Connecting students through teleconferencing etc. is surely a common practice. It is used extensively by IUN interuniversities north in Manitoba a co-operative programme of three Manitoba universities. This is thought of as a cost effective way of teaching courses in remote northern reserves and mining areas. However profs usually go to visit the areas several times as well. The programme has been going for decades and the technology has steadily improved so that visual data, charts, etc can be used and there is two way visual and oral interaction. It is "virtually" equivalent to a classroom situation. There is a specially designed studio at Brandon University for remote education classes.
Cheers, Ken Hanly ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Hoover" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 9:40 AM Subject: Re: Teaching in Large Classrooms > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 10/29/03 07:59PM >>> > >San Diego Union Tribune > >October 27, 2003 > >New SDSU classroom can seat 520 students > >By Lisa Petrillo > >UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER > <snip> > >This single room will enable roughly a dozen SDSU faculty members, > >in just one semester, to teach nearly 7,000 students. > > The logical next step would be to videotape professors' lectures and > use the videotaped lectures from the next semester on, eliminating > the necessity for live professors. The school would then become an > academic mega-multiplex. Additional revenues will be raised from > sales at concession stands next to lecture halls. > -- > Yoshie > <<<>>> > > university of central florida was using lectures taped by professore in > a tv studio in the early 1980s (how long before that time, i don't > know), don't recall how often tapes were updated, and no one had > apparently thought of potential concessions revenue... > > ucf also uses equivalent of teleconferencing, students go to a > classroom at one of several campuses or 'satellite centers' and lecture > is beamed lived to them, 'interactivity' even allows students sitting in > daytona to ask questions of prof in orblando... michael hoover
