Web Conferencing and Live Team Teaching

Though the chapter's hands-on activities have focused on shooting and editing and video, there are other forms of video composing which need study and understanding. They were not possible until the computer and Internet age: Webconferencing and live team teaching. Screencasting is recorded video and audio of events on the computer screen. Web conferencing is similar to live television but has the option of using many media in the recording, just one of which is video.Web conferences can also be recorded or archived using screencasting technology that is built-in to the Web conferencing software or using separate applications. Web conferencing has opened the door to a radically new innovation that was not feasible until certain levels of Internet bandwidth are reached, an educationally transformational kind of event, live team teaching over the Internet between two or more classrooms.

Webconferencing

Web conferencing software generally includes the capacity to display live video as well as a feature that also allows a screencast of the conference, recording anything that was shown and heard during the conference. Screencasting software can also be used to edit a long Web conference into short specific useable clips.

Throughout the course, participants have been using WCU's site license for Wimba Live, but it is available and accessible only to participants of the course. A screen image of its many options is on the right, clickable to a much larger image. However, there are versions of Web conferencing software that can be used independently of Wimba, some of which have free versions.

Live Team Teaching

Live online team teaching means two or more people using Web conferencing software tools for communicating and archiving (recording) to take turns leading the teaching that is shared by everyone participating in the Web conference froms multiple locations and to collaboratively study their instruction for ways to improve it. Are live online teacher teams a worthwhile and effective thing for educators to do?

As it hasn't really been tried on any kind of scale that would allow an in-depth evaluation, it is impossible to answer that question directly at this time. It is clear that human culture has long valued teamwork for its productivity and long recognized that creating an effective team is a valuable art of its own that requires some particular skills and knowledge. It is also clear that several significant divisions within our culture are currently and actively engaged in using and improving online teamwork for both enjoyment and productivity. It is logical then at this point in the 21st century to explore online team teaching to see what can be done and learn how to improve it.

Version 1.06 April 18, 2011 | Page author: Houghton