Suggestions for Interactive Video Teaching

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Displaying Items and Graphics
Clothing and Jewelry
Use of Classroom TV Sets
Audio Suggestions
Other Suggestions
Suggestions from Faculty

When courses use IVS's interactive video system, staff producers assist faculty with advanced media production services. Meeting individually with faculty, producers explain what IVS's equipment can do. They also learn about course goals and faculty expectations. They offer opportunities to create, store, and review a brief video module for self-evaluation by faculty. Here are some guidelines for interactive video teaching and learning.

Displaying Items and Graphics

Overhead cameras are used instead of overhead projectors. Faculty can display 3-D objects, colored pictures, and photos for students viewing on campus or at the distant site. Dimensions are important because video has a 3:4 aspect ratio (the viewing area is 3 units high and 4 units wide).

Keep graphics simple--use bold heavy lines since fine lines tend to disappear on the TV screen.

The suggested font for type is Times with a font size of 48 points. This gives approximately six lines of text with twenty characters per line. Avoid white paper, use light blue or other pastels for optimum video viewing.

Clothing and Jewelry

Check the color of the background in the classroom and wear clothing that contrasts with it. Avoid excessive white. Avoid jewelry such as long necklaces, which may interfere with microphones attached to your clothing. Large shiny jewelry including earrings may also be distracting to students watching you on video monitors.

Large patterns on clothing provide more pleasing video than smaller patterns and stripes. Men are reminded that herringbone tweeds and thin stripes seem to "vibrate" on video screens.

Use of classroom monitors (TV Sets)

There are at least two monitors in each classroom, one showing images sent TO the remote site and the other showing images FROM the remote site. If there are no students in the room with you at the local site, direct your teaching to the remote site monitor. Usually that camera's location makes you appear to be looking at the remote site students. If you are managing a two-site classroom situation, remember to include the monitor with the remote site group when making eye contact.

When using the overhead camera, check the on-site monitor to see what is being transmitted. If you cannot read what is on the monitor in the back of the classroom, it is likely that students at the remote site will also have difficulty. If the cameras in the room aren't showing what is important for learning, you should talk with the producer or technical staff to make changes.

Audio Suggestions

The audio system must be "trained" at the beginning of each class to assure good quality audio. This is how the echo-canceling equipment adapts to room acoustics. When you hear a white noise (static sound), everyone in the room must be quiet and motionless. If successful, the training takes only twenty seconds. Each site must "train," but it need not be simultaneous.

If echo is noticed, the site having the echo should request that the opposite site "retrain". In some instances, both sites may need to retrain. If audio levels are increased after training takes place, retraining will be necessary.

There's a split second delay in the audio between originating and remote sites. When asking remote site students for responses, be sure to wait several seconds longer for a response than in a face-to-face classroom situation. Avoid interrupting (speaking at the same time as someone from another site). Interruption confuses the technology and may cause a brief loss of all sound or parts of words. If this happens, repeat your message.

Encourage students to raise their hands or say, "I have a question". When asking students for responses or questions, ask each site separately.

Other Suggestions

This section offers several miscellaneous suggestions in no particular order. As faculty asked questions and consulted with our staff in recent semesters, they emphasized these guidelines.

Interactive video teaching is a team effort. So feel free to communicate with our staff. They are your technical assistants. During classroom presentations, on-site IVS personnel include a producer, director (video), sound person, and supervising engineer.

There's no need to wait until break times to address your technical concerns. If you can't hear the remote site or want a videotape shown, address the camera and state your concern. Technical staff can hear you and will do their best to correct problems.

Faculty should arrive at the multi-media classroom twenty minutes before each session to discuss lesson plans with producers and/or staff. We can be of most help when you share your agenda, schedule, and expectations. And it's important to orient students to the technology during the first class session.

Creatively employ a variety of instructional modes--question/answer, expert panel, discussion, lecture, etc. Pre-tape some field experiences for insertion in class sessions. As you teach in our facilities, we operate the technology so you can concentrate on course content (using your normal teaching style). So feel free to pause, ask questions or provide breaks with illustrations, humor or personal experiences.

When handout materials are distributed to originating site students, the same materials should be distributed simultaneously to remote site students. Your course facilitator at the remote site does this.

Make frequent contact with your course facilitator; weekly phone and or email communication is recommended.

Set up office hours (or "phone hours") for remote site students to reach you outside of class. Have a Plan B in mind for those rare instances of "line delays" or interruptions when connecting with a remote site. We recommend that your course facilitator have an outline of the day's content so that he or she can cover as necessary. If the line fails for a long period, we can videotape your session to mail to the remote site.

Suggestions from Faculty

Finally, faculty suggest ways to increase interactivity for distance education courses, as follows:

1. Build in time at the beginning of the course to allow students at both (all) sites to introduce themselves to each other. Consider arranging a total class meeting near the beginning of the semester. Allow time for students in both sites to talk with each other about class or non-class activities during breaks.

2. Have students identify themselves by name before speaking. A seating chart may aid in getting to know students.

3. Early in the course, encourage students to ask questions. Tell them why you feel questions are vital. There are no dumb questions.

4. Regularly ask remote site students if equipment lets them see and hear clearly. Urge them to report problems to you immediately.

5. Intersperse thought questions throughout lectures.

6. Have students answer each other's questions.

7. Resist the temptation to speak only to originating site students.

8. Use teaching methods that foster interaction--quiz bowl, panel, challenge our guest expert on this point, etc.

9. Start some class sessions with a report from one or more remote site students. Use this and other approaches to underscore the importance of remote site students.

10. If possible, use ten-minute break times to chat with one or more remote site students, getting to know them better.

11. Use silence to encourage reflection.

12. Personalize interaction...call students by name. At times, address specific students with questions.

13. Provide frequent positive feedback.

14. Clarify and summarize student responses to confirm understanding.