[Air-l] Technology Transforming Education

[Heidelberg, Chris]

Alex:

I am glad that you chimed into this discussion. It is always great to
have a fellow communicators. Are you most of a generalist or more into
post production. Part of my dissertation dealt with utilizing
entertainment techniques so that professors' classrooms can be
transformed to location sets. Your empty room in analogous to working in
a studio with remote cameras which I have done quite a few times. I have
maintained that professors of the future will need acting, speech
delivery and technology backgrounds to effective and maintain interest.
I would definitely like to speak to you offline because one of my
colleagues was from the Virgin Islands and just graduated. I am
interested in visiting (after Hurricane season preferably) to see how
your distance learning works. Please email me and I will give you my
private address. 

Chris 

-----Original Message-----
From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
[mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Alex -Vipowernet
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 10:19 AM
To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
Subject: Re: [Air-l] Technology Transforming Education

I teach Communication on two islands at once. 
Using video teleconferencing systems, I hold class on St. Thomas in the
US Virgin Islands with a video teleconference link to our St Croix
campus which is 50 miles away over open ocean.  This is extraordinary. 

While most of the class experience is easily transmitted over the Video
link, and I make extensive use of the e-Blackboard - there are oddities.


I had a class this semester with 12 students on the distant campus and
none on my local campus. So I taught a full semester to an EMPTY ROOM,
talking to a camera and watching my students on the distant campus on a
video screen.  Odd, but entirely workable. I did feel odd waving my arms
and gesticulating in an empty room. 

The only really serious limitation has been when teaching a class that
is software intensive... I had a class on video editing and really felt
the difficulty trying to show students the software.  I could go to my
local students and look over their shoulders and point to things on the
screen, but the distant students had to do that using NetMeeting -
decidedly inferior.  Also it is a lot harder to demo and showcase
software using the VTC system. The scan rates of NetMeeting prevent live
demos of some video features.  

Other than that, if one is able to use Blackboard and LISTSERV software,
the distant learning is a breeze... 

My classes are all E-classes. No paper. and I am moving toward no books.
My CMC class this fall will be entirely electronic with no paper or
books. 


Alex Randall
Professor of Communication
University of the Virgin Islands. 

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Michael Baron
  To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
  Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:41 AM
  Subject: Re: [Air-l] Technology Transforming Education


  I think the core teaching skills remain the same. It is only the
delivery
  methods that evolve over the time. I see evolution of the classrooms
as
  normal. The world is changing and the education industry is chaging
with it.
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