Buying Cheap Laser Pointers

When I was an undergrad, I always thought that cheap laser pointers were sort of a silly novelty item. I understood the thrill – after all, I had been raised on science fiction – but I couldn’t really see the practical value. Why couldn’t professors just point with a stick, or use a pen on the transparency?

Once I start lecturing myself, however, I began to get it. Cheap laser pointers really do make a difference. The thing is, as a professor you might find yourself in all kinds of different situations in terms of presentation. You might be in a small classroom one hour, and a large auditorium the next. You might be using a transparency one time, a chart another time, and an old-fashioned projector for a third lecture. The great thing about cheap laser pointers is that you can use them in all of these situations. Whether the room you are working in is big or small, a laser dot will be easily visible.