I've been learning more and more about sound and cabling for sound. So, I know what an XLR cable is and that I need it to supply phantom power to my condensing mic from the mixing board. Still don't exaclty know why, though. And I can tell many of the sound connectors apart now.Today's sound challenge was to see if I could set up an Elluminate session (online synchronous meeting tool) with a group of people in a room and people connecting in remotely. If everone has their own headsets and mics, then the voices in the room are heard by the local participants before they hear them through the headset. The delay can be annoying. If I set up for the local participants to share one computer mic (a desktop usb noise-cancelling mic) and share a set of speakers that only broadcast the remote participants, then we lose the ability to look in the list of Elluminate participants. Hmm... may need to investigate further.
The "fury" is the challenge expressed to me by more than one faculty member about creating the learning environment online to meet the goals of their class. Some faculty members who depend on the interactions that happen in class to allow for transformation are particularly frustrated with the mandate to deliver their class online. I don't know the answer to this question.
I believe that the teacher makes a difference in a class and that who that teacher is -as a person- can come through in an online environment. I wonder how much of the resistance to this change is because it means leaving familiar territory. There are cultural issue too - those of us who didn't grow up in the Internet age don't have the same comfort in an online environment. Those of us from cultures that value relationship and face-to-face interaction may find ourselves ill-at-ease in this environment of text and voice. Those of us who are outrageous in our classroom manner (to challenge assumptions and beliefs) may be uncomfortable with the idea that what we say and do can be recorded.
What to do? I don't have all the answers. Just a few pieces. I liked the ideas in the Aug 22 entry from elearn2lead.com. Start with the actions that we take in a face to face class to create a safe and trusting environment. Build from there. As one develops comfort with the tools and the environment, see what happens.
An instructor may feel very out of place in this foreign land and still have to figure out a way to create an environment for learning.
I want to do a bit of research on this topic.
