The Classroom

Videoconferencing. What was the stuff of Hana-Barbara’s Jetsons cartoons is now a reality. You can have a face to face conversation with someone thousands of kilometers away. I know this technology has been around for years in the form of webcams. But you can do so much more now then you could with the first webcam that was pointed at a coffee pot back in 1991. I’ve heard a lot of debates over the use of expensive videoconferencing systems (like those from Tanberg and Polycom) over $30 webcams from the local electronics store. To me it makes very little difference. It’s not what technology you use – but how you use it. Yes you get better quality with the full VC system, and there are more educational opportunities & conferences that can be held with VC rather then webcams, but these are just tools, and in the hands a an artist, even the simplest tools can make masterpieces.

So I’m not opening up this debate. Instead I’d like to talk about the educational potential of this technology. According to Wikipedia:

Videoconferencing provides students with the opportunity to learn by participating in a 2-way communication platform. Furthermore, teachers and lecturers from all over the world can be brought to classes in remote or otherwise isolated places. Students from diverse communities and backgrounds can come together to learn about one another. Students are able to explore, communicate, analyze and share information and ideas with one another. Through video conferencing students can visit another part of the world to speak with others, visit a zoo, a museum and so on, to learn. These “virtual field trips” can bring opportunities to children, especially those in geographically isolated or the economically disadvantaged. Small schools can use this technology to pool resources and teach courses (such as foreign languages) which otherwise couldn’t be offered. Teachers can use this technology to acquire additional college credits for recertification without driving to classes.

I have seen cases where children from the Arctic were taught how to play the violin via videoconferencing. At Meyokumin we’ve “taken” students to the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller 300 Km way. We’ve learned about conditions in Afghanistan, and talked to a Canadian Solider in the field. We’re able to provide students with educational opportunities, and access to individuals that were previously beyond our reach.

One of the most powerful, in my opinion, is the Read Around the Planet conference put on by TWICE (Two Way Interactive Connections in Education). The reason I like this conference so much is because it’s so easy. You submit your name, recieve an e-mail telling you who your partner class is, then share a story with them. While that is a wonderful experience in itself, the real magic happens after the sharing. The students get a chance to talk to each other. In my school I co-ordinated 9 different connections – all between Canada and the US. Each time the students were amazed to discover that despite the different flags and weather patterns – we are all the same. Children thousands of kilometers away all play. The all love recess and hate math. They study hard and play harder. Each time I disconnected from the remote site the first reaction was always – “WOW, They’re just like us.” Didn’t matter if they were kindergarten, or grade six – mainstream, learning strategies, or an alternative program, they all reacted the same. They all knew they had just made a connection to people a world away, and they were just like them. Everyone has a different story to tell, we all walk different paths, but in the end, people are people – no matter where they’re from, the colour of their skin, anthem they sing, or grade they’re in. People are people. I can’t think of a better lesson to teach our students. Or a better way to teach it.