4

Washburn Law School Association

Board of Governors■

D. Duke Dupre, President ‘73

Steven G. Cooper, President-Elect ‘73

Stephen W. Cavanaugh, Vice President ‘80

David E. Pierce, Secretary Treasurer ‘77

Linda D. Henry Elrod, Executive Secretary ‘72

Bernard A. Bianchino, Past President ‘74

H. Allan Caldwell, Foundation President ‘73

Lillian A. Apodaca ‘85

Mark Beshears ‘76

Rita J. Bicknell ‘95

Hon. J. Patrick Brazil ‘62

William D. Bunten ‘56

Nancy Landis Caplinger ‘85

Bart A. Chavez ‘85

H. Phillip Elwood ‘71

Richmond Enochs ‘63

Stewart L. Entz ‘65

David A. Fenley ‘79

Carol G. Green ‘81

Winton M. Hinkle ‘68

Paul R. Hoferer ‘75

Ward E. Loyd ‘68

Terry Mann ‘86

Gary McCallister ‘75

Carol Duffy McDowell ‘75

Shoko K. Sevart ‘73

Sabrina K. Standifer ‘99

Stephen J. Torline ‘97

Hon. Gregory L. Waller ‘73

Roger W. Warren ‘88

■

WINTER 2005

Each year, new technologyis incorporated into thelaw school curriculum andancillary law school serv-ices but only after it’stested and proven to havepractical application thatenhances the students’ lawschool experience.

In some law schoolsand courtrooms, thisis the classroom of thefuture. For WashburnUniversity School ofLaw, this is technologybeing used by stu-dents today.

Some of Washburn Law’stechnology has been inplace for a while, like high-

speed wireless throughout the build-ing for ease of Internet access by stu-dents, alumni and visitors, whileother technology is in its infancy orin some cases only a rough sketchon a notepad.

Each year, new technology is incor-porated into the law school curricu-lum and ancillary law school servic-es but only after it’s tested andproven to have practical applicationthat enhances the students’ lawschool experience.

5

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

The Washburn Lawyer

Courtroom, classroom andlibrary technologies readystudents, law school for thefuture Chalk and erasers have given way to delete keys and

laptops. Projection screens and interactive software areused in place of flip charts and handouts. A plasmascreen and a document camera allow counsel to “show” rather than just “tell.”

WASHBURN LAWCLASSROOMTECHNOLOGY

Interactive lecterns allowprofessors to access DVD,Laptop, VCR and documentcamera

The Sympodium consolecombines an interactivescreen with SMART Boardsoftware and a stylus for aninteractive writing surfacethat allows professors towrite electronic notes overthe top of computer applica-tions, Web site or video andthen save, print, E-mail orpost the notes on-line.

Professors use the systemfor delivering prepared orimpromptu material, high-lighting information orbringing up images andWeb sites to enhance theclassroom experience.

Remote control responsepads allow students to par-ticipate in ClassroomPerformance Systemquizzes.

One hundred percent ofclassrooms are wired (desk-top Internet ports andpower outlets)

CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

With the addition of Internet access, laptop com-puters, video displays and conferencing, andother visual presentation software, WashburnLaw faculty are better able to meet the needs ofstudents while enhancing class preparation, cre-ativity and convenience.

No matter the professor or the technology used,the overriding reason many are incorporatingmore technology into the classroom is toimprove student engagement to reach a newgeneration of law student.

Washburn Law professors engage their studentswith a variety of tactics, and each continues tofine-tune his or her current techniques while dis-covering new ways, with the assistance of tech-nology, to reach their students.

Professor Ali Khan’s classroom teaching philoso-phy is simple – class time is valuable so use itwisely. Professor Khan is able to live that philos-ophy by taking advantage of the technology avail-able at Washburn Law.

“Class time is so important to me that I don’twant to waste a single minute,” Professor Khansaid. “The students must feel that the class isvaluable. In a one-hour class, wasting one minuteof my time wastes 17 minutes collectively of mystudents’ time,” he said.

6WINTER 2005

PowerPoint presen-tations assistProfessor Khan inmanaging classroomtime while the visualmaterials engage thestudents in the classdiscussion.

“With PowerPoint, the information is pre-served forever, saving a lot of time,”Professor Khan said. “I’ve never written aword on a board – ever. If I write, thenerase, the message is gone forever.”

By using the visual properties of aPowerPoint presentation, Professor Khansaid he also connects better with the stu-dents. “If I were to write on a blackboard,I would have to turn my back on theclass. When you attend a performance,no one takes their eyes off the stage, andtechnology can help me have a seamlessclass.”

Using PowerPoint, he minimizes any dis-connection with the students, minimizesthe amount of text, and inserts images “tobring focus to the discussion,” he said.

Professor Khan uses Internet technologyand offers his teaching materials on-linefor his students, as well. Through a pass-word-protected portal, his students canaccess his “e-books” for the cost of print-ing the information to a printer.

The benefits for Professor Khan? “I canupdate it, design it and change it in atimely manner,” he said.

E-mail has also improved the efficiency ofcommunications between students andprofessors when an in-person meeting isnot feasible. Professor Khan emphasized,though, the need for a delicate balancebetween the two.

“Technology is great but not at theexpense of eliminating all human con-tact,” he said.

Law students filing into Professor NancyMaxwell’s criminal law class in fall 2005may have wondered if they took a wrongturn upon hearing the following lyrics fillthe room:

I hear the train a comin’It’s rollin’ ‘round the bend, And I ain’t seen the sunshine, Since, I don’t know when, I’m stuck in Folsom Prison, And time keeps draggin’ on, But that train keeps a-rollin’, On down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby,My Mama told me, “Son, Always be a good boy,Don’t ever play with guns,” But I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die, When I hear that whistle blowin’, I hang my head and cry.

“I decided I was going to do somethingfun, something related to the class. Ifound Folsom Prison Blues very tangen-tial,” Professor Maxwell said, reflectingon her choice of Johnny Cash’s classic asstudents entered her Criminal Law class-room.

The Washburn Lawyer

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

7

Professor Maxwell incorporates musicthat’s relevant to the planned discussioneach day. She researches lyrics of songsbased on the cases the class will be read-ing for a particular day. At the end of thesemester, Professor Maxwell posts the“play list” so students can have a collec-tion of the songs played during thatsemester.

She believes the music not only grabs theattention of students but also helps makean impact on a generation of law studentswho are tech-savvy and hungry for classengagement.

At the end of the fall 2005 semester, BobDylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” fil-tered throughProfessor Maxwell’sclassroom providinga powerful impres-sion as studentsarrived that day for areview session. “Idedicated the song toall law enforcementofficers who died inthe line of duty.”

Review sessions are enhanced by theClassroom Performance System (CPS), a technology professors use to engagestudents while reviewing course material.CPS allows instructors to ask studentsmultiple-choice questions and receiveimmediate, in-class feedback using com-puter projection equipment, studentremote control response pads, a portable8

receiver and response analysis soft-ware.

CPS can be used for class interac-tion, class quizzes or formal exams,and the software will generate per-centages and graph totals of eachquestion’s answers.

The use of the CPS assists profes-sors in reviewing material, measuring stu-dents’ comprehension and bridging thegeneration gap with technology that isrelevant to today’s law students.

P rofessor Alex Glashausser, who uses theCPS system, has discovered it not onlym e a s u res the students’ understanding but

also creates a buzz in thec l a s s room by engagingthe students in the discus-sion that day.

“I use CPS for review twotimes per semester. Onthe day we re v i e w, thelevel of excitement ande n e rgy is as high as itgets,” he said. “It’s com-

petitive, which the stu-dents like, but in a non-t h reatening way. ”

Instant feedbackfrom using CPS canmake a significantdifference in cor-recting the stu-

dents’ understandingof course material before an exam.WINTER 2005

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

“I get immediate feedback about whatthey do or don’t understand,” ProfessorGlashausser said, which proved valuablewhen one of the quizzes he administereddemonstrated that a procedural twist in aquestion resulted in the entire class miss-ing the question.

“There is a delay factor with writtenquizzes. (The CPS) is a dramatic exampleof how immediate feedback can make abig difference. I was able to correct it tothe whole class. Otherwise, I blindlywould have thought they got it,” he said.Answers to the quiz may then be postedon-line and used by students as supple-mental review material. Wa s h b u rn Lawp rofessors use three diff e rent sites -TWEN, LEXIS/NEXIS and My Wa s h b u rn .These on-line services are extensions ofthe law classroom where students canaccess course materials, participate inc l a s s room discussions, receive and submitonline assignments and perf o rm a host ofother class-related functions.

Professors may post class syllabi, coursematerials, questions to help direct stu-dents to materials prior to class discus-sion, statutes hyperlinked to researchservices, and other information theybelieve to be helpful for the students toaccess at any time of the day.

Professor Maxwell has used TWEN’scommunication features to conduct a livechat with her students to review coursematerial while she was in theNetherlands.

“I set up at an Internet Café at 9 p.m. inthe Netherlands and was chatting withstudents on-line at 2 p.m. their time,” shesaid. Once Professor Maxwell concludedthe one hour and 45 minute-review ses-sion, a transcript of the session was avail-able on TWEN for her students to use forreview.

Glen McBeth, who is in charge of instruc-tional technology at Washburn Law and isthe “go-to” person for the professors’classroom and courtroom technology

9The Washburn Lawyer

10WINTER 2005

questions, transformed a simple classroomvideotape request into a high-demandstreaming video service requested by bothprofessors and students.

Professor Maxwell had asked McBeth tovideotape her classes because new facultyasked to see her teaching style.

It turned out that students requested accessto the videos to supplement their educationalexperience. McBeth began transferring thevideotape into streaming video for on-lineviewing, assigning password protection foraccess while initiating safeguards to preventusing technology as a substitute for classattendance. On-line video is available for stu-dents when they are too ill to attend classand to help review for exams.

“It spread like wildfire,” Professor Maxwellsaid. “I had no idea it would be important tostudents educationally.” She recalled a studentwho, after attending the class, also listened tothe videotape of that class while cleaning herhouse to help her review the material that wasgoing to be on the midterm exam.

Each professor incorporates technology inhis or her own way into the classroom basedon what is best for the students in concertwith the professor’s goals. At the beginningof the fall 2005 semester, Professor Maxwellprohibited students from using laptops andother electronic devices while in her class-room. Her goal was to maintain a connectionwith the students by using her own technolo-

gy rather than competing for the attentionof the students.

As for Professor Maxwell’s use of technolo-gy in the classroom, “It has allowed me tonot only revise my material more quickly,but increase my creativity as well.”

“When you use any kind of technology –interactive quizzes, movie clips, music andother visuals – you’ve created a fun atmos-phere, you’ve created a buzz and studentswill engage and talk more,” ProfessorGlashausser said.

“Using technology is a way of varying thepace and feel of what you are doing. Visualsact as guideposts for the students whenremembering the material,” he added.

COURTROOM TECHNOLOGYIncreasingly, courtrooms at all levels pro-vide litigants with an array of technologiesto assist with case presentation. By offeringtechnology consistent with that found incourtrooms across the United States,Washburn Law students gain experienceand are prepared to operate and use court-room technologies upon graduation fromlaw school.

Dedication of the Bianchino Te c h n o l o g yCenter at Wa s h b u rn University School ofLaw in October 2002 ushered in a new era ofthe Robinson Court room and Wa s h b u rnLaw with the latest in court room technology.

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

The Washburn Lawyer 11

Bianchino Technology Centerincludes:

Flat-screen display monitors at thejudge’s bench, counsel tables and witnessstand to assist with the viewing of evi-dence;

A 65-inch plasma screen providing highdefinition viewing of evidence;

An interactive attorney’s podium contain-ing a control panel touchscreen, flat-screen display, and document camera toassist with the presentation of evidence;

An interactive whiteboard to assist withjury viewing of evidence;

Video cameras in the Courtroom and theattached Robing/Jury Deliberation Roomto provide recording and viewing of pro-ceedings; and

Technology that provides the capabilityfor video teleconferencing and remotebroadcasts, digital court reporting andelectronic legal research.

Trial Advocacy classes use RobinsonCourtroom & Bianchino TechnologyCenter to train students how to presentevidence using the technologies nowavailable.

Professor Michael Kaye, Director, Centerfor Excellence in Advocacy, finds the newtechnology invaluable to his students.“With the technology we have available atWashburn Law, we are able to preparelaw students for what they mayencounter,” he said.

LIBRARY TECHNOLOGYCOMMITTEE

Under the leadership of DennisHonabach, Dean of Washburn UniversitySchool of Law, the Library/Technologycommittee conducts strategic planning fortechnology. The mission of the committeeincludes obtaining consensus and direc-tion from the Law Faculty concerningimplementing relevant legal educationtechnology that enhances the law schoolexperience for Washburn Law students.The specific mission is to provide a blueprint that 1) Makes Washburn Lawnationally competitive in the use of newteaching technology to enhance class-room experiences and 2) Provide nationalleadership in the area of designing andimplementing law-related Internetresearch tools.

Members of the Library TechnologyCommittee are:

Professor James Concannon, chair Professor John Christensen Professor Alex Glashausser

Plus one student representative

Third-year law student, Tony Hunter,agrees. “Being able to practice with thetechnology available at Washburn Law isvery valuable. You never know when youmight need to use it in a courtroom.”

The electronic cour t-room complete with allthe bells and whistlesmay not be fully integrat-ed across the country atthis time, but specificelements of courtroomtechnology are usedevery day in court-rooms.

According to theHonorable CharlesStokes, 68th DistrictCourt, Civil DistrictCourt in Dallas, and aWashburn Law alumnus,technology in the cour t-room is being used a fairamount in his courtroomand other courtrooms inDallas, but that “ELMO(document camera) isused in every trial,” hesaid.

Judge Stokes said he’swatched some casesbring in whole audiovisual crews and set uptheir technology needsin the courtroom beforea trial. In one intellectual property case inDallas, the parties completely rewired thecourtroom and added Internet access,plasma monitors for judges, jurists andwitnesses, as well as computer equipmentfor counsel and then donated the technol-ogy upgrade to the 193rd District Court.

12

The time-saving element of using court-room technology is one important reasonsome counsel use it. “Sometimes a fairlycomplicated motion can be streamlinedby pulling up digitally stored informationessential to the case instead of having to

dig through hundreds ofpaper documents,”Judge Stokes said.

From searching cour tcases via on-line data-base files to offeringremote testimony,Washburn Law studentshave the opportunity toprepare for the cour t-room of the future,which is becoming morevisually oriented eachday.

At Washburn Law’sRobinson Courtroom, inlieu of reading a wit-ness’s deposition, a doc-ument camera may beused to show the wordsand point out possibleinconsistencies from pre-vious testimony. With atouch of a button, attor-neys can display paperdocuments and physicalevidence projecting theimage onto the 65-inchplasma screen at thefront of the courtroom.

Judge Stokes believes that this type ofvisual presentation is much more effec-tive with juries. “People are very visual,plus juries don’t want to look at docu-ments in the jury room. They want to seethem visually in the courtroom eitherenlarged or highlighted,” he said.

❝The resources wehave here are phe-nomenal,” she said.“My job is to ensurestudents know howto use the resources

effectively andbecome familiar

with the content wehave to offer.

All the technologyin the world doesn’t

do you any goodunless you knowhow to use it and

teach it . . .❞– Barbara Ginzberg

WINTER 2005

13The Washburn Lawyer

Robinson Courtroom& BianchinoTechnology Centeralso provides flat-screen display monitors at the judge’sbench, counsel tables and witness stand,which allows for additional viewing of evi-dence.

The audiovisual equipment enhancementsin the court room can offer a much morep o w e rful and persuasive presentation. Inaddition to standard programs such asPowerPoint in which presentations arelinked to laptop computers, the interactivewhite board allows the presenter toaccess and display information from theI n t e rnet, run video, and deliver CD-ROMp resentations that offer sounds andimages counsel may want the court to“experience” rather than just see or hear.

Hard-copy printouts of what has beenillustrated or highlighted on the screencan be available for handouts in seconds.

Videotaping equipment is used to recordstudent performances of mock trial exer-cises so they may be critiqued by TrialAdvocacy instructors.

Judge Stokes’ one caution concerning theuse of technology in the courtroom iscounsel preparation. “Learn how to usethe equipment before the trial. You needto have your ducks lined up when itcomes to using the equipment,” he said.

Washburn Law trial advocacy classesusing the Robinson Courtroom &Bianchino Technology Center will lear njust that. Through small group hands-oninstruction, the students will understandhow to use the technology and incorpo-rate it into a presentaion, ensuring their“ducks” are lined up for the courtroom ofthe future.

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

14

computer-mediated legal instruction andsupports institutions and individuals usingtechnology and distance learning in legaleducation.

In fact, McBeth last year presented a ses-sion about videotaping class presentationsand the benefits of using streaming videovs. VHS for the students’ convenience. Inaddition, staff regularly present at theannual meeting of the AmericanAssociation of Law Libraries.

“Staff can perform a host of technologyservices at the drop of a hat,” saidFolmsbee who credits the library technol-ogy staff for the library’s consistent rank-ing in the top 10 of law schools for itstechnology.

The successful integration between tech-nology and the law school’s mission, aswell as technology’s practical usage forstudents and faculty in and out of theclassroom are always paramount whendetermining new project lists.

“Our mission is to be law school centricand more specifically, to support curricu-lum,” said Folmsbee.

How to effectively support curriculumwith ever-changing technology and inte-grating it into the law school’s mission isthe main focus at all times, but the sum-mer months provide a specific timeframefor staff to tackle and test new projectsand ideas that may one day find their wayinto the classroom, library or courtroom.

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

WINTER 2005

LIBRARY

Washburn Law’s law library has beenconsistantly ranked high among lawschool libraries because of its extensivecollection, innovative use of technologyand high praise by students and othersusing the library’s services.

John Christensen, Library Director,Professor of Law, is the driving forcebehind the Washburn Law Library’s suc-cess. Under Professor Christensen’s guid-ance, Washburn Law Library has enjoyeda national reputation for leadership in theuse of Internet and information technolo-gy to support legal research.

One of the first to offer a web-basedonline catalog, the Washburn LawLibrary continues to adopt new technolo-gy and provide additional resources toenhance its research capabilities.

“It’s been our shared goal to be a leaderin technology,” said Mark Folmsbee,Associate Dean for Computer Services. Maintaining that leadership role requiresthe ingenuity of highly skilled staff at theWashburn Law Library who actively seekways to incoporate technology for the bet-terment of the law school, its studentsand faculty.

Washburn Law technology staff presentsessions for the annual meeting of theCenter for Computer-Assisted LegalInstruction (CALI), a consortium of lawschools that researches and develops

15

Barbara Ginzberg, assistant instructionaltechnology librarian at Washburn Law,works one-on-one with students to helpthem master the electronic and standardresearch tools available to them at thelaw school.

“The resources we have here are phe-nomenal,” she said. “My job is to ensurestudents know how to use the resourceseffectively and become familiar with thecontent we have to offer. All the technolo-gy in the world doesn’t do you any goodunless you know how to use it and teachit,” she added.

Each year the Washburn Law Librar yadds more than 8,000 volumes to its col-lection, which now includes more than340,000 total volumes.

Law students, faculty and on-site usershave access to electronic researchresources at the Washburn Law Libraryincluding:

■ U.S. and Kansas governmental materials■ citation services■ periodicals■ directories■ indexes to periodicals■ books and catalogs■ references for foreign and internationallaw ■ specialized topical resources includingPike and Fischer’s Internet Law andRegulation, Religion Case Reporter,Telecommunications Reports and theRocky Mountain Mineral Law FoundationDigital Library.

The Washburn Lawyer

information about careers and educationafter the completion of law school.Includes bar preparation, seminars, con-tinuing legal education, post-law schoolopportunities, and job opportunities.

● Law Journals - A list of law-related elec-tronic law journals.Includes some full textsearching.

●Law Library Catalogs- Provides connections

to over 100 law (or law-related) librarycatalogs. Includes descriptions of specialcollections, telefax numbers, phone num-bers, and street addresses.

●Law Schools and Legal Organizations -A list of all law school and legal organiza-tion sites. Includes addresses.

●Discussion Group Information - Thisincludes access to all law-related discus-sion groups maintained at WashburnUniversity School of Law.

●StateLaw - A comprehensive set of statelaw links in the United States.

●Subject Index/Access to Law relatedmaterials - Includes links to all law spe-cialty sites and is organized according tothe “section” breakdown for theAmerican Association of Law Schools(AALS).

WashLaw, a legal research portal, pro-vides users with links to all known law-related materials on the Internet. It is oneof the premier legal Internet researchservices available to a worldwide audi-ence of practicing and academic legalexperts. It also hosts a large number oflaw-related dicussiongroups.

Highlights ofWashLaw includeaccess to:

● More than 50 legal directories for lawschools, law firms and law-related organi-zations

●DocLaw –access to all know federal lawand law-related government documentresources

●ForIntLaw –Provides comprehensiveInternet access to foreign, international,and United Nations legal materials. Thisweb site contains links to primary andsecondary sources in many countries.

●Kansas WEB - Offers links to Kansasinformation including historical materials,state colleges and universities, cities, andbusiness information.

●Law Firms - a list of regional, nationaland international law firm web sites.

●LawJobs -A source for anyone seeking

Making AC o n n e c t i o n

16WINTER 2005

In 2001, Washburn Law was namedamong the 30 “Most Wired LawSchools,” according to a survey published in The National Juristmagazine. Law school’s informationtechnology resources were evaluatedbased on six criteria:

1.Use of information technology in coursesand classrooms (availability of internalnetwork for faculty/students; percent ofcourses using advanced online resources;percent of classrooms with half the seatsnetworked); 2.Network access (number of network con-nections as a percent of enrollment; wire-less network access); 3.Student access (Web space for clubs, bul-letin boards, online registration and jour-nals, free E-mail); 4.Hardware resources (computer worksta-tions and online research stations, bothas a percentage of enrollment; researchresources); 5.Career placement resources (web site;job postings and research; links to alum-ni; interview scheduling; resume posting; e-mail contact; advanced software); and 6.Other resources.

Washburn received high marks for net-work resources, student access and otherresources.

The law school has three computer labswith the largest located on the secondfloor of the librar y. It houses a 30-stationcomputer lab that is used to train stu-dents and staff on various research serv-ices, software, CD-ROM resources andother Internet uses.

A mobile computer lab offers the use oflaptops for training sessions, class meet-ings and workshops. Each of the 20 laptopcomputers is configured with several soft-ware applications and is automatically con-nected to the Washburn University wire-less network for instant Internet accessfrom anywhere in the law school building.

Videoconferencing adds another dimen-sion to the law school’s communications.It’s used for joint meetings of studentorganizations with other law schools, trialadvocacy remote dispositions, computerand law continuing education, and student job interviews.

THE FUTURE OF WASHBURN LAWTECHNOLOGY

Never content to be part of the statusquo, the Washburn Law technology staffcontinues to forge ahead with new ideasand concepts to incorporate into theclassrooms, courtroom and libraryservices.

With direction from the LibraryTechnology Committee and input fromlaw faculty and students, Washburn Lawwill continue it efforts to reach a newgenerations of law students by continual-ly evaluating and implementing relevantlegal education technology that enhancesthe Law School experience for students.

17The Washburn Lawyer