This is the first in a series of articles focusing on video conferencing and education. Part 1: The Teaching Dilemma focuses primarily on the dilemma that educational institutions around the world have faced in terms of teaching.
In recent years, visual communication as an effective tool to improve the delivery of education has gained a lot of strength. Educational institutes are constantly faced with the challenge of maintaining the consistency and quality of teaching in geographically dispersed branches. For example, will a student enrolled in an undergraduate business studies program at a top-tier US university experience the same quality of teaching in the Middle East or Europe? Most likely, the answer to this question is “not quite.” Although there are a number of variables at play here, the most fundamental challenge is access to the same quality of instructors in all geographic regions. Geographic regions can typify different branches in the same city, between cities, countries and continents. Maintaining teaching standards on all continents is an even greater challenge given social, cultural and ethnic divisions.
A traditional approach to alleviate the problem a bit is to send teachers out periodically for workshops. However, this can be very expensive and cumbersome. Technology has an answer to this common and age-old problem. Although video conferencing solutions have been around since the 1980s, they have never been as affordable and accessible as they are today. Visual communication technology has advanced by leaps and bounds making it highly immersive and interactive. More importantly, the bandwidth and infrastructure required to support truly interactive video conferencing are becoming more affordable and ubiquitous now. This makes video conferencing a viable and practical learning tool for the classroom. Truly interactive visual communication can add a level of teaching consistency across multiple institutes.
Full HD 1080p video, 360-degree audio combined with interactive whiteboards and multiple cameras provide the best after being physically present in a classroom. Video conferencing technology has truly reinvented the way teachers and students interact. From sharing lecture notes and feedback to homework and group work, setting up a video conference in a classroom knows no geographic boundaries. However, the selection of video conferencing equipment may initially seem overwhelming with the sheer number of options available. Personally, I prefer Panasonic video conferencing.
Panasonic is a manufacturer of state-of-the-art video conferencing equipment. Its visual communication technology combines full 1080i video along with advanced compression algorithms that connect you with colleagues and experts around the world over standard broadband connections. 360° Full Duplex HD audio with echo cancellation technology combined with stunning video provides truly immersive and collaborative video conferencing.
