Professor Henry Hecht stands in front of his Depositions class and displays a sample deposition question on the classroom projection screen. He asks his students to consider whether the question is objectionable. After they respond, he picks up his stylus and underlines the objectionable parts of the question, identified by his students, in bright red so that his students can easily focus on the words or phrases that are being discussed and why they are objectionable. But instead of writing on a transparency and projecting it with a document camera, Professor Hecht writes directly on the screen of his iPad and what he writes shows on the screen.
No stranger to educational technology, Professor Hecht continues the lesson by asking the students as to whether they would object and how they would phrase their objection. He writes their answers onto his presentation. Seamlessly, Hecht can also bring up a blank slide on which to write down their answers, allowing him to highlight new points in a more dynamic fashion.
During his presentation, Hecht also uses his iPad to visit his bSpace course website where he has a selection of video clips stored for teaching. With a simple tap he now has his video playing on the screen. No DVD’s to lug around, just the content he needs, right when he needs it.
Using the iPad has not been without some barriers and a small learning curve, but the end result is effective. With a single device, the iPad, Hecht replaces his laptop computer, class whiteboard and document camera. And he no longer worries about forgetting a DVD in his office.
For more information on using an iPad in the classroom, or to learn about streaming video clips, contact John-Mark Ikeda at, jikeda@law.berkeley.edu.
Henry Hecht
Classes: Depositions, Negotiations: Theory and Practice
Henry Hecht served as an Assistant Special Prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1976 and was special counsel to the San Francisco firm of Heller Ehrman LLP from 1977 to 1983. He joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 1983. He is also an independent consultant on skills training for lawyers and co-founder of The Hecht Training Group, a group of attorneys who have each taught lawyering skills for more than 25 years. For more information on Professor Hecht, click here.