshop can assist lecturers to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching aids which they produce (2).

Quite a large number of complex designs were produced in the Workshop for the lecture on the pentose phosphate pathway (1). In order to achieve a smooth presentation, the transparencies (8 inches by 9~ inches) were designed to be used in the l~ipatran system 1. This consists essentially of a loose leaf book in which the transparencies and lecture notes are interleaved. The book is clipped on to a base which fits on to the overhead projector, enabling the lecturer to project each transparency in sequence and at the same time read the related lecture notes.

The original artwork was drawn on white paper. The lettering was produced on a Varifont 3000 z, a letter compositor system which produces strips of dry translucent adhesive film. This film, containing perfectly aligned lettering, was then stuck into position on the paper. Where symbols were required, Letraset 3 dry transfer sheets were used. The finished drawing was photocopied, using a 3M Transparency Maker (model 164) 4, on to special t ransparent film s which gives a black image on a clear base. Colour was added to the black-on-clear base using coloured t ransparent adhesive sheets 6.

Preparing artwork on paper, rafher than drawing directly on acetate sheets, has several advantages.

1. Multiple copies can emily be prepared. During a lecture, it is often helpful to refer to the same diagram several times. Rather than shuffling back to the original, a duplicate transparency can be

N. C. BOREHAM Department of Adult and Higher Education University of Manchester, U.K.

MARGARET REDFORD-ELLIS Department of Medical Biochemistry University of Manchester

PAMELA RICHMOND Audio-Visual Service, University of Manchester

mounted in sequence in the Flipatran book, thus giving a smoother flow to the lecture. Dpulicates can also be colour-coded to illustrate different aspects of the topic. For instance, in this lecture the same basic transparency was colour-coded to illustrate the stoichiometry of the pathway, and also to highlight the links with glycolytic inter- mediates.

2. 'Pute-ups' reduce the amount of drawing. Preparation time can be saved by using the same drawings on several transparencies. For example, building up chemical formulae is very time con- suming. Where the same formula appears on more than one design, the artwork for the first t ransparency can be photocopied and the required formula cut out and pasted into position on the second drawing. Any outline of the past-up is lost in the subsequent photo- copying.

3. Artwork can be reduced in size. When smaller versions of the diagrams were needed, a Rank Xerox 7000 machine was used 7. For example, the advance organizer d iagrams were reduced for incorporation into subsequent transparencies, and flow diagrams showing part of a metabolic pathway were reduced and combined into complete pathways.

Although the initial preparation of these transparencies is time- consuming, once prepared they can be used for several years, and the response of the s tudents to their greater clarity and visual appeal is rewarding. It is easy and cheap to up-date or modify the lecture by addition or removal of transparencies. There are, more- over, several spin-offs which save time and facilitate teaching.

I. Diagrams can be incorporated into s tudent handouts by making heat stencils from Xerox copies, or by offset lithography.

2. Self-study packages can be produced for individual remedial study. Depending on the facilities available, these could be tape- slide or tape-book sequencies, or a 'revision book' could be produced. For the pentose phosphate pathway, a simple loose leaf book was made by Xeroxing reduced diagrams and the lecture notes. Diagrams were again coloured using adhesive sheets e. Some reduced transparencies were included where it was felt that this method of presentation aided understanding (for example, where symbols were used to show the transfer of carbon atoms from one molecule to another), and a complete picture was built up by super- imposing transparencies.

Equipment and Manufacturers (1) Flipatran 3M Visual Products Group, 3M House, Wigmore St., London W1A lET. (2) Pierce Varifont Printing Machine used with Varatape Image Carrier and Varatone Colour Carrier. Eurographics, Stafford Road, Weston-super-Mare. (3) Letraset Letraset U.K. Ltd., 17/19 Valentine Place, London SE1 8QN. (4) EM Transparency Maker, Model 164 see note 1. (5) Dry Photo Transparencies (projectionj Type 628 by 3M (see note 1). (6) 3M Colour-Adhesive Film (see note 1). (7) Rank Xerox 7000 Rank Xerox (UK) Ltd., Bank House, Charlotte Street, Manchester , M1 4ET.

REFERENCES I Biochemical Education 5 (1977), 32-35.

2 Boreham, N. C. & Richmond, P. Society for Research in Higher Education 1976 Conference Proceedings.