In April 2002, Meiji Pharmaceutical University began using the digital blackboard software EduCanvas in combination with Wacom’s LCD Interactive Pen Displays, and has since seen a dramatic increase in the passing rate of students who take Japan’s National License Exam for Pharmacists. The combination not only allows professors to spontaneously adapt prepared materials, but records all visual and audio material for students’ future reference.

Lectures on National Exam preparation with EduCanvas and Wacom produced immediate results. The Meiji Pharmaceutical University ranked 19th out of 46 schools in terms of student passing rate in the March 2002 Exam before they introduced EduCanvas into the classroom. In 2003 when the first students who attended lectures with the EduCanvas system finished their Exams, the University ranked 7th and in 2004 they were 5th. (Source: Nihon Ishiyaku Kenshu Kyokai http://www.ishiyaku-k.com/)

In the most recent 2005 Exam the University ranked 1st with a 95.38% passing rate over all and 99.24% passing rate for new graduates! These new graduates spent 3 out of their 4 years at Meiji learning with this system, and their outstanding performance shows the system’s effectiveness.

The success of the EduCanvas and Wacom combination in recent years was so dramatic that other universities are beginning to introduce this new teaching style into their classrooms.

Lectures become easier to see, easier to understand

BEFORE

Prior to the introduction of the EduCanvas and Wacom LCD Display combination, professors displayed prepared material on the large screen with a projector and used the whiteboard to draw diagrams and write notes.

Students often complained that in the large lecture hall, the whiteboard was too small and could not be read unless you were sitting at the front. And, since professors often add a lot of information to their lectures, they would erase what they wrote on the whiteboard too quickly. Since most students could not see it anyway, often professors would simply not write anything at all.

AFTER

However, this was not only a problem in the large lecture hall, so the University installed Wacom LCD Displays and EduCanvas in all their classrooms completely solving the problem. The professor would write directly onto the LCD Display, and his notes would appear on the overhead screen. Students in the back could see clearly and the professor did not block the whiteboard as he wrote.

Creating an interactive, dynamic lecture style

In the medical industry, information is continually being updated. New bacteria and viruses are discovered and new techniques and equipment are under constant development. Laws and regulations as well are always changing. What a professor taught one day, may need to be revised, renewed and updated the next. Even in the official National Exam, what may have been the correct answer one day may need to be changed the next. Busy professors who don’t have the time to continually update their teaching material naturally need the spontaneity offered by plain whiteboards to write notes, draw diagrams, etc. The pen tablet based lecture style provides this spontaneity in the classroom.

With Wacom’s LCD Interactive Pen Display lecture preparation is simply a matter of displaying digital files (for example a PowerPoint presentation, Excel or Word file) using a projector. At Meiji, professors use a PowerPoint presentation for classes of up to 450 students in the large lecture hall. The presentation is displayed using the two large overhead screens, and using mark up features provided in the EduCanvas software, lecturers can write directly onto LCD Display on the podium to underline key points, clarify questions, or draw diagrams spontaneously. Everything is recorded in real time so that student can see later the exact order in which those notes were drawn.

Thinking process revealed in playback

The most advantageous feature of EduCanvas is perhaps its ability to record visual and audio material from lectures. Each lecture is 80 minutes long and often there is too much complicated material for the students to understand and remember in that short time. Even if they take notes or think they understand most of the Exam problems, students inevitably miss important points. So the ability to review the lecture and go over difficult points again and again has helped students tremendously in their studies.

As the student watches to the diagrams being drawn, he hears the professor say, “This is the most important point” or “The name comes from the shape”. EduCanvas’ unique recording method allows the combined review of lecture audio and visual notes made by the professor with the Wacom LCD pen display. Repeatedly reviewing the order of what is written as the student listens to the professor, reveals the thinking process involved in the problem. Every time the student watches the explanation of a problem, he understands more and more.

Full review of lectures available to students on the Internet

At first, the archived lectures were only available on campus, but after requests from a large number of students, last year the University began offering these lectures to their student over the Internet. Students could now review lectures from home. In 3 short months, the lectures were accessed 2300 times, and all the students who accessed ten times or more passed the National Exam.

How can this long lecture be downloaded from the Internet when a Hollywood movie takes up an entire DVD? The EduCanvas software records a 90-minute in a mere 10MB to 30MB! This small size makes archiving as well as downloading fast and easy.

Digital Education Leader at a Low Cost

Combined with the digital recording of the professor’s voice at the press of a button, the creation of a digital record of the lecture is simple and requires no outside expertise. At the end of the lecture, the digital record is automatically saved on the University’s server. And with the EduCanvas recording system, this material is produced at no cost of hiring cameramen to record the lecture or computer experts to manage the hundreds of lectures. In this age of increasing digital education, MeijiPharmaceuticalUniversity is well ahead of other academic institutions with an offering of nearly 500 different digital records. Their goal of 1000 is well within reach as more professors take advantage of the EduCanvas and Wacom combination to record their lectures.

The combination of EduCanvas and Wacom’s LCD Interactive Pen Display makes lectures easier to see and understand, and has revolutionized the way students review their notes. Students at MeijiPharmaceuticalUniversity are now able to “replay” classes until they fully understand the complicated material. The University has received numerous requests from students to digitize all University lectures—a testament to the success of this amazing educational technology.

About EduCanvas

EduCanvas is a unique educational software suite produced by Medic Quest Co., Ltd. for the Japanese market. Visit http://www.mqsys.jp for more information.