New Voices and New Visions – Summer New Voices and New Visions – Summer 20082008

Infrastructure for Creating a Infrastructure for Creating a CyberclassroomCyberclassroom

Jennifer Teig von Hoffman

Boston University

How Did We Create Cyberclass?How Did We Create Cyberclass?

The people were far more important than the technology

Connections among people led to…Working together over email led to…Developing a proposal for distributed

project, to implement two classroom courses

What Was Class Infrastructure?What Was Class Infrastructure?

Project meetings and many, many class sessions on Access Grid

Distributed VR on tiled stereo wall for class projects

Email lists, including studentsWeb sites of various kinds

The Access Grid (AG)The Access Grid (AG)

A set of software applications, for collaborating across high-performance computer networks

Developed by Argonne National Laboratory

Much of what I’ll say would apply to any videoconferencing situation, not just AG

Year 1: UNM and BU CyberclassYear 1: UNM and BU Cyberclass

Three times a week, we used AG between UNM and BU

Pictured: Class on audio basics, using physical demonstrations

We Watched, and LearnedWe Watched, and Learned

Year 2: Virtual VisitsYear 2: Virtual Visits

Walatowa High Charter School had virtual visits with BU and UNM over the course of the year

Gotta Sweat the Small StuffGotta Sweat the Small Stuff

Small technical details can make or break any AG meeting– Camera adjustments, lighting,

microphone placement, software adjustments

Many things that should be easy may not be– Case in point: Sharing media

Can You Hear Me?Can You Hear Me?

Audio problems far more disruptive than video problems!

We ensure that each person has access to a microphone– This may mean moving the microphone,

or moving the personAudio problems can be intermittent,

so if problems arise pause to fix

Video Quality MattersVideo Quality Matters

Think about how different it would feel to talk with each of the people pictured here– Both are me

Camera placement and lighting are essential!

Sharing ApplicationsSharing Applications

This is still harder than it should beDuring classes, we used VNC to

show PowerPoint slides, and for software demonstrations

Sometimes when no software easily supported what we needed to do, we’d point a camera at the screen

Got Trouble? Text Chat HelpsGot Trouble? Text Chat Helps

We tried not to let technical issues disrupt classes– AG operators discuss problems

amongst themselves through text chat– Today’s workshop organizers also have

each others’ cell phone numbers

Complementary TeachingComplementary Teaching

“The guest lectures, the artists helped us incorporate into the VR world and the help from the BU people, sometimes you wish they were here but it’s an AG, it’s not perfect. That’s why we had teachers here. It’s been complementary; the tag team (teachers) help each other.”– [comment from UNM student]

No Other ClassNo Other Class

“It worked good over the AG…It was good working with the team. No other class would have brought us together. “– [comment from

UNM student] UNM Class Project

Helping Newcomers Use the AGHelping Newcomers Use the AG

Using video conferencing takes some getting used to– A little orientation helps – don’t jump

right into instructionIt’s hard to remember to use the

microphone, make sure you’re on camera, etc

Face Time Still MattersFace Time Still Matters

We needed both AG and travel to really make this project work

“Glenn coming from BU [was one of the highlights of the class]. It’s okay to see them over the screen. But we got the full effect when saw him in person and picked his brain.”– [comment from UNM student]

Face Time During the ProjectFace Time During the Project

Questions?Questions?