If this blog is meant to be about technology, it would seem that perhaps a comment on the VIC itself might be in order. This is my first VIC class, and I'm not sure exactly what my thoughts are yet.
It did take a while to get things going. When the Indy group arrived at the last class period, there was some other class going on through the machinery. The class was about emergency plans or firefighting or some such.
The one surprise I had was the projector. Using paper copies with a document camera and a video camera pointed at the screen wasn't what I was expecting somehow. It seems that a paper backup is a good policy, even in a video conference. That was a wrinkle that I hadn't considered.
As for the rest of the VIC experience, I didn't get the full effect since I'm at Indy. I'd be interested to know what the "full effect" is like.
One of the little weird things about the VIC: I didn't know exactly whether the Indy class would be the instructor site for the class. At first, I did think that. However, when I saw that the contact cell phone number was a Chicago one, I wasn't so sure.
I'm intested in the technology, and how it plays out. There was an entire class of high schoolers using distance learning to take some college classes, and I was there when it was set up. In a way I'm wondering what I did (or helped do) to them.
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VIC does take getting used to. When I first started using it, I did a lot on the computer but it was so difficult for receiving sites to read that I have cut back on it. I do hope that people bring their laptops because it is challenging to learn about technology and the Internet when it's so hard to use in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteVIC from the other side does have it's challenges. A big one is what you mentioned: pointing the camera at the screen. I have seen other distance learning classes where the document cam was hooked up so it broadcasts directly to the TV on the other end. I do not know why IU's does not, but I can assure you it is hard to see. A projected picture on a screen that is in a well-lit room that is being broadcast over a TV is pretty much destined for difficulty. On the plus side, at least I did not have to move to get my MLS.
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