November 2003 — Applications
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Videoconferencing Takes Cape Elizabeth Middle School on a Distance Learning Adventure
Imagine watching fifth-graders in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, examining and comparing the anatomy of zoo animals in their own classroom - while the animals are more than 200 miles away. Incredibly, that's what we did one day last March in a live videoconference with the Bronx Zoo in New York.
Our distance learning adventure began in 1999 when my students communicated with a group of their peers in another Maine school using desktop videoconferencing technology called CUseeMe. At the time, I was looking for ways to integrate technology into the curriculum that would offer my students a project-based approach to researching real-world problems. The thought of connecting students to the world outside of the classroom drew me to live video, and CUseeMe provided the first step. Our initial connections with another class made it clear that students were extremely motivated to pursue topics in greater depth when they had access to resources generally not available in school.
I knew that more sophisticated videoconferencing systems existed in the world of business, but until I viewed an educational video highlighting a small group of students working with a scientist live on camera, I had no idea what was happening with videoconferencing in K-12. It was time to find out, so I submitted my application for a year of sabbatical leave to do some research. The technical aspects of videoconferencing were interesting, but more exciting was the possibility for students to engage in interactive communications with experts outside of Maine. What better way to help prepare them for today's challenging society. Maine is basically a rural state with limited field trip opportunities for students; I hoped to be able to bring them more.
Technical Challenges
As I began my research in fall 2000, I contacted and received support from Verizon of Maine. The guidance I was given enabled me to learn about the basics of videoconferencing and to see what opportunities might be possible for students in our state. About the same time, someone directed me to the previous summer's National Education Computing Conference brochure, which included a classroom videoconferencing session given by Stan Silverman of the New York Institute of Technology. When I contacted him for information about his presentation, he invited me to visit the campus to see videoconferencing equipment more sophisticated than desktop systems and to explore potential classroom applications. My visit was not only exciting and informative, it also introduced me to a helpful distance learning consortium, the NYIT Educational Enterprise Zone (EEZ).
This was the beginning of significant technical challenges since Maine schools had no way to make videoconferencing connections to institutions outside of the state. Connections within the state were already underway using ATM technology, but there were no plans to establish a gateway outside the state for educational purposes, especially at the elementary or middle school level. Much of my sabbatical was spent meeting, e-mailing, writing or phoning technology consultants to find a method that might possibly work. Since I was a novice about the types of connections available, this was a real learning experience for me personally.
