Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1995

close-up of a single face, seemed to provide the theatre with insuperable competition. But it has not turned out to be so. The theatre is alive and well — probably stronger than it was in the 30s. Whilst the impact of computer aided learning has so far been modest, and I have tried to suggest some of the reasons for this slow progress, I have absolutely no doubt that it should and will play an increasingly important role in supporting and enriching university teaching. It will be driven to some extent by the economic constraints faced by most universities. It will also be driven by rapidly improved technology. If we can but tame it, it will provide the means for enhanced individual learning and, above all, teaching which adapts itself automatically and closely to the particular needs and specific personality of each individual student. There are also quite new opportunities, embraced by the concept of Virtual reality', which will in time make an impact. The ability to wander through a remote art gallery stopping in front of individual pictures, perhaps with the possibility of examining a close-up of a detail, will surely prove invaluable to students of history of art. The ability to 'reconstruct' a building which is now but ruins and allow entry and inspection as if it were still there, must transform some studies of architecture. These things already exist up to a point. In my view though, the image quality and the speed of presentation which are currently available set a severe limit to its utility. But the technology will improve; the financial resources needed to create such learning tools will accrue. In time it will happen. In themean time, and in my view for ever after too, students will still go to lectures. There will be a person standing at the front of the class. She or he will seek to create the subject before the students' eyes. She or he will try to ensure that those eyes do not glaze over, or worse, become hidden altogether. During this week, in the UK alone there will be about seven million lectures 'received' — three quarter of a million students each participating in around 10 lectures. I have already stated my conviction that tutorials on the whole work well whilst lectures all too often do not. The question which I have wondered about for many years 一 is there not some way in which we can appeal to technology, to bring to the lecture some of the features that make the tutorial a more riveting experience? Helped by two doctoral research students I have now had the opportunity to try to find out. The basic concept on which we have embarked is based on the provision of an electronic feedback path from each student to the lecturer. The simplest function would be for the students to have the ability to signal 一 privately! — to the lecturer that she or he is going too fast for comprehension, or too slow to sustain interest. The lecturer would see a distribution curve on a screen which would enable him to adjust his delivery. In addition, the lecturer can periodically interrupt the presentation and ask multiple choice questions. The results could be presented as a bar chart. If the lecturer discovers from this that what was clear to him was demonstrably not so to the class of students, he can go over the same ground again or better, approach the same issues from a somewhat different angle. We intend the responses from the students to be anonymous, thereby ensuring the full participation of all of those present. We will embark on serious experiments with this method of teaching next year. It is important to appreciate that what is suggested is not an electronic aid to an established teaching modality; rather it w i ll require a totally new style of presentation in the lecture theatre. It is intended to make the encounter between teacher and students more like that experienced in a tutorial. It will above all give the students an active role throughout the lecture 一 and that in my view is absolutely the first requirement for a successful learning experience. Will it work? We do not know. That is why it is a research project. I have had the opportunity of making a minor contribution to this university when it was about half as old as it is now, by acting as the external examiner for the Department of Electronics — the department created by the Vice-Chancellor in a previous capacity. I have a belief though that honorary graduates should also aspire to contribute to the University after they have been so honoured. I am sure that I can speak for my fellow honorary graduates today, in saying that we would all like the opportunity to be of some service in the future. For my own part, Vice-Chancellor, should I discover how to teach, I will surely be happy to tell you. 48th Congregation 12