Selecting Distance Learning Technologies: Interactive Tours

This week, in evaluating a real-world example of a distance learning challenge, I selected example two to research and provide appropriate technology solutions.  Example two involves a high school history class, in which the teacher is looking to bring exhibits from museums from across the country into her classroom for her students to tour, interact with, and critically analyze.  There are two main issues to consider in this example, one is the challenge of the “tour,” the other is the challenge of having the students collaborate as a group to critique a piece of art from one of the exhibits on the tour. 

Distance learning technologies have evolved over the past decade to make field trips possible across the globe without leaving the walls of the classroom.  These virtual field trips (VTFs) can be delivered in either an asynchronous or synchronous setting.  “Interactive VFTs are synchronous, real-time experiences in which students in one location learn from informal educators in another location, such as a museum, historic castle, or organization such as NASA” (Zanetis, 2010, p. 21).  Videoconferencing requires a basic setup of a camera and microphone on the sending and receiving end, usually transmitted via the Internet using a coding and decoding device called a codec (University of Iowa, 2014).

  

Common technologies that provide Internet based videoconferencing solutions for schools include Tandberg, Polycom, and Lifesize.  Many school districts around the country have installed this type of videoconferencing equipment (Zanetis, 2010).  Additionally, this equipment is often housed on “special distance learning carts…that can be wheeled into any classroom” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012, p. 110).  A backup option for this type of interactive tour if this large-scale videoconferencing equipment is not available is to use free software, such as Skype or FaceTime, on portable devices, such as an iPad.  Another exciting new option that is building a significant provider base is called FieldTripZoom.  FieldTripZoom (2014) provides a cloud-based service that only requires classrooms to have a PC or Mac to connect to museum, zoos and parks.  A simple search of museums offering VTFs via some sort of videoconferencing reveals pages of results.  The solution for this teacher is to engage with a museum educator who can interact from New York with the west coast students via a real-time videoconferencing event.  The museum experts are often adept at showcasing their exhibits to students and tying these presentations into curricular standards (Zanetis, 2010). 

A successful field trip does not necessarily equate to successful learning.  The pre and post activities in the classroom are often more important to enable the students to make connections to the content and truly make the lesson a learning experience.  To engage her students beyond the VFT, this educator desires to have her student participate in a group critique of artwork that she selects from the viewed exhibits.  According to Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.) media sharing sites lend well to this type of activity, in which students can form a collaborative group to provide feedback on content.  An excellent example of a media-sharing site is VoiceThread.   

VoiceThread is a collaborative cloud-based tool that allows users to add commentary in multiple media formats to an artifact, such as a photo of an art piece.  Participants in the sharing process can add their input via voice or text, all of which are saved together with the original artifact in a Flash animation (Educause Learning Initiative, 2009).  The VoiceThread allows for discussion and critique of an art piece and the ability of the students to share their critique back with the museum educators for further feedback.  VoiceThreads can be shared with different levels of public viewing and can be easily incorporated into most CMS that the school or classroom may use (VoiceThread, 2014).  Peers and/or the museum curators could then evaluate the VoiceThreads to create a deeper understanding of the art pieces and the process of critique.  “By far the greatest potential of VoiceThread lies in the creative opportunity it provides for students to tell their own stories and to contribute to or directly critique the narratives of their peers” (Educause Learning Initiative, 2009, p. 2). 

The most exciting part of generating solutions to challenges in selecting distance learning technologies is researching and finding all the amazing examples of the actual use of these technologies.  I feel that as videoconferencing technologies continue to be refined, the opportunities for engaging interactive VFTs will grow exponentially.  There are a variety of examples of videoconferencing being used by museums across the world.  Two examples of museums that seem to have robust and award winning programs include The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery.  I however would like to share a program that I have personal experience with as a science and health educator.  The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) out of Ohio State University offers a variety of amazing science interactive videoconferences, my favorite of which is the Virtual Autopsy.  For several years I have been able to have my students participate in a multi-point interactive videoconference, connecting up to 6 schools at a time, with a live pathologist in Ohio to observe an actual autopsy (COSI, 2013).  Teachers are provided with pre and post supporting curriculum, which is tied to national science standards.  Students must work through the patient case and collect data to solve for the cause of death.  The program has been an invaluable addition to my Anatomy and Physiology classes in the past and currently my Advanced Health Career Pathways class in which we explore forensic medicine. 

In addition to a wealth of examples of videoconferencing, I found wonderful examples of VoiceThread as a media-sharing site for distance learning.  I came across a digital library of successful VoiceThreads in k-12 and higher education across a variety of content areas.   Two in particular caught my eye as being relevant to the history example from this case study.  One was a narrative completed by fifth grade students studying immigration and Ellis Island (De Santis, n.d.).  The students contributed their thoughts and impressions of photos of immigrants.  Hearing the student’s voices and interpretations of the feelings of the immigrants in the photos truly captured the essence of what the teacher was striving for in this activity.  A second example was a VoiceThread at the higher education level for an art history class.  The instructor, Pacansky-Brock (n.d.), summed it up perfectly in her description:

Instructionally, the VoiceThread required students to discuss and reflect on specific images and ideas that they learned about in the current learning unit that was tied to this VoiceThread.  I use a VoiceThread at the end of each online learning unit as a way to recap and discuss the major concepts and ensure students meet the learning objectives for the learning unit.  My students' comments are insightful, engaging and demonstrate evidence of discussing ideas in a group setting.

It appears that no matter what the content, VoiceThread is an excellent example of a media sharing site that is an technological innovation with the ability to influence the future of distance education (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).

References

Center of Science and Industry.  (2013).  Interactive videoconferencing: In depth: Autopsy.  Retrieved from http://www.cosi.org/educators/educator-ivc

De Santis, B. (n.d.).  5th Grade - Ellis is. narratives from Barbara De Santis.  Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/about/library/5th_Grade__Ellis_Is_Narratives_from_Barbara_De_Santis/

Educause Learning Initiative.  (2009).  7 Things you should know about VoiceThread.  Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7050.pdf

FieldTripZoom.  (2014).  Our mission.  Retrieved from http://www.fieldtripzoom.com/Home_Page.html

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The technology of distance education [Multimedia program]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Pacansky-Brock, M. (n.d.).  Higher ed online learning from Michelle Pacansky-Brock 2.  Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/about/library/Higher_Ed_Online_Learning_from_Michelle_PacanskyBrock_2/

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Smithsonian Institution.  (n.d.).  Education: Classroom videoconferences.  Retrieved from http://americanart.si.edu/education/video/

The National WWII Museum.  (n.d.).  Virtual field trips.  Retrieved from http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-teachers/distance-learning/virtual-field-trips.html

University of Iowa. (2014).  Video conferencing: FAQ.  Retrieved from http://its.uiowa.edu/support/article/100451

VoiceThread.  (2014).  Communicate, collaborate and connect.  Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/about/features/

VoiceThread.  (2014).  Digital library.  Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/about/library/

Zanetis, J. (2010).  The beginner’s guide to interactive virtual field trips. Learning and Leading  with Technology, 37(6), 20-23.  Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ886387.pdf