Dive Brief:
- George Washington University, starting in fall 2016, will give students at satellite campuses the opportunity to fully participate in classes being held at the main campus, offering communication options through high-quality video.
- Campus Technology reports that the DC university is upgrading its analog video equipment to digital, adding brighter projectors, cameras with greater mobility, LCD displays, and better microphones throughout classrooms.
- The new tools are expected to improve synchronous learning opportunities for students who come to campus, as well as the experiences of those enrolled online.
Dive Insight:
Last winter, Michigan State University piloted the use of robots in classrooms as a stand-in for students joining remotely for courses in the university’s doctoral programs in educational psychology and educational technology. Other schools have since piloted similar technology, giving remote students the opportunity to control the camera and look at their peers during a group discussion and back to the instructor in a different area of the room, when necessary. The advancements are seen as improving the quality of education for students who cannot make it onto campus, and they could come with higher student outcomes.