Ed Tech Talk

Videoconferencing: Getting Connected Is Getting Easier

I’ve been working with educators and distance learning since the late 1980s. Distance learning involves receiving formal instruction at an off-site location. The instruction may be delivered by satellite, broadcast and even the Internet.

When I first used distance learning, it required a satellite-delivered signal from an instructor site to several remote sites located throughout the country. The students responded to the instructor via a telephone connection back to him or her. While the method may have been cumbersome, at the time, it was the most cost-effective option.

Enter the technology changes of the early 1990s, which enabled instructors to connect with students utilizing phone lines. Both sites could see and talk with one another, but often connecting systems had to be compatible or you failed to maintain connections, or even connect at all.

The cost for the connection wasn’t free either. Since video was being distributed from point to point, quality video connections required 24 phone lines. If all of those lines were making a long-distance call, which always was the case, your connection costs for an hour-long class could range from $200 to $500.

Today, videoconferencing has become easier for all of us, especially the educational market, to integrate into daily activities. Museums, national parks and state landmarks now possess a way to share their stories without the required “bus trip” from a school district. School districts can collaborate across town or across the globe about a variety of projects.

A group of Ohio educators has championed the benefits of videoconferencing and has established a Web site of resources at www.ohiodl.org. With these resources and a nominal equipment investment, school districts can get connected with minimal worries.

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