Four distance-learning classes were taught on Stony Brook University’s West Campus this semester, reflecting the growing and complex role technology plays in the classroom. For the first time, professors Anna Geisherik and Xianfeng Gu taught distance-learning courses with SMART Technologies equipment. Geisherik taught a course called Russian for Heritage Speakers, while Gu taught a graduate computer science course called Advanced Visualization.
Distance learning is a method of teaching in which lectures are held by correspondence through video chat in specialized hi-tech conference rooms. Stony Brook’s history with facilitating methods of distance learning goes as far back as the 1970s, according to Director of Educational Technologies Gary Van Sise. He said there was a program called EngiNet in the late 80s that served as an early form of traditional distance learning. “It was sharing engineering courses between all the major engineering schools in SUNY and that was a videotape-based system,” Van Sise said.
Geisherik’s and Gu’s classroom used a “blended” approach — a mix of students from Stony Brook’s campus and students who are wired in from another location. With distance learning, Stony Brook is able to tap into SUNY’s resources to provide students with access to other professors and individuals who can share their expertise. For instance, since January 2000, a class called Global Issues in the United Nations has allowed students to hold conversations with UN ambassadors, which provides a unique and valuable learning experience that they would not normally receive. The former Pakistani ambassador Ahmad Kamal teaches the course directly from the UN.
“They meet in our video conferencing facility and the students introduce the topic and some of the issues they would like to discuss, and then the ambassador and other UN employees actually take over and teach the class,” Van Sise said.
Frey Hall, a recently renovated classroom building at Stony Brook, has modern upgrades such as easily accessible power outlets for students at their desks and projection screens for professors. When the building was being outfitted with audio-visual systems, it was decided a larger dedicated videoconferencing space was needed, so Frey 211 was specially equipped with SMART Technologies equipment for the purpose of distance learning.
SMART Technologies is one of the leading makers of interactive whiteboards, especially in grades K-12. “Their smart podium (17” interactive monitor) is a unique product,” Van Sise said. “Using the smart podium allows instructors to draw on the lectern monitor and have it appear on the data projector to be recorded by the lecture capture system.”
The video conferencing that goes hand-in-hand with distance learning allows the University to go beyond what Van Sise calls the “vanilla box classroom” model usually associated with college learning.
The distance-learning classroom has two 90-inch flat panel screens in the front of the room with a camera that looks out at the students. In the back of the classroom there is a smaller screen (also outfitted with a camera) that allows the distance-learning students to view the professor. Push-to-talk microphones have been added to every desk, and when activated by a student, the camera in the front of the room focuses in that direction, allowing the individual who is not in the classroom to see who is speaking.
Russian for Heritage Speakers is a specialized language class for students from Russian-speaking families who were either born in America or came to the country at a young age and grew up speaking the language. This was Geisherik’s first time teaching a distance-learning course.
“I’ve never used anything like that,” Geisherik said, referring to the technology in Frey 211. “I’ve always used chalk and a chalkboard, and compared to that, this is pretty exciting.”
When the Russian language program realized that only a few SUNY campuses offered a Russian heritage course, Stony Brook decided to offer the class to other campuses.
For Geisherik, using SMART Notebook, the interactive software used for teaching, did not pose much of a problem the first time she tried it. She said that, although her students were at first a bit apprehensive about the unique setup of the classroom, they soon got used to it.
Gu has taught Advanced Visualization at Stony Brook for nearly 10 years, but this was his first time teaching it as a distance-learning class. The Department of Computer Science partnered with J.P. Morgan through the help of an alumnus who now works at the company and saw a need for this course.
Gu taught 30 students, including five from J.P. Morgan. He was trained in how to operate the SMART Technologies equipment, but said that it is very intuitive and easy to use. For Gu, using SMART Notebook in the classroom made teaching more efficient.
“Because my teaching involves a lot of geometry, I need to draw and rotate and show different sides,” Gu said. “It can become very complicated.” According to Gu, it would be impossible to teach without the use of SMART Notebook.
There are plans to build a new classroom and update another on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. “The update will be in Chancellors Hall 201,” said Van Sise. “We’re upgrading a simple system already in place to today’s standards.”
The new classroom will mirror the one in Frey Hall so instructors won’t notice a difference when working between the two buildings. These additions will broaden the potential for more distance-learning classes to be taught at Stony Brook.
— Joslyn Matthews ‘15; Photo by Zifei Wu ’15
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