{"id":1167,"date":"2020-10-01T18:18:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T01:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/10\/01\/how-can-universities-fix-online-lectures-after-the-pandemic-scramble\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T10:07:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T17:07:24","slug":"how-can-universities-fix-online-lectures-after-the-pandemic-scramble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/10\/how-can-universities-fix-online-lectures-after-the-pandemic-scramble\/","title":{"rendered":"How can universities fix online lectures after the \u2018pandemic scramble\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Russell Ginley, Director of Business Development at Microsoft, speaks to academics facing the problem head-on<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When hit with the cold reality of COVID-19, universities scrambled to provide online learning. How it was achieved wasn\u2019t as important as how fast<\/em>, leaving many institutions with a jumble of tech and ad hoc approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many academics feel ready to implement a serious online lecturing solution. With a fresh intake of students for 2021, there are concerns whether current online lectures can justify the fees, let alone recreate the rich university experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStudents used to walk into half million-dollar lecture theatres, designed by architects, with professional acoustics, AV equipment and microphones,\u201d says Dr David Kellermann, who teaches engineering at the University of New South Wales<\/a>. \u201cNow that half million-dollar facility has been replaced with a $49 webcam. It\u2019s not fair and it\u2019s not even close to parity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Education consultant Dr Ruben Puendetura agrees we need to move beyond \u201ctechnology access as a direct substitution [for real-world lectures] with no functional change\u201d and toward a model that can modify and even redefine<\/em> what it means to teach online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thankfully, a new paper<\/a> published by Richard Mayer and Andrew Stull of the University of Georgia, and Logan Fiorella of the University of California, found ways to increase the effectiveness of online instructional video. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choosing the right technology platform is vital. \u201cI saw this as an opportunity not just to survive remote teaching, but to make it better,\u201d says Dr Kellermann, who decided to build his own \u2018lecture studio\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, he positions a laptop at standing height in front of a Microsoft Surface Hub 2S<\/a> interactive whiteboard. This allows him to deliver a dynamic lecture to the laptop, while engaging with the faces of his students on the whiteboard. \u201cIt\u2019s great because I\u2019m actually looking at my students on a screen behind my camera,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just like having them there, and it improves both their engagement and mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Kellermann can still use physical props, while jotting formulas in real-time on the Surface Hub screen. With one tap, he switches the Hub to full-screen mode so students can see his digital inking, and he swaps the in-picture presentation to the Hub\u2019s camera, so the students can still see his face as he teaches. That\u2019s Dynamic Drawing, Gaze Guidance and Perspective all in one setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also uses a Surface device to display Microsoft Teams<\/a> chat, where his students post questions and often chime in with answers. This way, Dr Kellermann can keep an eye on the conversation, and answer any difficult questions or bring students back on course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Kellermann\u2019s redefinition of online lecturing is an exciting strategy for universities looking to attract and retain students \u2014 not just locally, but virtually, worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have $35K of equipment in my lecture studio,\u201d Dr Kellermann admits, \u201cBut in the context of value, I think universities could set up ten of these lecture studios in the same floor space and cost of one lecture theatre, then deliver this kind of experience to every online student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more on online learning, take a deep dive with EDU trainer Megan Townes<\/a> & Collabtech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The post How can universities fix online lectures after the \u2018pandemic scramble\u2019?<\/a> first appeared on Microsoft EDU<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Russell Ginley, Director of Business Development at Microsoft, speaks to academics facing the problem head-on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ms_queue_id":[],"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"audience":[249],"content-type":[155],"product":[],"topic":[167],"coauthors":[91],"class_list":["post-1167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","audience-education-decision-makers","content-type-news","topic-higher-education"],"yoast_head":"\nIt\u2019s time to tear off the band-aid solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So what does <\/em>work when it comes to online lectures?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How can technology support these techniques?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Creating a \u2018lecture studio\u2019 with Surface<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n