Megaconference Dec 10, 2002 Videoconferencing in K-12 Education: Moving it from a Promise to...
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Transcript of Megaconference Dec 10, 2002 Videoconferencing in K-12 Education: Moving it from a Promise to...
MegaconferenceDec 10, 2002
Videoconferencing in K-12 Education: Moving it from a Promise to Successful Future Practice
Amela Sadagic, [email protected]
Agenda
1. Why and when should I use technology in learning?
2. ITF project basics and rationale
3. Mini Videoconference cook-book
4. Projects you can do
5. Q & A
1 Why and when should I use technology in learning?
1. It enables more effective learning than traditional methods
2. It helps energize and excite students about learning
3. It is the only way – there may not be any traditional method that teaches new skill or provides new learning experience
1 Why and when should I use technology in learning?
Corollaries:• The use of technology does NOT
exclude traditional methods, NOR it replaces teachers
• Recognize the situation when using technology may be better over traditional method, AND opposite
• Technology is only a tool, NOT the goal
2 ITF project basics and rationale
• students in the center or the process – they are the owners of all phases of that process
• role of teachers:• teachers as facilitators not
instructors• provide them time and space to learn
along with students where they are not expected to be technology experts
2 ITF project basics and rationale
Students’ task:• imagine and partly prototype learning
system or application that employs advanced digital technologies including rich media, large public data resources, broadband or wireless networking
• work in small teams (2-6 students)
2 ITF project basics and rationale
• Participants: student groups from 6 high schools (HI, MI, MI, NJ, TX, VA)
• Project year: • 1st part: build knowledge base,
inspire, energize • 2nd part: facilitate work of student
teams• We built project material and
suggested school activities
2 ITF project basics and rationale
Activities:• multipoint videoconferencing sessions: expert
presentations given by Dr. Andrew Glassner, Jaron Lanier, Dr. Carrie Heeter
• local working sessions and workshops• off-line student forums• field trips• point-to-point videoconferencing sessions• school discussions: ethic dilemmas in computer science,
enduring knowledge• dialog with ITF staff• dialog with researchers• creation of web presentations
2 ITF project basics and rationale
Materials:• List of selected web resources• Glossary• Fascinating Stories• Showcase Pages• Video Postcards• General reference desk: content
organization, writing, citing• Ethic issues in computer science, internet /
web ethics, copyrights, plagiarism
3 Mini Videoconference cook-book
3.1 Is it a good medium?
3.2 Our goal
3.3 Multipoint session
3.4 Point-to-point sessions
3.5 Our lessons
3.1 Is it a good medium?Drawbacks:
• lack of social cues we are used to in the real world, no transparency of social interactions,
• network parameters (low frame rate, high latency and packed loss) may make it impossible to be used for normal human communication
Advantages:• it has a power of (near) real-time images, • it connects remote collaborators in the same audio
and visual context, and it enables events that otherwise would never be possible
3.2 Our goal
Multipoint videoconference session:• importance of get-together events• creates sense of larger community• enables dialog with leading scientists• use it to inspire, motivate and energize
Point-to-point videoconference session:• enable more intimate setting for project
discussions and consultations
3.3 Multipoint sessionNote: videoconferencing session is not a replica of
face-to-face meeting!• medium is different – different communication cues
and rules. Your expectations should be different too.• everyone has to learn basic “grammar”: learn to
mute / un-mute the mike, look at the camera not the screen / display
• you will need session moderator• you will need MCU - multipoint connection unit• firewall – big issue in schools!• …and have lots of patience for connection
problems!
3.3 Multipoint session: A recipe
1. Make sure you are ready to record the session (analog / digital)
2. If possible use projector to get life-size imagery
3. Connect 20-30 min before• have time for informal chat among the
people before the “formal” session begins
4. Run text chat to troubleshoot and have a background channel during entire session
5. Introduce the audience and show all participants to the people who will be speaking
6. Manage Q&A queue in chat
3.4 Point-to-point session
More intimate sessions:• school-to-school• us-to-schools• us-to-student teams• us-to-teachers
But students may be more open
and confident if they ask questions
in text chat !
3.5 Our lessons
• students were running a “shop” – they were in charge of cameras and chat sessions! Let them do it making sure more than one person does it.
• students loved possibility to talk to the scientist – for some this was the greatest thing in the project,
• use videoconferencing to your advantage – recognize what it can do but also what it cannot do,
• do not use videoconferencing when it gets in the way of the task and the goal you want to achieve.
4 Projects you can do
Video-quiz (a.k.a. quiz-you-quiz-me): 1. select N web sites as basic resource,
2. ask each student team to define questions they will ask other teams (answers should be easy to find in those N web sites !),
3. make point-to-point connection between the two teams: they have to see and hear each other,
4. teams ask each other questions and judge each other’s responses interchangeably,
5. quarterfinals -> semifinals -> big finale + celebration with everyone in multipoint feast
4 Projects you can do
Share-a-class: 1. Connect two classrooms via video link.
• connecting high tech schools with low tech schools, schools in cities with schools in remote places
2. Each classroom prepares ½ of the lesson they all agreed in advance, and presents it to everyone.• possibility to hear different views
3. Share responsibilities - no superior/inferior or active/passive party. • active student involvement should be included
Q & A