Teaching, Learning + Technology (TLT) added SBConnect Web conferencing rooms to all Blackboard course sites this fall. The integration of the two technologies gives instructors a convenient way to use virtual meeting spaces to enhance student learning. Instructors can find this service as an explicit tool on their Blackboard dashboard.
“We want to encourage faculty to bring guest lecturers into the classroom using this service,” said TLT Executive Director Graham Glynn. “It also has the potential to be used collaboratively with international classes outside of Stony Brook or to conduct dissertation defenses, committee meetings, and teaching and learning from remote locations.”
The possibilities for interaction are endless. Students who are enrolled in a course can simply log into the virtual classroom and begin participating, while instructors can set it up to allow guest access by simply giving out a Web address.
During the fall 2010 semester, there were 108 distinct meeting rooms being utilized with up to 142 different users logged in simultaneously. These figures are significant considering there were only 196 distinct meeting rooms that logged 11,482 meeting hours during the entire 2009-2010 academic year. This semester the total meeting hours recorded reached 20,734 by November 8, clearly indicating an upward trend.
Adobe Connect is the software doing all the work. It outperforms Skype in the academic setting because it was designed with teaching and virtual classrooms in mind.
For information about using SBConnect, please visit https://tlt.stonybrook.edu/conf/ or call (631) 632-9400.
—Kerrin Perniciaro
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