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Not Your Father's College Class
What does the classroom of the 21st Century look like? Let’s take a look at what is possible and actually happening today. Recent advancements in technology have brought an unprecedented delivery methodology into the college classroom of today. Professors are no longer the dictators of instruction, but the directors of learning. The Classroom of Today From A Distance They can join a "chat room" to interact with fellow students, receive updated information from their instructor, send a question to their instructor, or review much needed material. They might research a topic using suggested Web sites from their professor or peruse intriguing sites from their own research on the topic of interest. They may take a quiz, read assigned material, or view a lecture they missed. Web based classrooms make it convenient and possible for many students to gain that degree or certificate they might not otherwise be able to accomplish. Today’s busy and demanding world makes the at-home, 24/7 education a must, not a luxury. Not all classes are online, but many make use of this powerful and valuable format. Many instructors who have not placed their course entirely online have designed Web pages to enhance their classes. For each course, they will often provide the syllabus, applicable hyperlinks, preview quizzes, sample student work, pre-recorded classroom presentations, or the desired outcomes of the course. These are just a few of the resources instructors have placed on their Web page and they are limited only by their imagination and the course requirements. On Campus Today when students enter the classroom they might be greeted with music that delights their ears and encourages them to come in, sit down, and become a part of a total sensory learning experience. Instructors have replaced their outdated, mundane lectures with visual presentations that make use of animation, sound, color, video, and more. With the focus on instruction; there is no lag time available to "day dream." At times it may even be entertaining or humorous, in seeking to totally capture the attention of the student. This use of multimedia does not bring education into the "Hollywood format" but brings the "Hollywood format" into education. Educators can now personally design and deliver extremely professional lectures through the use of presentation packages such as Microsoft Office PowerPoint. They no longer must depend on outdated filmstrips or canned presentations to bring relevance and variety into their class. They now have the tools to design and prepare their own multimedia modules. Through a few hours training on the successful and creative use of multimedia, instructors have started to revitalize their classroom instruction. Having lecture notes transformed into powerful media presentations is not only advantageous for the student but makes updating, correcting and improving of classroom lesson plans instantaneous and easy. Does this infusion of what some would call "Hollywood techniques" improve retention and understanding? A study done at the University of Minnesota found multimedia presentations had a 17% increase in audience agreement, were 24% more persuasive and had a 27% higher credibility of presenter. ("Who’s Using Multimedia," Training, September 1994). When instructors integrate the use of technology into their classroom instruction a positive change takes place. After all, what instructor wouldn’t want to maximize agreement from his/her students on his/her subject matter, improve their persuasive skills or possibly acquire higher credibility presence? These are the tools of the teaching profession today: computers, projectors, video, interactive CD’s, Web based courses, hyper-syllabi, digital cameras, scanners, and the list goes on. This is "not your fathers college class.” |
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