November 2005 — Features
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Creating a Global Classroom
and teaching strategies such as question-and-answer sessions or project-based learning encourage high levels of interaction.In effect, the magic of videoconferencing is that it removes so many substantial obstacles to learning, including cost, time, space, distance, physical disabilities, as well as personal and professional responsibilities. And having removed those barriers, videoconferencing links students with experts in a previously inaccessible field as they learn from a primary source rather than a textbook, as well as gain access to resources and information that they would otherwise be shut off from.
Teacher Benefits
Imagine that a particular school district requires all of its
science educators to attend a one-hour staff development
workshop on tracking weather. Scheduling conflicts make it
difficult for all the teachers to attend the session. The district’s
solution is to set up a videoconference, or a series of
videoconferences, on the given topic, allowing all teachers
to attend.
As in that example, a great benefit of videoconferencing is that it ultimately negates time conflicts or location difficulties that would create scheduling impasses. Educators also have the flexibility to participate in staff development activities without leaving their home schools.
Thus, videoconferencing can alleviate the difficulties associated with staff development programs by providing unlimited, inspiring opportunities for professional activities. It enables teachers to share teaching strategies, lesson plans, and assessment methods with their colleagues nationally and internationally. The face-to-face communication encourages the exchange of ideas and suggestions concerning which lessons or projects work best, in or out of the classroom. Finding that other teachers are experiencing similar difficulties with a particular subject area can restore lost confidence, as well as foster collaboration. Face-to-face discussions in real time allow educators to resolve problems and discover new ways to teach material in order to better prepare students for success in the workplace.
A Lasting Impact
As a tangible matter, linked through NASA LIVE, the students
at Oxon Hill and Princess Anne middle schools were
provided with real-world examples of the nature of research
and the range of knowledge within NASA’s Office of Biological
and Physical Research. But they came away with
considerably more than that. Document sharing, exchanging
ideas, problem solving, and decision-making between
the students demanded a high degree of collaboration,
resulting in increased student participation and higher
retention of material, and a greater understanding of cultural
differences. Upon completion, the students presented
their plans to the presentation evaluators, Scott Smith and
Don Hagan, researchers with NASA’s Office of Bioastronautics
at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.
Using videoconferencing resources like NASA LIVE provide educators, students, and parents with the opportunity to connect classroom content to related research and careers. In turn, professional experts help validate understanding, provide instantaneous feedback, and introduce practical examples, greatly improving student motivation as students become active participants. The rewards experienced by educators who embrace and employ videoconferencing are well worth the time spent becoming familiar with a form of technology that is becoming the norm, rather than the exception. Educators must pass this knowledge on if they are to prepare the first and subsequent digital generations for successful roles in society.
Katrina Townes-Young is the NASA LIVE program manager. Virginia R. Ewing is a NASA educator with the NASA Center for Distance Learning at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.
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