I'm afraid that no matter how hard you may try and how many and how diverse the tools you use are trying to keep today's average student interested when instructing a theory course is close to impossible. Personally though, I think that the average student has more knowledge about what we are trying to teach them than we are able to give them credit for. Yes, there are some subjects that the general student populace is going to be clueless about when they come in or may have a slight idea as to operation but that is the exception to the rule.
