Week 5 Telecommunication Technology Comparison

Telecommunication Technology Comparison:

With a poor economy, high gasoline prices, high parking permit costs and textbook prices on the rise, students are looking more and more at taking online classes versus the traditional classes. Although some students might have other reasons for taking online classes, such as disabilities, child care or work related issues, online classes are always the first to fill up at Riverside Community College.

Instructor's lectures are still the most popular method of disseminating information from professor to students. Whether it be a traditional, hybrid, redesign or online class, students can expect 70-90% of their learning to come from their professor's lectures. Therefore, it is important for all modalities of lectures to be able to relay the information to the students. For online classes, two forms of telecommunication that can be implemented for lectures are podcasts and Skype.

Podcasts could be used to record a lecture for students to play at any time. The asynchronous of the lectures are a plus, especially if not all of the students could meet at the same time. Also, not all students are the same type of learners, and for some students, replaying the lecture podcast over and over is possibly what they need in order for them to grasp the information.

In a mathematics classroom, a podcast video could be recorded for each section throughout the book. In additional, a Bamboo tablet might be connect so that the recorded podcasts could have the features of working out some of the math problems by hand and showing each of the steps of a solution. Of course, the main lecture and explanations would probably use PowerPoint slides to present the main topics, but for the sample problems, it would be helpful to use a Bamboo tablet so that the instructor can write out the steps to solve the problems. A podcast could also record the voice of the instructor talking the students through the solution.

One of the main advantages of using a podcast would be for the students who need to see or hear a topic more than once. Repetition will sometimes help students develop stronger mathematical skills as they progress through the levels. An audio only podcast would probably not be necessary since most students need to view and hear a math lecture instead of just picture the problems in their head.

The other form of telecommunication for a lecture in an online math class would be to use Skype to broadcast a lecture. Skype could be used to broadcast both audio and video either through a web camera shooting a picture of the whiteboard or paper of the instructor or using a Bamboo tablet and a web conferencing program like WizIQ. The students would be able to have all of the benefits of being in a "live" classroom without leaving the comforts of their own home. The instructor could set up a class time and all of the students would be logged into Skype from wherever they had Internet access. Then the instructor would set up a conference call with all of the students.

The advantages of using Skype versus a podcast would be the ability to ask questions as the problems are being performed. Students would be able to ask for alternative solutions or the possibility of solving a particular problem in a different way. This is probably the closest to the real thing as far as online lectures go. It would be almost like having the instructor sitting right next to you and your computer.

The disadvantage of using Skype would be the synchronous of the activity. All of the students would have to be online at the same time and would have to stay attached to the computer for the entire lecture. They could not leave during the lecture and get the notes at a later time. Another disadvantage would be the Internet speed of the students in the class. If the students all have different Internet speeds, more than likely the slower bandwidths would have choppy lectures which might be difficult to understand and follow. Also the videos might be delayed or slow in streaming.

As far as presenting a math lecture, I would be more inclined to use the video podcasts media versus the Skype, simply for the asynchronous ability to present a lecture to the students. I realize that not all students learn at the same rate and having the ability to play and replay a lecture is powerful. Also, most of the students work or have children to take care of, so getting a suitable time for all of the students to meet during the week might be difficult. That might be one of the main reasons for taking an online class in the first place. With the video podcasts, students would be able to work on their math 24 hours a day. If the bandwidth of their system is slower than what they would like, they have the ability to download the lecture, save it to a flash drive and take it to a faster computer with more memory or a better video card.

I also like the idea of using the Bamboo tablets to assist in writing out the math problems and working them out in the podcasts. I believe that viewing how the solution is arrived at is one of the most important steps in a math class. The Bamboo tablets would provide this opportunity for the students to view the solutions to various sample math problems.

My second choice for lectures would be to use Skype. However, I would lean more towards using Skype for virtual office hours rather than lectures. For virtual office hours, a Bamboo tablet could be used and students could "call in" with questions on specific problems from their homework. I currently use Skype as an alternative to the telephone for students in both my online sections and face to face sections. Very seldom to I get any calls from students, but the students know that I am available to assist them if they want.

Online math classes are not for all students. Some students need the face to face interaction and the environment of being in the class in order to learn mathematics. Some students are disciplined and have the special ability to learn math through listening. However, for those students who have no choice but to take online classes or no classes at all, I feel the video podcasts are the best way to get through to the students. The students are able to view the lectures at the best time for them. They can view the lectures as many times as they wish, or they can skip through sections that they might be comfortable with. Also, the students might want to view part of a lecture and then pause the podcast as they work through the sample problem on their own. Then they have the ability to view the full solution once they worked through the problem on their scratch paper. I think the students would agree that they prefer asynchronous lectures versus synchronous lectures.

James