WEBVTT captioned by James Howell, checked by sachac NOTE Introduction 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.939 Hello everyone. I'm James Howell. 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:03.539 I teach biochemistry and 00:00:03.540 --> 00:00:07.219 molecular biology at Penn State University. 00:00:07.220 --> 00:00:08.879 I'm going to talk today 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.479 about using Emacs to make all of 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.619 the materials for presenting 00:00:13.620 --> 00:00:15.679 course meetings in my courses. 00:00:15.680 --> 00:00:18.819 Everything that you're going to see today is 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:20.439 what I've made using 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:23.519 the methods that I'm going to describe. 00:00:26.200 --> 00:00:29.719 The main point is that you can take 00:00:29.720 --> 00:00:32.079 an Org document and 00:00:32.080 --> 00:00:34.469 with a single Emacs document, 00:00:34.470 --> 00:00:39.079 make both a pretty text document 00:00:39.080 --> 00:00:40.379 that a student can have 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:42.039 on the desk and take notes on. 00:00:42.040 --> 00:00:44.439 And also, I hope, 00:00:44.440 --> 00:00:49.039 fairly useful and attractive slides 00:00:49.040 --> 00:00:51.339 like the ones that I'm presenting right now. 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:52.859 Both of these 00:00:52.860 --> 00:00:56.659 from a single source document. 00:00:56.660 --> 00:00:59.259 Okay. If you'd like 00:00:59.260 --> 00:01:00.919 to see the handout that goes along with this, 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:02.799 you can download it 00:01:02.800 --> 00:01:04.059 at the [Sourcehut] repository where 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:05.959 I've put— everything's here. 00:01:05.960 --> 00:01:07.819 So if you'd like to go look at it, 00:01:07.820 --> 00:01:09.939 you can follow with the handout. 00:01:09.940 --> 00:01:11.239 So I promised to talk about 00:01:11.240 --> 00:01:12.439 both authoring and presenting. NOTE Presenting 00:01:12.440 --> 00:01:14.619 And first I'm going to talk about presenting. 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:16.599 I'm not the only one who does this. 00:01:16.600 --> 00:01:19.299 You might have seen System Crafters [David Wilson] 00:01:19.300 --> 00:01:20.639 or Prot's [Protesilaos Stavrou's] channel or 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:23.059 Mike Zemansky's channel on Youtube. 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:26.679 (Prot actually is going to be presenting tomorrow.) 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:28.419 Maybe you've seen this 00:01:28.420 --> 00:01:30.179 chemical engineer at Carnegie Mellon, 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:32.159 John Kitchin or Eric Fraga 00:01:32.160 --> 00:01:34.139 or Olivier Berger all have made 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.519 blog posts about using Org mode 00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:39.419 to produce course materials. 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:41.459 This pair Ro and Namkoon 00:01:41.460 --> 00:01:43.739 actually published a peer reviewed paper. 00:01:43.740 --> 00:01:45.739 There's prior art here 00:01:45.740 --> 00:01:47.819 that I'd like to acknowledge. NOTE Hardware 00:01:47.820 --> 00:01:50.839 Let me talk about my practices: 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:51.518 First, the hardware. 00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:55.339 This is the hardware that I'm using to 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:59.738 record this recording at the very moment, 00:01:59.740 --> 00:02:01.259 but also I carry these 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:05.059 into every course meeting. 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:07.119 I've done this for quite a while, 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.618 this entire semester, 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:11.438 and a few previous semesters 00:02:11.440 --> 00:02:14.239 where everything fits in a backpack. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:18.459 I do every meeting with this tablet— 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:20.839 it's a Microsoft Surface that I put 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:26.599 a Linux distribution on—and this laptop. 00:02:26.600 --> 00:02:29.599 I've got a bag full of 00:02:29.600 --> 00:02:34.078 dongles and connectors and so forth. 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:35.339 It all fits in a backpack. 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:36.259 This is very mobile. 00:02:36.260 --> 00:02:38.179 I can set it up and tear it down 00:02:38.180 --> 00:02:39.699 before and after every class 00:02:39.700 --> 00:02:41.219 with just a couple minutes. 00:02:41.220 --> 00:02:42.739 There's the laptop and the 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:45.018 tablet with a stylus. 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:46.579 Where's my stylus? 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:51.498 So that I can draw... 00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:52.519 ... which is very useful. 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:55.858 Obviously, I need a camera. 00:02:55.860 --> 00:02:57.459 Today, I'm using a desk mic, 00:02:57.460 --> 00:02:59.099 but when I'm remote, 00:02:59.100 --> 00:03:01.738 I use a lapel mic. 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:02.899 and a video converter, 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:04.379 and I'll show you why that's important. 00:03:04.380 --> 00:03:09.018 And then all of the ancillary equipment. 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:11.139 One thing that's nice about using 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:14.019 a completely free software stack is 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:15.219 that it tends to run 00:03:15.220 --> 00:03:18.318 on underpowered hardware, 00:03:18.320 --> 00:03:20.539 and none of the software cost anything. 00:03:20.540 --> 00:03:23.219 I could have spent much less than this 00:03:23.220 --> 00:03:25.459 on a used computer and 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:28.199 a used tablet. And everything else, 00:03:28.200 --> 00:03:30.299 these are high estimates. 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:31.679 I spent way less than 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:34.019 $1,000 for all of this equipment. 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:35.619 And it's my equipment, 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:37.259 so I have hardware 00:03:37.260 --> 00:03:38.959 and software control over it, 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:41.099 Which is nice. 00:03:41.100 --> 00:03:43.239 If you have an attitude of upcycling and building, 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:45.189 and [if] this is a hobby anyway, 00:03:45.190 --> 00:03:47.129 this is an easy way— 00:03:47.130 --> 00:03:48.649 what I'm saying is— 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:51.369 the entry into using these things, 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:58.018 there's certainly a very low cost barrier. 00:03:58.020 --> 00:04:01.429 Because the hardware is so weak, 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:05.249 I have the tablet for doing tablet stuff, 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:06.629 and then I use the laptop to 00:04:06.630 --> 00:04:08.909 do all of the streaming and recording. 00:04:08.910 --> 00:04:11.609 I take the video output 00:04:11.610 --> 00:04:13.829 of the tablet and convert it to 00:04:13.830 --> 00:04:19.898 USB input into the laptop. 00:04:19.900 --> 00:04:21.929 Just to give you a diagram here, 00:04:21.930 --> 00:04:23.709 there's a laptop and there's a tablet. 00:04:23.710 --> 00:04:25.929 The tablet has a stylus. 00:04:25.930 --> 00:04:29.449 They both run GNU/Linux distributions. 00:04:29.450 --> 00:04:30.949 You've got a webcam that 00:04:30.950 --> 00:04:32.129 goes into the laptop. 00:04:32.130 --> 00:04:33.618 You've got video output 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:37.889 from the tablet that goes into the laptop. 00:04:37.890 --> 00:04:39.349 There's a microphone that 00:04:39.350 --> 00:04:40.469 goes into the laptop, 00:04:40.470 --> 00:04:43.209 and then audio and video come out of 00:04:43.210 --> 00:04:44.409 the laptop and go into 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:46.609 some AV system or another. NOTE Example setup 00:04:46.610 --> 00:04:49.069 Okay. This was Wednesday, 00:04:49.070 --> 00:04:51.069 teaching microbiology. 00:04:51.070 --> 00:04:53.229 There's the tablet, there's the laptop. 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:55.369 There's the external screen 00:04:55.370 --> 00:04:57.209 in the podium here you can 00:04:57.210 --> 00:04:59.549 plug into the AV system. 00:05:00.470 --> 00:05:04.209 There it is. From where I stand, 00:05:04.210 --> 00:05:06.009 this is what the screen looks like. 00:05:06.010 --> 00:05:08.224 This is what students are seeing, 00:05:08.225 --> 00:05:09.459 on the live stream 00:05:09.460 --> 00:05:10.779 and later on the recording. 00:05:10.780 --> 00:05:11.719 And students in the room 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:12.639 can see this as well. 00:05:12.640 --> 00:05:15.099 So you notice this is kind of meta, 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:17.139 but the camera and 00:05:17.140 --> 00:05:18.759 the contents of the screen are 00:05:18.760 --> 00:05:20.499 there when I wander around, 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:22.219 and when I stand in front of the screen, 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:23.939 the students who aren't in the room can 00:05:23.940 --> 00:05:27.398 still see what I'm pointing to on the screen. 00:05:27.400 --> 00:05:30.518 Nobody gets left out. NOTE Presentation software: flexibility in function 00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:31.479 Let's talk about 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:33.579 the software that I use. 00:05:33.900 --> 00:05:35.979 There's a lot of different things that 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:37.639 I want to be able to show. 00:05:37.640 --> 00:05:39.299 And so I need a few different 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:42.399 software packages— besides Emacs. 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:45.079 For drawing on the tablet, I use 00:05:45.080 --> 00:05:48.359 (I don't know quite how this is pronounced: 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:51.139 I think it's) Xournal++ 00:05:51.200 --> 00:05:54.039 I use the web quite a bit, 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:55.719 especially if I want to just 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:57.759 spontaneously look something up. 00:05:57.760 --> 00:05:59.679 Often I use video, 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:01.499 especially molecular animations. 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:04.699 And that's incredibly powerful. 00:06:04.700 --> 00:06:06.939 And then now and again, I want to look at text. 00:06:06.940 --> 00:06:08.059 Especially in 00:06:08.060 --> 00:06:09.799 the English course that I teach, 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:11.839 there's quite a bit of text. 00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:14.239 I'll use Emacs for that. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:18.439 The video compositor, the thing that 00:06:18.440 --> 00:06:22.479 puts this video and me in the green screen. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:25.419 and all of this stuff together, is called 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:34.818 OBS Studio—and that also does recording. 00:06:34.820 --> 00:06:37.509 It's ALMOST a completely free software stack. 00:06:37.510 --> 00:06:38.749 I use Zoom to do 00:06:38.750 --> 00:06:39.929 the streaming and video 00:06:39.930 --> 00:06:41.029 conferencing because all of 00:06:41.030 --> 00:06:42.409 the students are forced to use it for 00:06:42.410 --> 00:06:44.218 their other classes and 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:45.409 I've gone along with it. 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:46.669 But a good alternative is 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:48.858 Jitsi Meet. There are others. 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:50.729 Okay. Again, here's 00:06:50.730 --> 00:06:53.789 the hardware setup. On the tablet, 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:56.589 I'm running Xournal++. On the laptop, 00:06:56.590 --> 00:07:00.229 I've got Firefox and VLC, and Emacs. 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:02.889 OBS is compositing that together. 00:07:02.890 --> 00:07:05.949 And I use Zoom, but you could use Jitsi. NOTE Live demonstration 00:07:05.950 --> 00:07:07.929 All right, let's 00:07:07.930 --> 00:07:09.689 demonstrate this live. Here we go. 00:07:09.690 --> 00:07:13.609 Here goes, nothing. The drawing program 00:07:13.610 --> 00:07:15.049 is really good because I can draw 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.529 with the stylus on a tablet. 00:07:17.970 --> 00:07:20.089 It's a remarkable thing— 00:07:20.090 --> 00:07:22.409 I teach in these big lecture halls, 00:07:22.410 --> 00:07:24.409 and I guess they want them to be fancy? 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:25.969 And so they don't have blackboards and 00:07:25.970 --> 00:07:29.009 whiteboards! If I want to be able to draw, 00:07:29.010 --> 00:07:32.169 if I want to do anything approaching analog, 00:07:32.170 --> 00:07:34.769 it has to be with this software! 00:07:35.290 --> 00:07:37.809 In this presentation, I 00:07:37.810 --> 00:07:39.489 don't have very many diagrams, 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:41.509 but in my courses, most of 00:07:41.510 --> 00:07:44.249 the slides are complicated diagrams. 00:07:44.250 --> 00:07:45.809 Being able to annotate them 00:07:45.810 --> 00:07:47.549 is really important. 00:07:47.550 --> 00:07:50.629 This is why I don't use Emacs for 00:07:50.630 --> 00:07:54.529 presenting these kinds of documents, 00:07:54.530 --> 00:07:55.809 because I want to be able 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:57.449 to mark them up visually. 00:07:57.450 --> 00:07:59.849 I can show you what that looks like. NOTE OBS 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:02.829 By the way, here's how OBS works: 00:08:02.830 --> 00:08:04.469 I can go from different "scenes" 00:08:04.470 --> 00:08:06.069 So I can just do just me, 00:08:06.070 --> 00:08:08.129 or I can show you the slides, 00:08:08.130 --> 00:08:10.789 or I can show you what I see on the tablet. 00:08:10.790 --> 00:08:12.269 On the tablet, I can go 00:08:12.270 --> 00:08:14.229 through all of the— notice here, 00:08:14.230 --> 00:08:16.129 I'm scrolling through all 00:08:16.130 --> 00:08:17.349 of the different slides. 00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:19.989 I've got all kinds of different markup tools, 00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:23.169 and tools for controlling 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:24.829 zoom and what page I'm on, 00:08:24.830 --> 00:08:27.189 but you don't have to see that. NOTE Firefox 00:08:27.190 --> 00:08:32.389 Okay. Firefox, boy, I do a lot of this. 00:08:32.390 --> 00:08:36.789 All of the quizzes, 00:08:36.790 --> 00:08:38.459 quizzes and exams in my courses 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:40.129 are online on this 00:08:40.130 --> 00:08:43.369 web platform called Canvas, 00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:45.429 which is good enough. 00:08:45.430 --> 00:08:49.589 It's based on a GPL3 package, 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:53.069 but this one is proprietary for Penn State. 00:08:53.070 --> 00:08:55.129 Notice that there's a quiz 00:08:55.130 --> 00:08:57.049 every day, and this quiz, 00:08:57.050 --> 00:08:59.469 every quiz has a recording from 00:08:59.470 --> 00:09:00.629 that day and you notice 00:09:00.630 --> 00:09:01.889 there's a picture of me teaching, 00:09:01.890 --> 00:09:05.029 pointing to the slides. 00:09:05.030 --> 00:09:06.969 There's the slides themselves. 00:09:06.970 --> 00:09:09.589 I use OBS to composite in 00:09:09.590 --> 00:09:12.769 the Zoom chat because I teach this hybrid. 00:09:12.770 --> 00:09:13.709 There's people in the room 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:14.569 and there's people at 00:09:14.570 --> 00:09:17.629 other campuses who are in this course. 00:09:17.630 --> 00:09:19.389 Having the Zoom chat in 00:09:19.390 --> 00:09:22.649 the live feed is very useful. 00:09:22.650 --> 00:09:25.729 Then the quiz— 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:26.669 at the next class meeting, 00:09:26.670 --> 00:09:27.889 we'll go through this quiz. 00:09:27.890 --> 00:09:30.049 Here's some experimental data 00:09:30.050 --> 00:09:31.649 and here's a question where they're 00:09:31.650 --> 00:09:36.589 supposed to interpret these data. 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:38.849 We can in class together, 00:09:38.850 --> 00:09:41.629 we can review those. 00:09:41.630 --> 00:09:45.369 That's why Firefox is useful. 00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:50.569 Being able to inhabit, 00:09:50.570 --> 00:09:52.829 being able to inhabit 00:09:52.830 --> 00:09:56.869 figures like this is incredibly powerful. 00:09:56.870 --> 00:09:59.349 This is the silver lining of being 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:02.129 forced to teach online during the pandemic, 00:10:02.130 --> 00:10:03.069 because I couldn't do 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:05.759 this before I had a green screen. 00:10:05.760 --> 00:10:09.539 But even more powerful than this— 00:10:09.540 --> 00:10:10.819 For years, I showed students 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:12.339 this figure by standing in front 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:13.699 of it or by having a 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:15.239 projector screen above me. 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.459 And I said, "This is the B form of DNA." 00:10:18.460 --> 00:10:20.379 "This is the most common form of DNA." 00:10:20.380 --> 00:10:22.579 "You see here that there's this minor groove." 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:23.419 "And then this feature 00:10:23.420 --> 00:10:24.419 is called the major groove." 00:10:24.420 --> 00:10:26.059 And students couldn't see it. NOTE Animation 00:10:26.060 --> 00:10:29.439 But if you animate it— 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:30.279 if you just have it 00:10:30.280 --> 00:10:33.319 move, the apparent movement, 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:34.399 It's not really movement, 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:35.379 it's apparent movement. 00:10:35.380 --> 00:10:37.819 And it tricks your visual cortex into 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:40.319 adding three dimensional structure to this. 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:42.579 You can see this feature is 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:45.339 the major groove and that feature 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:47.219 is the minor groove. And a static 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:48.319 image just can't provide 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.399 that understanding, while moving image can. NOTE Emacs 00:10:55.790 --> 00:10:58.179 I use Emacs to look at text. 00:10:58.180 --> 00:11:02.519 Where's Emacs? Here's Emacs! We read 00:11:02.520 --> 00:11:04.279 Vonnegut in this English class that I 00:11:04.280 --> 00:11:07.759 teach and I'm going to tab over to Emacs. 00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:09.859 It's nice to be able 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:12.419 to have text jump 00:11:12.420 --> 00:11:14.159 around and be dynamic, right? 00:11:14.160 --> 00:11:16.859 If you, if you want to look 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:18.039 at this passage and I'll 00:11:18.040 --> 00:11:19.259 have somebody read it aloud. 00:11:19.260 --> 00:11:20.819 And then we talk about why he chose 00:11:20.820 --> 00:11:22.499 this word and why he chose that word, 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:25.179 and the cadence, and the alliteration. 00:11:25.180 --> 00:11:30.839 Then we can go to another particular excerpt 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.439 and pick that apart on the screen together. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:34.899 That would be difficult to do with 00:11:34.900 --> 00:11:36.819 other software that would be very tedious 00:11:36.820 --> 00:11:39.399 to do on the chalkboard. 00:11:39.400 --> 00:11:42.259 So Emacs is really good for that sort of thing. NOTE Making slides and handouts with Org Mode 00:11:42.260 --> 00:11:45.379 Mostly what I use Emacs for is not to 00:11:45.380 --> 00:11:50.339 present but to make slides and handouts. 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.359 Okay. Again, the thing that I want to 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:54.219 stress is that the slides 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:56.739 and the handouts can be produced from 00:11:56.740 --> 00:12:01.179 a single Org mode document. 00:12:01.180 --> 00:12:04.059 This entire presentation 00:12:04.060 --> 00:12:05.699 was assembled in Emacs. 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:07.939 I'll show you how I did that. 00:12:08.420 --> 00:12:11.619 I think everybody 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:13.159 probably knows what Org mode is. 00:12:13.160 --> 00:12:14.639 But for our purposes, it's a way 00:12:14.640 --> 00:12:16.119 to write documents in plain text. 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:19.839 That's very important because one of 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.019 the biggest advantages of this is 00:12:22.020 --> 00:12:24.739 being able to do version control. 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:27.779 I don't have Powerpoint decks 00:12:27.780 --> 00:12:29.359 everywhere with slides that 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.239 there's no way to keep track of them. 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:32.459 Having these be plain text 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:33.579 means that I can just put them in 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:36.139 a git repository. 00:12:36.140 --> 00:12:37.899 Very clean and human readable markup 00:12:37.900 --> 00:12:41.159 including handling tables 00:12:41.160 --> 00:12:43.339 which is just incredibly powerful. 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:45.459 You can manage projects and tasks. 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:47.299 But the fact that it's an outline 00:12:47.300 --> 00:12:48.979 that you can produce a document that's 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:51.279 hierarchical and fold and 00:12:51.280 --> 00:12:52.979 reveal different parts of it. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:57.119 But to produce a book length lectures for 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:58.919 an entire semester and use 00:12:58.920 --> 00:13:01.399 those to produce both slides and handouts, 00:13:01.400 --> 00:13:03.179 that's very powerful, 00:13:03.180 --> 00:13:04.999 at least for my brain. To be able to 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:06.779 put it all together and have it be 00:13:06.780 --> 00:13:08.399 discursive rather 00:13:08.400 --> 00:13:09.919 than having to be graphical. 00:13:09.920 --> 00:13:11.879 You can export to 00:13:11.880 --> 00:13:15.059 a million different formats including 00:13:15.060 --> 00:13:16.999 PDF documents like the handouts as 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:22.679 LaTeX, and slides like these through Beamer export. NOTE Pedagogy first 00:13:22.680 --> 00:13:24.919 The approach is to think 00:13:24.920 --> 00:13:26.899 about pedagogy rather than thinking 00:13:26.900 --> 00:13:28.279 about software or thinking 00:13:28.280 --> 00:13:30.999 about graphic design. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.599 To think about how can 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:34.379 I make the best argument? 00:13:34.380 --> 00:13:35.979 How can I make the best, 00:13:35.980 --> 00:13:40.879 the most effective sequence of ideas? 00:13:40.880 --> 00:13:44.999 All I've done is make a few tweaks to 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.979 the export backends for LaTeX and 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.979 Beamer to customize them 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:51.499 for my particular needs. 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:54.599 And I'll show you what I've done. 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:58.059 You've seen this already. I'll put 00:13:58.060 --> 00:14:00.899 one idea in big text on the screen. 00:14:00.900 --> 00:14:04.619 I find it to be effective to 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:09.119 make a single idea explicit at one time. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.259 Now, some concepts can 00:14:12.260 --> 00:14:14.799 be explained with words or text, 00:14:14.800 --> 00:14:20.259 but many ideas are best just illustrated. 00:14:20.260 --> 00:14:22.539 In contrast, we've 00:14:22.540 --> 00:14:23.979 all used Powerpoint, right? 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:25.699 And Edward Tufte has taught us 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:27.479 about how Powerpoint is so 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:29.239 terrible from a cognitive point of 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.799 view and from a communications point of view. 00:14:31.800 --> 00:14:35.398 So using Org mode is much better. 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:36.759 How is it better? 00:14:36.760 --> 00:14:41.479 Well, Tufte also tells us that 00:14:42.040 --> 00:14:49.049 any oral presentation that is substantive at all 00:14:49.050 --> 00:14:52.629 has to have some physical handout 00:14:52.630 --> 00:14:55.709 that the audience can use to take notes on. 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:58.749 Slides are terrible handouts. 00:14:59.030 --> 00:15:02.129 And notes are usually terrible slides. 00:15:02.130 --> 00:15:03.689 Having one document where you 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:05.849 can produce both and have them be, 00:15:05.850 --> 00:15:08.409 have the same organization, 00:15:08.410 --> 00:15:10.349 but different structures and 00:15:10.350 --> 00:15:14.749 different visual organization is 00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:16.609 something that I wanted 00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:18.629 for a long time and I can only do it 00:15:18.630 --> 00:15:20.019 with Emacs. 00:15:20.020 --> 00:15:21.409 Being able 00:15:21.410 --> 00:15:22.729 also for my brain to 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:25.309 separate the work of writing and developing 00:15:25.310 --> 00:15:28.469 ideas and developing explanations 00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:30.049 and developing arguments 00:15:30.050 --> 00:15:31.429 and scaffolding them. 00:15:31.430 --> 00:15:33.689 That's jargon in pedagogy 00:15:33.690 --> 00:15:36.889 for bringing the student along. 00:15:36.890 --> 00:15:41.349 Separate that work from wrangling slides. 00:15:41.350 --> 00:15:44.529 That's super helpful for me. 00:15:44.530 --> 00:15:46.709 Again, you have 00:15:46.710 --> 00:15:48.229 an Org document that makes 00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:51.369 both the handouts and the slides. 00:15:51.370 --> 00:15:53.449 What's beautiful about it is 00:15:53.450 --> 00:15:54.649 that everything is an outline. 00:15:54.650 --> 00:15:56.429 And again, it's very discursive. 00:15:56.430 --> 00:15:59.109 Here's Tufte's famous poster where he's making 00:15:59.110 --> 00:16:02.009 fun of the psychology of Powerpoint. 00:16:02.010 --> 00:16:05.749 I don't know about you, but I have the kind of brain 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:07.609 and I'm in the kind of job 00:16:07.610 --> 00:16:09.909 and I'm at the age where I don't have extra 00:16:09.910 --> 00:16:12.049 cognitive function! You know? 00:16:12.050 --> 00:16:15.729 So streamlining this workflow 00:16:15.730 --> 00:16:17.789 has been really helpful. NOTE org-teach 00:16:17.790 --> 00:16:19.309 All right, so let me show 00:16:19.310 --> 00:16:21.649 you what I've developed. 00:16:21.650 --> 00:16:24.489 Let's look at the Org doc. 00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:25.829 Okay. So what you see is you have 00:16:25.830 --> 00:16:30.769 a typical Org mode buffer. 00:16:30.770 --> 00:16:32.849 There's two headings here. 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:35.529 One of them is stuff that I've deleted and 00:16:35.530 --> 00:16:39.269 the other is the talk. 00:16:39.270 --> 00:16:43.109 And so all of these subheadings have 00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:46.389 various things underneath including 00:16:46.390 --> 00:16:48.969 these macros that I wrote like `include-slide`, 00:16:48.970 --> 00:16:51.229 `impact-slide`, `subsection-slide`, 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:54.909 et cetera, and then a bunch of stuff. 00:16:54.950 --> 00:16:59.309 Then I've got this include 00:16:59.310 --> 00:17:01.629 file that just has 00:17:01.630 --> 00:17:03.289 the macros that I've written. 00:17:03.290 --> 00:17:05.449 You can look at this on the repo. 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:06.289 I'm not going to take 00:17:06.290 --> 00:17:07.569 the time to walk through it and 00:17:07.570 --> 00:17:10.369 explain what all the LaTeX means. 00:17:10.370 --> 00:17:16.509 But the upshot is 00:17:16.510 --> 00:17:20.549 that by including that file 00:17:20.550 --> 00:17:22.429 that has all the macro definitions, 00:17:22.430 --> 00:17:25.649 you get things like this macro pause 00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:27.689 or newline or whitespace-break, 00:17:27.690 --> 00:17:30.809 which just allow— 00:17:30.810 --> 00:17:33.009 pause splits a slide into two frames, 00:17:33.010 --> 00:17:34.569 so you can get these overlays, 00:17:34.570 --> 00:17:36.309 so you can go through paragraphs one by one. 00:17:36.310 --> 00:17:38.629 These just put 00:17:38.630 --> 00:17:42.649 white space in. 00:17:44.650 --> 00:17:47.109 Text-slides: This thing here, this title 00:17:47.110 --> 00:17:49.169 is level three heading. 00:17:49.170 --> 00:17:50.189 Figure-slides: 00:17:50.190 --> 00:17:52.049 the same thing are level three headings. 00:17:52.050 --> 00:17:54.009 One of the most powerful things 00:17:54.010 --> 00:17:56.229 is that I can take other files, 00:17:56.230 --> 00:18:00.149 I can take other Org files that have level 00:18:00.150 --> 00:18:02.789 three headings that are slides and those can 00:18:02.790 --> 00:18:06.209 be in some other repository. 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:08.509 I only need to have one version of 00:18:08.510 --> 00:18:09.909 that slide that I 00:18:09.910 --> 00:18:12.749 can use in multiple courses. 00:18:13.230 --> 00:18:17.109 Just that functionality is 00:18:17.110 --> 00:18:19.909 incredibly helpful for keeping 00:18:19.910 --> 00:18:22.809 track of work from a few years ago. 00:18:22.810 --> 00:18:24.269 All of these I'm going to 00:18:24.270 --> 00:18:25.929 explain in the next few slides. 00:18:25.930 --> 00:18:27.709 The section slides 00:18:27.710 --> 00:18:29.909 correspond to course modules. 00:18:29.910 --> 00:18:31.129 Each of these is going to 00:18:31.130 --> 00:18:32.549 be a few weeks of a course. 00:18:32.550 --> 00:18:34.629 This is a major division of a course. 00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:36.909 I have some macros so that I can decorate 00:18:36.910 --> 00:18:41.389 this with relevant information. 00:18:41.390 --> 00:18:43.469 Then for every subsection, 00:18:43.470 --> 00:18:45.569 level two headline, that 00:18:45.570 --> 00:18:46.729 corresponds to a major 00:18:46.730 --> 00:18:48.589 course topic in the module. 00:18:48.590 --> 00:18:50.209 Then text slides, again, 00:18:50.210 --> 00:18:52.849 level three headlines become 00:18:52.850 --> 00:18:53.969 titles for the slide, 00:18:53.970 --> 00:18:58.859 and level four headlines become text elements. 00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:01.679 Most of my slides look like this. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:03.139 They're figures. 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:05.859 Here's the glycolytic pathway. 00:19:06.020 --> 00:19:09.979 Level three gives you the title. 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:14.279 It's missing here actually, 00:19:14.280 --> 00:19:16.719 but there's a way you can put in captions. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.959 This line here just tells 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.039 the LaTeX export backend 00:19:21.040 --> 00:19:24.219 how big you want it and stuff like that. 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:29.139 Impact slides, they have to go under H1 or H2. 00:19:29.140 --> 00:19:32.179 And they just give you one of these text slides. 00:19:32.450 --> 00:19:35.649 For an entire slide being an image, 00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:38.249 you can use this image-slide macro. NOTE Blank slides 00:19:38.330 --> 00:19:41.129 I often put in blank slides to 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:43.269 remind myself that this is a time to stop. 00:19:43.270 --> 00:19:44.789 Often there's something for me to 00:19:44.790 --> 00:19:47.369 draw here with the stylus. NOTE Animations 00:19:50.050 --> 00:19:53.149 I often use— it used to be Powerpoint, 00:19:53.150 --> 00:19:56.069 now I use LibreOffice Impress—to make 00:19:56.070 --> 00:19:58.309 multi slide animations like 00:19:58.310 --> 00:20:01.309 the sphere and the donut and the GI tract. 00:20:01.310 --> 00:20:03.249 And this hardware thing 00:20:03.250 --> 00:20:05.269 that I did for you today, 00:20:05.270 --> 00:20:07.949 I export those animations as PDFs. 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:14.469 Then I can just slurp them up into the slides. 00:20:14.470 --> 00:20:16.669 Just into the slides, not into 00:20:16.670 --> 00:20:19.269 the handouts with this macro. NOTE Conclusion 00:20:19.270 --> 00:20:21.489 I hope that you find this useful. 00:20:21.490 --> 00:20:22.449 I hope you share it with 00:20:22.450 --> 00:20:24.089 other educators that you know. 00:20:24.090 --> 00:20:27.149 Here is the sourcehut repo, 00:20:27.150 --> 00:20:29.069 here's how to get in touch with me. 00:20:29.070 --> 00:20:32.569 I look forward to addressing your questions. 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:34.989 I want to say thank you 00:20:34.990 --> 00:20:36.609 to Sacha [Chua] and the organizers, 00:20:36.610 --> 00:20:38.449 and to everyone who made this possible and 00:20:38.450 --> 00:20:40.689 to all of you in the community. 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:42.769 Because as we all know, 00:20:42.770 --> 00:20:47.429 that that's what makes Emacs such a strong 00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:50.089 and powerful package is 00:20:50.090 --> 00:20:51.329 all of the people behind it. 00:20:51.330 --> 00:20:53.169 Thanks everybody.