By Charles Singh, CUOL Operations Technician
Several years before the turn of the last century, itv was at the聽forefront, dare I say, a pioneer in the delivery of university聽courses. A variety of disciplines were represented by some of the most聽dynamic and enthusiastic faculty members, and 杏吧原创 had a unique聽presence in our community and beyond.
The classroom technology would be considered basic at the time, consisting of rather large cameras, slide projectors, and wired microphones that acted as leashes for instructors. The lecture format was restricted in part by the classroom equipment and the physical constraints inherent at the time. The effort required to set-up, test and troubleshoot the “gear” was as much a part of the teaching experience as preparing to teach. Our students, for the most part, were not privy to such matters behind the scenes, and simply took聽in their lectures via cablevision broadcast or videotapes.
Today, the “wired” classroom and the CUOL environment is significantly聽different: compact digital equipment no longer requires the same 聽level of set-up, attention or the angst that goes along with that, and聽wireless microphones allow our instructors a lot more freedom to leave聽the podium and interact with students. They can concentrate on what聽they do best: teach and engage their students.
Our classroom technicians are still on hand to set-up, test and troubleshoot. The wires, cabling and numerous buttons have been replaced by much more reliable interfaces. The delivery of lectures is no longer hampered by distance. Most are available within hours, and in many cases, the time-lag has almost disappeared. For our instructors, the ability to incorporate videos, photos and transport students to places of their choice is limited聽only by their imagination.
Over the years, instructors聽have been able to聽integrate field trips, special guests, events and projects into their聽classroom that would normally be unavailable because聽of time, distance, or an聽expert’s schedule. Whether our students are in a “live” classroom or at a聽distance, it is fair to say that their experience has been greatly enhanced.
For those of us who work and interact with our CUOL instructors on a聽regular basis, it is obvious that this transformation has聽only enhanced the teaching and learning process. The amount of information, the variety and availability of materials, coupled with the聽ability and ease of access is staggering. Hats off to our instructors聽on their ability to select and apply their know-how in this new and聽challenging digital era.