Spotlight on Interactive Video Conferencing
By Krista Noel Donoven, University of Oregon School of Journalism
Making the Case for Interactive Video Conferencing
Interactive videoconferencing (IVC) is an effective tool that can be used in distance education settings and has been gaining momentum the last few years in K-12 school systems across the country. IVC is a live, two-way means of communication that allows participants in one location to see and hear those at another location through the use of a video screen or monitor.
Many educators agree that IVC has great potential, including connecting classrooms worldwide, allowing students and teachers to have face-to-face conversations with experts, and providing students in remote locations additional access to educational opportunities.
ISTE member Jody Kennedy, an art teacher and videoconferencing coordinator at Eastview Middle School in White Plains, New York, had a successful IVC experience at her school last year. The project, dubbed “Global Run,” connected students in Grades 6–8 with students in a school in Oldonyonyokie, a small village in Kenya. They learned about the village and the poor conditions in which its youth lived and received an education.
Through IVC, the students were able to videoconference live with some of the young people in Africa, obtain photos of their correspondents directly from the International Rotary Club, and learn about the Millennium Development goals set by the United Nations to help with large global issues. They used IVC’s recorded clips playback feature to share video interviews they had conducted with their Kenyan “pen pals” with other American classrooms.
Through simple technological communication with another country, the Eastview students gained a new perspective on their own home, and learned a lesson on the importance of international collaboration.
With a goal of “encouraging and supporting the use of interactive videoconferencing in conjunction with other virtual learning tools within the K–12 learning community,” ISTE’s Special Interest Group on interactive video conferencing (SIGIVC) promotes the use and understanding of IVC in educational settings by assisting with collaboration, research, and information dissemination.
Entering only its second year, SIGIVC is relatively young. The initial response from ISTE members has been enthusiastic, according to Jan Zanetis, the chair of the SIG. She believes IVC is an important addition to education in today’s classrooms.
“In order to engage the millennial learners, we need to use every technology tool available,” explains Zanetis. “Interactive video engages students like none other, particularly when students are connected to other students over video.”
Virtual field trips, distance learning, and access to experts are all classroom innovations for which IVC holds promise. The technology carries the ability to break down classroom walls, and expand students’ worldviews in a cost-effective manner.
Getting Started with IVC
Often, the most difficult part of getting started with IVC is procuring the equipment and funds necessary for successful interactions. The realities of school budgets can make it difficult for a superintendent, principal, or other teachers to recognize the benefits of IVC. In many cases, however, the technology is funded by the district or state, allowing cash-strapped schools to remain on the cutting edge.
Jan Zanetis, chair of ISTE’s SIGIVC, suggests contacting an IVC solution provider if additional funding is needed. Two examples Zanetis gives are TANDBERG, her own employer, and Polycom, both of which offer Grants Assistance programs that help schools with the application process for fund requests.
Zanetis also offers ideas on how to convince shareholders of the role of IVC in expanding educational horizons. One argument centers on the money saved by delivering classes from a distance, as when a single instructor simultaneously lectures multiple classes in multiple locations. In addition, students located in different areas across the globe can work together on common areas of study by connecting through IVC.
“[IVC can] bring in the rich resources of museums, science centers, and historical sites around the world via virtual fieldtrips…without losing valuable instructional time,” notes Zanetis. “Hundreds of these content providers deliver standards based on lessons over videoconference.”
Videoconferencing for K-12 Classrooms, an ISTE publication authored by Zanetis, Camille Cole, and Kecia Ray, includes a chapter titled “Getting Started with IVC,” which provides useful information for an educator new to the technology.
First, obtaining all of the necessary equipment is most important. A typical system includes:
•codec
•computer
•keyboard and mouse
•document camera
•microphones
•mobile cabinets or carts
•monitors
•remote control
•scan converter
•student camera
•phone or fax
The next step is making sure a facility is created that will be appropriate and correlates with what the IVC technology will be used for. Will it be used for sending or receiving information, or both? The best place for an IVC system for teaching staff use is a classroom dedicated to virtual learning. The lighting needs to be bright, and the classroom should not neighbor a noisy environment, such as a cafeteria or gymnasium.
It is also important to make sure the classroom is set up in a way that the students and teachers at both ends of the conference can easily see the monitor.
Whether a maintenance support contract is purchased along with the IVC system and equipment, or a trained technician is employed by the district to make repairs, IVC users should have access to a troubleshooting guide in the classroom for easy fixes and useful phone numbers.
Zanetis warns that purchasing equipment without individuals assigned to plan for ongoing professional development is risky.
“While reliability is almost a non-issue these days, having access to a knowledgeable IT person is important,” she says.
On-site, more than one knowledgeable person is needed to successfully administer an IVC program. On a limited school budget, a team of two may be able to accomplish all the necessary tasks. Crucial roles include virtual learning specialist, site facilitator, tech support specialist, program support staff, and teacher of record.
A virtual learning specialist may adopt multiple duties, such as procuring equipment, setting up classrooms, and training teachers. A site facilitator provides videoconference support, while a tech support specialist should be on-site and able to troubleshoot problems with the system. Program support staff distributes handouts and assignments, interacts with the business office, and addresses first-level troubleshooting. Finally, a teacher of record is the most important staff member, organizing and mediating all IVC interactions.
One of the most important elements of starting a successful IVC system is the training of teachers and other educators. The better prepared they are, the more likely they are to continue to use and enjoy videoconferencing in an educational environment. Zanetis recommends at least three hours of training for each user up front, plus ten additional hours over time. Training is often available at the district level, but if not, there may be training opportunities at the state level. Always available and helpful are many websites dedicated to educational IVC.
Two websites for further training:
•http://tandberg.net/ind_focus/education/education_resource.jsp
•http://cilc.org/workshops.aspx
Despite potential financial problems and the effort necessary to equip a school with IVC tools, the advantages of the technology far outweigh the disadvantages. IVC can enhance a learning environment with experiences such as virtual fieldtrips or cultural connections that cannot be achieved by any other means. Once educators become comfortable with the technology of IVC, the process becomes easier, and students’ educations benefit.
Q & A with Jan Zanetis, SIGIVC Chair
 We sat down with SIGIVC’s chair, Jan Zanetis, to discuss SIGIVC and interactive videoconferencing in education and:
Q: Why are you so passionate about IVC?
A: I’m passionate about IVC because I have observed how kids are “turned on” when they are connected with engaging/compelling content and other kids in a videoconference environment. The technology becomes invisible when the learning starts to click. For example, I once participated in an IVC between some high school students and a Mental Health expert. The discussion was about anorexia. As the counselor engaged the teenagers in discussion, they became very responsive and discussed issues that normally they would have felt too conscientious to talk about, especially in front of their peers. It was as if they were in the same room, not across the state.
Q: What is IVC’s importance to education?
A: This technology is perfect for connecting learners around the world. If you have read The World is Flat, you know that we are becoming more and more a global economy. It’s logical that connecting learners is just as inevitable as connecting co-workers across time and space. And videoconferencing is a great tool for connecting with underserved populations and regions. We can level the digital divide by connecting students from different regions. Two good examples are Global Nomads and Global Run.
Q: What advice would you give an educator first getting started with IVC?
A: Start with small steps, like scheduling a virtual field trip. Sign up for the ATT Videoconference Listserv to see what others are doing and to contact others with your interests. Web site: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/ed1vidconf.html
Q: Why do you love what you do?
A: I love it because I know from personal experience that IVC is a powerful tool that students find engaging. It literally erases the barriers of time and space, and helps learners to form relationships with people they normally would never meet and have access to educational resources that in the past would have been impossible.
Q: What’s been your biggest challenge in this field?
A: Many educators had a negative experience with IVC technology years ago and no longer consider it as a viable teaching tool. Times have changed: quality, connectivity, and cost are much more school friendly.
Q: How has the field changed in the past 2-3 years?
A: The advent of the “collaborative project” has become a rapidly expanding use of IVC in classrooms. With IP connectivity, teachers across the state or across the world are bringing their students together to collaborate on areas of mutual study. Content has expanded exponentially. Hundreds of museums, science centers and cultural institutes are providing “virtual fieldtrips” for schools over IVC. To take a look at some of these collaborative projects and Virtual Fieldtrips, visit the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration: http://www.cilc.org
Q: Where do you think the field of IVC will go in the next 3-4 years?
A: I believe that IVC will become as common as the cell phone. Today, in some parts of the world, people are videoconferencing on their cell phones through 3G technology. Teachers and content experts for a class may be in the same room, or they may be across the county, or across the globe!
Q: Why should ISTE members get involved with SIGIVC?
A: Anyone interested in videoconferencing as a teaching tool should join SIGIVC. And we’re not just about videoconferencing, we are all very interested in emerging technologies in education, such as desktop web conferencing and “blended” distance learning that includes a video component.
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