GC Newport and St. Johnsbury Pilot Virtual Interactive Classes!

Global Campus Newport and Global Campus St. Johnsbury connected through interactive TV for two course offerings this spring term.

About twenty-five people from Newport and fifteen from St. Johnsbury gathered in front of the interactive TVs to experience the new phenomenon of teleconferenced classes. The groups cheered as we got connected, waving at each other and reconnecting with old friends. It was really exciting to see everyone and be able to hear what they were saying. The first few minutes of the class was devoted to smoothing out the technology. St. J had a bit of trouble moving their camera, and Newport was hard to hear, but eventually we smoothed out these bumps and began teaching.

Edna was ready to teach her class Dogs and Cats. This was Edna’s first time teaching, and she was really prepared. We put the microphone right up next to Edna to make sure St. Johnsbury could hear her class and zoomed in the camera so they could see her posters and visuals. Edna had two stacks of note cards – one about cats, one about dogs. She also had two different posters as well as drawings she had made. Her class had a great mix of interactive questions and facts. She asked the group to list some of the things their cats or dogs do that are pesky. People said their pets scratch, chew things, smell, and shed. She then told the group how to care for animals and the appropriate ways to keep a pet. Raymond commented from St. J that he had recently taught an animal class. He is teaching a second class at the Fairbanks museum, for which he has made a scavenger hunt for people to find different types of animals in the museum. There were many questions back and forth, from both campuses.

Next up, Allycia began handing out copies of her PowerPoint presentation for the group in Newport to read through. We made note that, next time, we will email class materials such as these to St. Johnsbury ahead of time so they can see the handout. Also a first time teacher, Allycia taught us the Ins and Outs of High School. Alycia had great poise. She told us some of the good times at Lake Region, and also some of the times that have been less fun. She told us about nice friends she has made and fun classes she has taken. People were pretty interested in high school stories. Sharilyn from St. J told us about her experiences and asked specific questions about what it’s like in Special Ed these days.

After feedback and questions, we spent about half an hour in discussion between the campuses. People asked questions about family connections, summer plans, classes and updated each other on their campus happenings. It was really neat to hear the exchanges and to see how excited people were to be talking to another campus. The group gave general feedback that the process of the interactive TV had been very smooth. St. J commented that they would love to offer some of their classes on interactive TV next term.