VIDEO CONFERENCES FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE

VIDEO CONFERENCING

The culture of our educational system is ready to utilize recorded video of historical events as well as live streaming on a larger scale. With video conferencing, educators can bring life experiences directly into the classroom. These are just a few of the things that schools can do with HD video collaboration and video streaming technology:

1. Virtual Field Trips

For times when budget issues or lack of time make actual travel impractical, video conferencing can fill the bill. One school used the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas to “take” students on a video conferencing field trip. As a result, 5,000 schools in Texas are able to take in the exhibits at the museum from the comfort of their classroom.

2. Visits from Experts

Inviting experts to visit classrooms via video allows for an interactive experience for students with people skilled in the field being discussed. Specialists often have busy schedules, and video conferencing can reduce the time and expense of travel and simplify a visit from a subject-matter expert by projecting him or her directly into the classroom from anywhere. Using video conferencing technology, a major university was able to connect physics experts with physics students for an in-depth workshop. Because it would have been expensive to travel so that these groups could interact live, video conferencing provided this unique opportunity.

3. Leave No Student Out

Students who live in rural areas may miss out on many opportunities due to the distance they must commute. Connecting rural students via video conferencing gives some students the opportunity to be involved in lessons from their homes and can improve learning by letting students virtually attend field trips that may not have been accessible to them.

4. Allow Students to Travel the World 

Students are curious about the world around them and people in other countries. Three years ago, more than 125 students in three high schools on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska spent the night sleeping at school in order to be awake for a 4 a.m. videoconference with students in Nazareth, Israel. Connecting with other classrooms in countries all over the world allows students to understand and work with geographically distant cultures. Students with this opportunity will likely be better world citizens.  

5. Save Lessons and Meetings 

When a student misses a class due to absence or wants to review the content again, video conferencing recording and archiving tools can be used for playback in order to teach or reinforce a lesson. This works great for the teaching staff as well; staff meetings can be held via video conferencing in order to save time and travel expense and can be recorded for those unable to participate in the live meeting.  

6. Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Holding conferences over video conferencing can minimize scheduling conflicts for both parents and teachers. Some video conferencing systems offer tools like guest invites in order to engage parents in parent/teacher conferences.

Advantages of video conferencing technology for the education sector include reduced costs, efficient use of time, effective collaboration between students and teachers, and learning from anywhere at any time. This growing market is a good one for vendors to target.  MAGPI provides different video conferencing programs that cross grade levels and content areas, from learning about sharks to understanding the Civil War. Additional content-focused programs are accessible through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration. Google is also an effective way to search for ready-to-use programs or for teachers who are looking for other classrooms with which to collaborate. Vendors that sell not only the hardware but provide inspiration for global classroom interaction are most likely to be successful in the education market.