case studies text - icbl.hw.ac.uk

Videoconferencingfor Teachingand Learning

Case Studies

LTDI and TALiSMAN are funded by The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Learning TechnologyDissemination Initiative

Teaching and Learningin Scottish Metropolitan Area Networks

Videoconferencing

in Teaching

and Learning

Case Studies

Edited by Wilma Alexander, Carol Higgison and Nora Mogey

LTDI and TALiSMAN are funded by The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Videoconferencing case studies

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Contact informationThis document has been published by:

LTDI and TALiSMAN, Institute for Computer Based Learning, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS.

URL: http://www.talisman.hw.ac.uk/ URL: http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0131 451 3282 Fax: 0131 451 3283

Date: November 1999

ISBN 0 952 8731 8 4

AcknowledgementsThanks are due to the case study authors, to the University of Edinburgh and the University of the Highlands andIslands Project for their contributions to this publication.

Copyright©1999 TALiSMAN, LTDI and the original authors

All rights reserved. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, aspermitted by the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988, this publication or any part thereof may not bereproduced stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publishers.Except that (a) for courses of instruction or distribution within UK higher education institutions this publicationor parts thereof may be copied without charge, provided that the source and publishers’ copyright are indicated inany such reproduction and (b) authors retain their personal right to re-use the material in future versions orcollections of their own work.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this book, the publishers wish toemphasise that they cannot accept any liability for any errors which remain. Further, the views expressed in eachof the chapters are primarily those of the stated authors and whilst the publishers endorse the value of all thecontributions, the views expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers. Please notify us of any factualerrors, for correction in future editions. We would also welcome any other suggestions, additions or amendmentsthat would enhance this publication.

LTDI – The Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative and TALiSMAN – Teaching and Learning in ScottishMetropolitan Area Networks are funded by The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.


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ForewordUsing videoconferencing for teaching and learning demands an “imaginative leap” (suggested by Dearing) frompractitioners in higher education. While many can see the benefits of videoconferencing for meetings andadministration, its potential for direct support of student learning is not quite so obvious, and can raise somechallenges to traditional ideas of teaching and learning. In particular, videoconferencing provides a facility forsharing teaching and learning, in a given discipline, amongst universities, which can increase the learningopportunities for students but challenges the natural possessiveness of academic staff with respect to the progressand development of their students.

As Director for Teaching and Learning at SHEFC I facilitated the introduction of high quality videoconferencingstudios in nearly all Scottish HEIs, as an outstanding feature of the Scottish Metropolitan Area Networks.Projects funded by SHEFC under the Use of MANs Initiative and the TALiSMAN project explored anddeveloped expertise in using videoconferencing effectively for teaching and learning. Recommendations fromthese projects resulted in SHEFC investing a further £300,000 to upgrade the videoconferencing studios toinclude data sharing and display facilities to support multimedia presentations, continuous presence of presenterand materials and reliable, problem-free data and applications sharing.

Some of this expertise, along with some UK examples, is captured in this set of case studies, which illustrate thevariety of ways videoconferencing is used to support student learning. The case studies cover a range of teachingscenarios and methods and provide ideas that are applicable to other subjects and disciplines (just use yourimagination).

I hope that these examples will provide inspiration and a starting point for other successful implementations.

Dr Paul Clark

Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

Former Director of Teaching and Learning for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.


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Introduction

Who should use this book� Teaching staff with little or no experience of using

videoconferencing.

Why it will be useful� The focus is on using videoconferencing for

teaching and learning.

� It contains case studies from people who have usedvideoconferencing in real teaching situations.

� The planning suggestions here help make thetechnology “transparent” and help you to focus onpedagogic impact.

It is not a technical manual, nor is it about usingvideoconferencing for meetings.

What this book contains� A series of case studies of videoconferencing use

for teaching and learning.

� Key lessons for successful videoconferencing.

� A brief outline of videoconferencing terms andtypes.

� References to web sites and publicationscontaining further information on all aspects ofvideoconferencing.

� Checklists for planning and setting up avideoconference.


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Contents

Videoconferencing in education 6

The case studies

Diploma in German for secondary teachers by distance learning. Alison Borthwick 7

Discussing the Euro. Inés Carradice 10

National Learning Network for Remote Sensing. Charles Duncan 12

Delivery of research methods teaching. Alison Galloway 15

Guest seminars for Design History & Contemporary Studies. Marlene Ivey 17

Sharing lectures for teaching undergraduate Surgery. Gordon Jameson 19

Using videoconferencing for research seminar presentations. Dawn Lamond 21

Teaching by videoconference - a guerrilla approach. Sean Milligan 23

Videoconferencing in Mathematics. Neil Pitcher 25

A Doctoral Viva by videoconference. Michael Pitt 27

Videoconferencing to provide highly interactive learning environments. Jonathan Side 29

Entrepreneurship: report on multi-national, multi-disciplinary team projects. Bryan Temple 32

Lessons for lessons 34

Further information 37

Appendices

A. Technical basics for videoconferencing 40

B. A videoconferencing minimal manual 42

C. Guidelines for examinations by videoconference 44


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Videoconferencing in education

The growth of videoconferencing� Videoconferencing technology has advanced

rapidly in the last few years.

� Through SHEFC support, Scottish HigherEducation institutions have access to the highestquality facilities for videoconferencing.

� You can now plan courses integratingvideoconferencing with confidence in its reliabilityand quality.

� There is a wealth of experience of use in HEIs youcan draw upon.

Why use videoconferencing?� Videoconferencing is another tool which can assist

you in delivering quality teaching and learning.

� It opens up possibilities for collaborative teachingand learning, to make best use of resources.

� It can provide “live” support for students at remotesites.

� It can give access to expertise not available withinthe institution.

� It can provide students from other institutions andin remote areas with access to specialist teachingand activities.

� It can provide students with opportunities to workwith their peers from other institutions andcountries. This supports groupwork, collaborativeand international projects.

Planning for useThe case studies in this book illustrate the diversity ofteaching situations and learning objectives wherevideoconferencing can be used.

To use videoconferencing effectively:

� You will need to take into account differencesbetween videoconferencing and traditional face-to-face teaching.

� You will need to take into account the type ofvideoconferencing being used.

� You will need to take into account the number ofstudents.


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Diploma in German for secondaryteachers by distance learningAlison Borthwick

BackgroundThe aim of our course is to enable practisingSecondary Modern Languages teachers, who are notqualified in German, to study during twilight hours foran Additional Teaching Qualification in that language.The conversion to distance learning was intended towiden the course’s accessibility and increase long-term viability, at the same time adding a technologicaldimension likely to enhance its educational value.

Why videoconferencing was chosenThe high quality and reliability of MAN-basedvideoconferencing made it an attractive medium forinteractive teaching and learning of practicalcommunicative skills at a distance.

The ExecutionThere was little flexibility in seating, with two of thesuites having fixed rows. However, having a smallnumber of participants meant that the rowarrangement did not inhibit communication. The semi-circle formation at Dundee, with the tutor seated in themiddle, was felt to be more inviting. It was helpful iftutors remembered to alternate the camera focusappropriately between themselves and localparticipants.

Careful planning in advance of the course and beforeeach session was essential to promote successfulinteraction. In selecting sites, we tried toaccommodate the preferences of the participants, butalso to achieve an even distribution across locations.This facilitated communication and furthered learning.We ensured that no participant would be alone at anysite. In some cases, this meant that people had to travelfurther, but, on balance, the educational benefitsappear to have outweighed any inconvenience.

Each session was structured so that periods of whole-class interaction across the 3 sites were interspersedwith short periods of group work at individual sites. Intheir groups the participants undertook a wide range ofclearly defined contextualised tasks whose outcomesthey subsequently communicated to the other sites.The relaxed atmosphere of small-group “off the air”communication allowed time for confidence buildingin preparation for whole-class “on the air”communication. Everyone took turns to act as groupspokesperson. Usually, the tutor invited thecontributions, varying the order in which the groups

Teaching contextSubject area Language Learning (German

Language and Cultural Study).

Course level 1st year of 2-year part-timepostgraduate diploma for teachers.

Participants Staff 3. Each tutor individuallytaught several sessions.Students 9. 2-4 per site.Only 2 students knew each otherbefore the course started. Allparticipants met at a 1-dayinduction in Dundee just before thefirst videoconference.

Type of use Interactive communicative languagetutorials.

Teaching methods Cross-site presentations, off-linetask-based groupwork followed byguided inter-site discussion.

Support materials Homework and preparationsupported by CAL activities, WebCTemail and discussion board.

Length of use 5 months. To date, 16 x 2-hourweekly sessions, organised in 4blocks.

Project background Course development, converting anequivalent in-house course todistance learning, received a SHEFCCPD Course Development Grant.The course is part of the regularprovision offered by the Centre forApplied Language Studies, and isintended to be self-financingthrough fee income.

Sites Dundee, Napier and PaisleyUniversities.

Prior experience None, but tutors had training and atrial session, giving us confidencebut no great technical competence.

Technical contextConference type Multi-point: 3 sites.

Technology used Studio based MAN conference.

Additional equipment Visualiser, audio cassette player.

ContactContact name Dr Alison Borthwick

Contact details Centre for Applied LanguageStudies, University of Dundee,Dundee, D1 4HN.Tel: 01382 344899 or 344535Email:[email protected]://www.dundee.ac.uk/prospectus/distlearning/profiles/html/P74-75.htm


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presented their material. Variety held the attention andgave everyone the opportunity to initiate. Instead ofroutinely asking each group to report back to thecentre in Dundee, tutors also designed interview tasksto generate direct exchanges between the other sites.At appropriate moments more spontaneousinterventions were also encouraged. In our experience,subtle control by the tutor helped to smooth thetransition between speakers and to ensure equalparticipation by all class members. However, tutorshad to be particularly conscious of the need to co-ordinate, rather than intrude, dominate or intimidate. Agood sense of humour helped!

A further step taken to facilitate communication wasthe planning of a detailed homework programme. Weused textbook exercises, graded Computer AssistedLanguage Learning activities, www-based informationretrieval tasks, and the closed environment of WebCTwith e-mail and bulletin board, in order to pave theway for effective videoconference interaction.

Overall, we were pleased with the lively andcompetent communication, mostly in German. Theparticipants were mature and highly motivated.Remarkably quickly, they developed strategies to copewith the new teaching/learning environment. Due toits highly structured nature, the inter-sitecommunication was more formal and intense than realface-to-face communication in a language classroom,but it was by no means strained. There was astimulating pioneering spirit which possibly eveninspired the participants to take more risks.

Regarding props, we used the visualiser at each siteand an audio cassette player. Each group displayedwritten outcomes to set tasks, allowing other sites tocomment. The visualiser was also useful for showingauthentic teaching aids brought in by the participants.The visualiser at Dundee served as the tutor’s“blackboard”. As far as possible, we tried to anticipate“blackboard” data and to prepare large-font sheets inadvance. Writing on a horizontal surface in the focusof a television camera is more disruptive tocommunication than writing on a vertical surface in aclassroom.

What support was neededPrior to the course, tutors attended several events onthe use of videoconferencing in teaching and learning,offered through the SHEFC-funded TALiSMANinitiative. “Hands-on” activities developed familiaritywith the medium and the presentations/discussions/documentation provided useful guidance. We foundthis initial training to be sufficient, though, astechnology and teaching expertise continue toadvance, further discussion would be welcome. Wefollowed up the TALiSMAN training with an

illuminating pilot videoconference session of our own,linking sites at two local universities and involvingalready established groups of our own students.

Technical support at our own site was excellent. Thisreassured tutors who were able to concentrate fully onadjusting to the new mode of course delivery.Technical staff at the other sites also co-operated in ahelpful way, particularly during the early stages,putting students at ease. There have been few technicalhitches to date, with many of the sessions problem-free.

Evaluation commentsWe have held informal feedback sessions: individuallyby telephone; and with the whole group during alanguage immersion day in Dundee. A formalevaluation will be conducted at the end of the firstyear of the course.

The result of the informal feedback is positive, withboth students and tutors apparently happy with theirexperience. MAN-based videoconferencing seems tobe conducive to effective communicative languagelearning, as student performance compares well withthat of previous groups on our corresponding in-housecourse.

The BarriersThe principal barrier was apprehension of theunknown. Tutors and students both worried aboutcoping with the technology and initially felt self-conscious about performing communicatively over theair in front of their peers.

There is a constant worry that universities might at anytime raise their fees for videoconference use tocommercial rates, which we could not afford. Wewould argue that this would go against the principle ofwidening educational opportunity, according to whichthe MAN-based videoconference network was set up.

The EnablersWe were very appreciative of the technical andjanitorial support which we received. The confidenceof tutors was increased by training events, enlightenedtechnical support, pilot sessions, and practice.Students were helped by personal contact at theinduction and immersion days in Dundee. A practicerun at the Dundee videoconference suite, followed bydiscussion with the Video Services Manager, wasuseful. Regular telephone calls or e-mailcommunication between tutors and participants alsoaired and alleviated concerns. It was important tocreate a sense of openness, solidarity and fun,stressing that together we were attempting to breaknew ground.


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Advice for new usersMost of the advice for new users is contained above -suitable training, careful preparation, planning andtiming; steady building of confidence, a spirit ofcollaboration and enterprise, and good relations withtechnical staff. It is important to ensure that thesessions involve structured interaction, a variety ofactivities allowing a change of pace. A practice sessionis helpful not only in showing up potential problemsbut in giving tutors confidence in using thetechnology.

Our course is to continue for another 18 months. Inour view, videoconferencing has enormous potential

which we are only beginning to explore. In future, wehope to use video clips, to link videoconferencing withthe Internet, to video the performance of tutors andparticipants for feedback, to conduct videoedassessments, e.g. oral presentations, and to set upcollaborative projects with teachers in Germany. Thistype of structured interaction, with a variety ofactivities and changes of pace, is well suited tovideoconferencing.

A parallel Distance Diploma in Spanish, based moreexclusively on computer technology, will soon belaunched from Dundee. We intend to compare theeffectiveness of the two approaches.


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Discussing the EuroInés Carradice

Background1

The TALiSMAN Roadshow, a demonstration of ATMtechnology, was held at St Andrews in March 1998. Itwas at this event that I encountered thevideoconference medium for the first time. I wasaware of the investment in networked communicationsby SHEFC and have a Postgraduate Certificate inVocational IT obtained from St Andrews University in1997. With many years experience as a languageteacher I was thrilled with the potential offered by thismedium to promote real communication activitiesbetween distant groups. Language activities mediatedby technology can only be successful if the quality ofthe audio and/or video transmission is very high andthe ATM set-up offered very high quality indeed.

Why videoconferencing was chosenOn April 20th1998 I organised a videoconference sessionbetween students of Spanish of the Universities of StAndrews and Abertay Dundee. This was an interactivesession looking at the Euro from the Spanish perspective.Designed as a language practice session, the aims were toexplore the potential of the videoconference medium andobserve students’ and tutors’ perceptions. The existingtechnology was not geared up to record both sites at thesame time but we managed to get a video recording ofthe St Andrews transmission.

The ExecutionThere were 6 participants from Abertay Dundee and 5from St Andrews. These were advanced students ofSpanish in Year 1 of their university careers. Mostwere planning to study in Spain as part of their yearabroad with the Erasmus programme in Year 3, i.e.1999/2000. The facilitators were tutors from theSpanish Department in St Andrews and myself, tutorin the European Business Management course inAbertay Dundee.

My plan was based on the principle that variety breedsinterest and enjoyment. I followed the organisationguidelines suggested in the TALiSMAN booklet “Youand Your Videoconference”.

3.00 Overview of the Technology by the technicalteam. (In English)

3.10 Introductions (Only Spanish to be used fromthis point)

Teaching contextSubject area Spanish.

Course level 1st year undergraduates.

Participants Staff 3 Tutors.

Students 11 at two sites.

The two student groups had nevermet. The tutors had.

Type of use Tutorial.

Teaching methods On-line presentations anddiscussion, off-line groupwork.

Support materials Preparative reading: background onEuro. Programme for eventcirculated beforehand.

Length of use Single use. This was the first time Iused it with 2 groups of students.

Project background Support activity for existingcourses, student participation wasvoluntary. No special funding.

Sites University of St Andrews andUniversity of Abertay Dundee.

Prior experience TALiSMAN training but this wasfirst use of the medium.Enthusiastic about technology.

Technical contextConference type Point to point.


Additional equipment Visualiser, video recordingequipment at one site.

ContactContact name Inés Carradice

Contact details Spanish Section, Languages,Communication andInternational Studies Division,Dundee Business School, Universityof Abertay Dundee, Bell Street,Dundee DD1 1HG.

Tel: 01382 308660

Fax: 01382 308400


1 An online report of this exercise, including video clips from the sessions, will be available from the WELL (Web EnhancedLanguage Learning) site at http://www.well.ac.uk/


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3.15 The Euro - Presentations of about 2 minutesa) “Historical context” by St Andrews studentb) “Legal requirements” by Abertay studentc) “Countries involved” by St Andrews studentd) “Problems for the Spanish public” byAbertay Dundee students. (Illustrated situationdialogues)

3.25 (off-line) In home groups decide whether thecreation of the Euro is a positive or negativestep for Spain and be ready to justify opinionson-line.

3.35 Opinions -2 minute slots each- and close.

3.40 Design the Euro currency:a) Show and describe examples of Europeancurrency as it is today.b) (off-line) In home groups design, draw andbe prepared to describe your design. Can becoin or note, or one each.c) Each group will take turns at describing andthe other group will try to draw following thedescription. Then both original andinterpretation will be shown on screen andcompared.

3.55 Close

At each venue all the participants sat facing thecameras, with the controls operated from the sametable. I chaired the session with one of my studentsoperating the console at the Abertay Dundee end, andone of the tutors doing it for St Andrews. Interactionwas ensured by careful planning and role allocation.Two cameras were used at each site, one with theability to pan, which was pre-set to focus on singlespeakers, and the other fixed on a wide-angle position.We made extensive use of the visualiser. Firstly, toshow the illustrated cartoons of conversations whichwere read off camera to represent appropriatesituations; secondly, to show real 3D objects (coins)and finally, for the most entertaining (and positivelyhilarious) of the sections, projecting the students’drawings. One group described a prepared design (notshown) for the other group to draw and the visualiserswere used simultaneously to compare accuracy,projecting both drawings at the same time.

What support was neededThere was a half-hour preparation videoconferencemeeting the week before between the tutors involved.The purpose of this was for the St Andrews tutors toexperience the technology for the first time anddiscuss the activity itself in order to help the studentsprepare for it. We discussed issues such as “Should wecorrect their mistakes?” and “Should the tutorsintervene if there are gaps?” We decided on “No” tothe first and “Yes” to the second, amongst otherthings. The students were allocated topics to develop

for the event, and some lessons were devoted to thepreparation of the vocabulary area.

Evaluation commentsThere was a follow-up exercise designed to elicitfurther language production and establish attitudesamong the students. They were asked to write me aletter with comments on their experience, and toexpress both negative and positive impressions.

All the letters received were overwhelmingly positive.They all expressed surprise at the quality of thetransmission, “like being on television”, and delight atthe ease with which they could communicate. Somewere more enthusiastic than others about the planning,some would have preferred a more spontaneousapproach throughout, but they all enjoyed theexperience. Some finished their letters withsuggestions on what to do “next time”. There were noadverse comments.

The BarriersThe major problem was finding a suitable date for allthe participants. Timetabling across differentinstitutions can pose major difficulties. We tried torecreate the experience in April this year. We managedto settle on a date on the last week of teaching, butwhen the time came there was construction work at StAndrews and we had to cancel the exercise.

The EnablersThe technical support was very good and theequipment worked flawlessly. The students werecautious at the beginning but positively enthusiastic assoon as they experienced the medium. The tutors, newto the technology, were surprised at the ease of useand high quality of the environment. It was a learningexperience for them too.

Advice for new usersMy advice to any newcomers to ATMvideoconferencing in Scotland is: find someone who isfamiliar with the medium and allow yourself to bedrawn in. Technical support will be close at hand inmost institutions, but find an enthusiastic amateur toshare the experience with. Students are more likely togain confidence if led by an enthusiast. Planning andpreparation help ensure an effective experience, asdoes a mix of activities.

I strongly believe in the multiple media approach toteaching and learning. There would be much morebenefit in the occasional videoconference sessionwhich is the climax of a series of activities and is thenfollowed up by others. To be more than an optionalextra it would need to be built into assessment.


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National Learning Network forRemote SensingCharles Duncan

BackgroundRemote Sensing is a subject which is used in manydifferent disciplines but in most universities thenumber of experts in remote sensing is very small,often only one. The National Learning Network forRemote Sensing uses videoconference lectures andseminars to allow students in many Scottishuniversities to hear experts from other universities.Seminars are usually only for interest but thevideoconferenced lectures form an assessable part ofsome courses.

Before starting to give videoconferenced lectures Iused to travel each year to deliver three lectures tostudents at Heriot-Watt University. The lecturer atHeriot-Watt reciprocated to give three lectures to ourstudents. After using videoconferencing every weekfor research meetings with groups in other universitiesand gaining considerable confidence in the system, itseemed logical to use this mode of delivery rather thantravel across Edinburgh to give the lectures. Oneadvantage of using videoconferencing was the abilityto deliver the same material to students in otheruniversities (Dundee and Paisley) at the same time.The perceived disadvantage was that students mightfeel remote from the lecturer.

Since remote sensing involves mathematics andimages, some form of visual aid is essential. Thevisualiser was considered unsuitable because the viewis limited to video resolution - much poorer than the800x600 resolution that is common on computer-based displays. We chose to use PCs connected on theInternet, running NetMeeting in its shared applicationmode, to allow high quality visual aids to be deliveredwhile maintaining visual contact with the students.

A major concern at the outset was in making thelectures more interactive. It seemed essential thatremote lectures should be more interactive than locallectures. A great deal of effort was also expended inimproving the quality of the visual aids compared withthose which had been used for several years.Animation is important but it proved to be difficult torely on normal animation techniques when the sharedapplication protocols appear to send only one frame inevery five, or so. About 3 hours of work went intoproducing the visual aids for each one-hour lecturealthough all the diagrams already existed in OHPform.

Teaching contextSubject area Physics, Geography, Remote

Sensing.

Course level Final year undergraduate andtaught MSc.

Participants Staff Usually one lecturer,alone at one site.

Students Typically 5 to 10 studentsat each of 3 or 4 sites.

Students at the same site aremembers of a class, but have notmet those at the other sites.

Type of use Lectures and seminars.

Teaching methods Presentation with cross-site Q&Asessions.

Length of use A 3-lecture course has been run fortwo years and a monthly seminarseries for one year.

Project background Funded through SHEFC UMI (Use ofMANs Initiative) Phase 2.

Sites Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Dundee andPaisley Universities.

Prior experience Frequent use of videoconference formeetings, enthusiastic about itspotential for teaching.

Technical contextConference type Multi-point, 3 to 4 sites.


Additional equipment Visualiser, PC display monitor.

Software Shared applications includingPowerPoint, Web browsers and IDL(Visualisation package).

ContactContact name Dr. Charles Duncan

Contact details Department of Meteorology,University of Edinburgh, KingsBuildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ.

Tel: 0131 650 5091


Website http://scud.met.ed.ac.uk/


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When the lectures were delivered, about five minuteswas used to introduce the system to the students whowere virtually all using videoconferencing for the firsttime. Each remote site was involved in a multi-pointdiscussion to ensure that they were aware of thecapability of the system and they were invited tointerrupt at any point. Being aware that sciencestudents rarely interrupt lectures to ask questions, Ibroke the lecture at several points to pose questionsintended to stimulate discussion. Although thestudents responded they did so reluctantly. It seemedthat I expected these lectures needed more dialoguethan a conventional lecture, but the students did not.

In the second lecture I made less attempt to introducethis dialogue but in the last lecture, which concernedthe interpretation of images, a dialogue developedmore naturally. It appeared that the students were lessconcerned than I was about their remoteness and thatthey engaged in discussion when it was in context butnot when it appeared artificial. After each lecture thestudents were asked to complete questionnaires andtheir responses suggested that they felt thatvideoconference lectures were neither better nor worsethan conventional lectures. Of course I was not readilyaccessible for students to ask questions after thelectures. This applied when I gave the lectures inperson at Heriot-Watt as well, but one student emailedme with a question directly without contacting herlocal tutor.

There was no significant difference between theexperiences in the first academic year and those in thesecond.2

Students at two of the remote sites were examined inthe topic of the lectures as part of their final yeardegree assessments. One university set and marked itsown questions while I set and marked those for theother university. In both cases there was no detectabledifference between the students’ performance in thetopic of the videoconference lectures and those ofother traditional lectures. In one university, wherestudents had a degree of choice in the questions theycould answer, every student who attended thevideoconference lectures chose to answer thatquestion.

Our monthly seminar series has been running for oneacademic year and has proved popular, with about 3 or4 sites involved each time. This will continue next year.

Why videoconferencing was chosenVideoconferenced lectures met two objectives in thiscase. The first was to reduce time spent travelling todeliver lectures but the second, a by-product of the

multi-point videoconference system, was that severaluniversities could share the lectures. The sharing oflectures and seminars has started to build a greater“community” feeling among staff involved in teachingremote sensing throughout Scotland and sharing ofother resources, such as group collaborative projects,is under discussion.

The ExecutionThe videoconference lectures were delivered by alecturer who had no local students. The “host” studiowas set up to focus entirely on the lecturer. Since thelecturer was using a computer to drive the visualdisplays at the remote sites he was seated and had atendency to be looking at the computer screen whichreduced eye contact. At the remote sites students satfacing three screens in most cases: their own outgoingsignal, their incoming video signal showing whoeverwas currently speaking (usually the lecturer) and ascreen showing the computer output. Seats werearranged either in rows or in a curve facing themonitors.

Interaction was promoted in several ways. Askingquestions directed to specific sites was essential,otherwise students remained silent in the hope thatanother site would answer. Asking questions whichrequired a simple factual answer also produced longpauses as most students were inhibited aboutanswering (as they are in non-videoconferencesituations). Asking questions which required groupdiscussion at each site and a response from aspokesperson was the most effective. However, theonly time spontaneous questions arose was indiscussion of images in which objects required expertinterpretation.

During the lectures no props were used but during theseminars various speakers used props. Some, such as aglass tank of water placed on the visualiser todemonstrate waves, were very effective. Others, heldby the speaker, had varying degrees of success. Ingeneral, small props held in the speaker’s hands weremore effective than those which required a wider view.

What support was neededNo training or support was needed for the use of thevideoconference equipment. Many research groupmeetings had already been used for familiarisationwith the equipment. These research group meetingsrequired no more than a cursory few minutes oftraining on how to use the camera and visualisercontrols. Of course many mistakes were made,identified, and corrected during these meetings. The

2 A detailed evaluation of the lectures and discussion of the necessary preparations has been published in ALT-J, January1999. See http://www.warwick.ac.uk/alt-E/Publications/


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main lessons learned concerned filling the cameraview and ensuring the speaker was aware of thevolume of speech required and the position of themicrophones.

A much more serious issue for our lectures was theuse of PCs running NetMeeting to allow us to sharedata and applications. This required several hours ofrehearsal and identification of what was and was notpossible in terms of animation. It also took some timeto find the most robust and secure methods of settingup a meeting. These procedures are described in theALT-J paper noted above, and from the projectwebsite. When PowerPoint was used we took theprecaution of downloading the presentation to everyremote site prior to the lectures. In all but one case thisproved unnecessary but in the case where the link waslost it proved quite easy for someone at the remote siteto synchronise their presentation with that of thespeaker.

Evaluation commentsFormal evaluations were conducted and are reported inthe ALT-J paper (Jan 1999). Virtually all students feltthat there was little difference betweenvideoconference lectures and traditional lectures andthey would not mind having more videoconferencelectures. The reservations expressed by some at theirfirst videoconference lecture were almost totallyabsent by the third videoconference lecture. There wassome reduction in the number of students attendingthe lectures from the first to the third. A similar drop-off has also been observed in traditional lectureswhere students are given the complete PowerPointpresentations as handouts.

From the lecturer’s viewpoint I have come toincreasingly question the use of lectures as a meansof delivering information as a result of thesevideoconference experiences. Our experience oftelevision makes us reluctant to offer students a“talking head” yet there is often little differencebetween that and what is delivered in a lecturetheatre.

The BarriersThe biggest single barrier to our lectures and seminarswas the lack of computers and data projectionfacilities in the Scottish MAN videoconferencingstudios. We not only had to carry a computer to thestudio each time we used it and change its networksettings because it had moved to a new subnet butevery one of the remote sites had to do the same. Thishas now been remedied by SHEFC funding suitableequipment in every one of the Scottish MAN studios.

Once we had rehearsed how to set up NetMeeting andestablished guidelines that we used with all our remotesites, it became possible to set up all our equipmentand make the necessary connections for a lecture inabout 10-15 minutes. Now, with permanently installedequipment this set-up time should be reduced to nomore than five minutes.

The biggest problem both for the seminars and forincreasing the scope of shared lecture courses is thatof fitting in with timetables in many differentinstitutions.

The EnablersAccess to videoconferencing has been wonderfullyeasy. Checking if the studio is available and making abooking can be done on the Internet. We are fortunateto have a studio in our own building. Preparing to givea videoconference lecture is therefore no moredifficult than a conventional lecture.

Advice for new usersTry it! Next time you plan to go to another universityfor a meeting, use a videoconference instead. Getsome experience in this non-critical environmentbefore using videoconference for teaching. Once youare ready to try sharing teaching, try to identify ifthere is duplication of effort in universities whichwould allow you to share teaching resources. This notonly creates more free time but it also encouragesmore collaboration and sharing of teaching resourcesbetween institutions.


15

Delivery of research methodsteachingAlison Galloway

BackgroundWe had already experimented with videoconferencingbeing delivered by staff at the Scottish College ofTextiles (SCOT) to Consumer Studies students atQueen Margaret College (QM). All participants hadfound the experience interesting and we were keen tokeep up the momentum gained in the initial stages.Having had expensive equipment installed in bothinstitutions, it also seemed somewhat wasteful to let itfall into disuse. In addition we wished to furtherexplore possibilities for improving module choice forstudents by being able to provide courses for relativelysmall numbers of students.

Why videoconferencing was chosenWe were conscious that there were students at bothSCOT and QM who had a particular need for basicresearch methods teaching. At QM, direct entrystudents who move into the second or third level ofour courses, after having undertaken, for example, anHNC in an FE college, generally feel disadvantagedwhen they arrive because their peers who took theirfirst year at QM had already been given a fair bit ofresearch methods teaching. Similarly, students atSCOT felt unprepared to undertake survey work whichis generally required of them in their third or fourthyears. This presented an ideal opportunity to extendour experiments with videoconferencing and to try outsimultaneous teaching to two institutions. The smallgroup size at each site, lending itself to effectivevideoconferencing, also meant that such a solutioncould be cost-effective in terms of institutions sharingteaching resources.

The project set a number of initial objectives:

� QM to deliver simultaneous video-linked classesfor students at SCOT and QM;

� Develop interactive teaching material in researchmethods for use during videoconference classeswith students at both sites;

� Train and develop students and staff in teachingand learning by this medium;

� Allow students to further explore issues covered inthese research methods classes by placing supportmaterial on the World Wide Web;

� Evaluate the project and disseminate findings.

Teaching contextSubject area Research methods.

Course level 2nd – 3rd year undergraduates.

Participants Staff 1 at site with students.

Students approx. 12 at 2 sites.

Type of use Lecture/tutorial.

Teaching methods Flexible learning: presentations,Q&A sessions, interactiveworkbooks.

Support materials Placed on Web for independentstudy.

Length of use Six 1-hour sessions.

Project background Pilot project funded by SHEFCRegional Strategic Initiative 1995-1997.

Sites Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh(now Queen Margaret UniversityCollege) and Scottish College ofTextiles, Galashiels (now Heriot-Watt University, Scottish BordersCampus).

Prior experience Had used videoconferencing forlectures delivered by remote expert.Fairly confident about usingtechnology.


Technology used Studio based ISDN 6.

Additional equipment Visualiser.

ContactContact name Alison Galloway

Contact details Department of Business andConsumer Studies, Queen MargaretUniversity College, ClerwoodTerrace, Edinburgh EH12 8TS.

Tel: 0131 317 3461

Email:[email protected]


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The ExecutionSix one hour classes were held in total, but the firstwas an informal introductory session to briefparticipants and to “break the ice”. This includedsuggestions for students about how best to interactduring the classes, as well as giving them the chanceto chat to their colleagues in the remote location. I wassituated at QM with the QM students, while the otherstudents were located in Galashiels in the Bordersregion. The other five classes all involved the use ofthe interactive workbooks, which contained notes andquestions for discussion. I would go over the maintheoretical issues on the subjects of, for example, datameasurement, questionnaire design and sampling, andwould then present the students with some questionsto consider. After a suitable pause for reflection,students in both locations were asked (alternately) tosuggest possible responses.

The introductory session helped the students to becomfortable in each others’ presence and interact well.We even managed to get a fair bit of “banter” going attimes. The small number of students in both locationsmeant that I didn’t have any real problems in elicitingresponses from all participants, as they acceptedextremely well that they would all have to contributeto make the experience a successful one. Moreover,while the subject matter being taught could by nostretch of the imagination be considered interesting,the students all perceived a very strong personal needto become competent in this subject area in order tosucceed in the rest of their degree, so their motivationwas high.

What support was neededNo formal training had been given, but we had theresults of the earlier pilot project to draw on. I had theopportunity to watch these earlier videoconferencedclasses, so I was conscious of a number of problemssuch as time delay with the equipment, use of thecontrols, trying to give equal attention to both groupsof students, etc.

Evaluation commentsWe did conduct a formal evaluation, using bothquestionnaires and focus groups, with an independentmember of the teaching staff. The feedback wasencouraging, and students seemed to enjoy the classesand (more importantly) felt that they had learned a lot.

I was aware of the need to divide attention equallybetween the two groups of students, and this could bea problem especially during the delivery of theoreticalbackground. In practice students were giving most oftheir attention to the workbooks during this phase, andneither group felt neglected or cut off from thelecturer.

The BarriersThe problems caused by the time delay, for examplebetween asking a question at my end and getting areply at the other end, meant that I often thought thatno answer was forthcoming. Similarly, I feltdisconcerted when making a joke and seeing seriousfaces at the other end, only to find that the time delaywas again the source of the problem. All participantscommented on this issue and the difficulties involved.Interrupting was a particular problem, becausestudents worried that if they started speaking at theirend, the time delay could mean that they would beinterrupting somebody at the other end. We tentativelyapproached solutions to this, using cards with symbolson them (similar to Internet “smileys”), but this didn’treally get beyond the piloting stage.

The seating arrangements were not ideal. A somewhatlinear approach had been adopted at QM, while thoseat SCOT managed to arrange themselves in ahorseshoe shape, which was more successful as itallowed students there to see each other as well as theQM site on the monitor.

The cost of the ISDN lines and difficulties oftimetabling across two institutions meant that we hadto cover a lot of material in a short space of time, andhad no flexibility to allow classes to over-run.

Advice for new usersI have used videoconferencing (through the MAN)since that time, but we haven’t managed to fix anyother classes up yet. I would certainly like anotheropportunity to use this medium.

It’s useful to have some prior experience, so ifpossible watch or take part in a videoconferencebefore you conduct one of your own. Try to establish arapport with the participants. Varying the types ofactivity helps to keep people involved and establishesthis rapport. Activities can be varied between local(i.e. off-line) or across sites using the videoconferenceconnection. Try to build enough flexibility into yourprogramme to adapt later conferences in the light ofearlier experiences.


17

Guest seminars for Design History& Contemporary StudiesMarlene Ivey

BackgroundAs part of the Design History & ContemporaryStudies Visiting Lecturer programme, we invitedChristine Atha, Head of Education at the Institute ofContemporary Arts (ICA), London, to come toDundee in 1996 and 1997 for one-off lectures to oursecond and third year design students. I proposed weextend her teaching involvement to include avideoconferencing seminar series for the 1998academic year.

Why videoconferencing was chosenWe were interested to discover whether or not it mightbe possible to conduct Design History &Contemporary Studies seminars with a “visiting”lecturer, through videoconferencing. We also wishedto observe how we (staff and students) responded tolearning using this technology. Also, how did thistechnology influence the learning process?

Ten second year design students participated in thisDesign History & Contemporary Studiesvideoconferencing seminar with two members of staffinvolved. The University of Dundee site hosted thestudents and a university lecturer; fees were paid to aUniversity College London site to host a “visiting”lecturer from the ICA.

The ExecutionChristine Atha and I emailed and spoke over thetelephone to prepare for the videoconferencingsessions. I planned to stand aside from the seminargroup to encourage direct interaction betweenChristine and the group. However, I found that I had tobe more flexible and from time to time become morecentral to the group - moving in and moving out.There were problems because the University suite wasvery tightly designed to simulate a meeting room andthis seemed inappropriate to our purpose. We soughtto change the room but the relationship between thetechnology and the table is fixed, the room was rathersmall for our group - there was not enough flexibilityin seating arrangements.

The videoconferencing experience was hampered bythe poor quality of image on the videoscreen. Thisrelated to the England/Scotland connection. This tooksome adjustment because we had expected a clean,clear image based on our previous experience of theMAN videoconferencing facilities.

Teaching contextSubject area Design History and Contemporary

Studies.

Course level 2nd Year undergraduate.

Participants Staff “Visiting” lecturer atremote site, Lecturer at site withstudents.

Students 10 at one site.

Students did not know the “guest”but both staff were well acquainted.

Type of use Seminar.

Teaching methods Presentation, prepared assignmentspresented at sessions, Q&Asessions across sites, assignedreading.

Length of use 5 x 1hour sessions in Term II 1998/99.

Project background Pilot project funded from DesignHistory & Contemporary Studiesbudget.

Sites Duncan of Jordanstone School ofDesign, Dundee and UniversityCollege London being used by theInstitute of Contemporary Arts,London.

Prior experience Some training from technical staff.Enthusiastic and confident aboutusing the technology but stilllacking skill regarding its operation.


Technology used Studio-based MAN and ISDN 2.

Additional equipment Visualiser, video recording of somesessions.

ContactContact name Marlene Ivey

Contact details Acting Course Director, DesignHistory & Contemporary Studies,Duncan of Jordanstone College ofArt & Design, University of Dundee,Perth Road, Dundee DD1 4HT.

Tel: 01382 345295



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Nevertheless, we progressed. Interaction wasprompted through questions related to the subjectmatter. Students were given assignments and expectedto return to the following seminar having developedtheir understanding of the subject independently. Wehave the impression that they became more confidentas time went on. We videotaped the first and the lastsession and we are looking to this visual evidence tosupport that impression.

What support was neededStaff at the videoconferencing suites gave both myselfand Christine Atha brief introductory sessions on howthe system worked. Looking back, I feel it would beworthwhile if the University were to offer staffdevelopment opportunities in this area. Experiencehelps the most. Consequently practical sessions shouldbe part of this training. It should also enable staff todevelop sessions which would prepare students forusing the technology.

I think we had the technical support we needed - wewere shown what was available and could call upon itas needed.

Evaluation commentsChristine Atha came to Dundee in the third term for alive lecture on the subject and we held an informaldebriefing session with the seminar students. Theyreported that they found the experience very strangebut enjoyable. Students were asked to produce a paperon the seminar topic. We are awaiting return of thesepapers. Also, we have yet to examine/discuss thevideotapes of the first and last seminars.

The BarriersA few minor problems had to be solved before wecould proceed. The ICA did not have avideoconferencing facility which meant we had tobook a suite with a London college campus in closeproximity to the ICA. Free access to thevideoconferencing network was not available inEngland - a small budget had to be sourced.

As time progressed, it became clear thatvideoconference teaching required some academicfacilitation at the student site. The remote lecturercould not completely replace the on-site lecturer. Italso became clear that the design of thevideoconference suite was not appropriate for thisgroup and type of teaching.

The EnablersJust about everyone we contacted at the Universitiesand along the videoconferencing network were verywilling to help us to make this work. Christine Atha’senthusiasm, interest and involvement was a greatenabler.

Advice for new usersWe are planning to assess the impact of thisexperience on the students across the coming year.Will they select essay or dissertation topics in thesubject area of the seminar? In the area ofcommunication technology? Can these dissertations beelectronically supervised?

There appears to be an immediate impact on thelecturers. Having had this experience, I am directingdissertation students in this academic year to look atdesign and technology, the design ofvideoconferencing suites, etc.

We are also expecting to have a videoconferencinglecture theatre at Duncan of Jordanstone campus,hopefully for the next academic year. This will extendthe scope for our use of this technology from 10students to hundreds.

Because of the differences in quality between ISDNand the ATM conferencing available on the ScottishMANs, it is important to try things out at the quality(e.g. ISDN 2, 6, or ATM) which you will be using inthe teaching context. This is especially important ifdetailed visual images are to be used.


19

Sharing lectures for teachingundergraduate surgeryGordon Jameson

Background3

The project linked the departments of surgery in sixmajor UK Medical Schools. It ran for 3 years from1992 to 1995. The first year was concerned withestablishing the connectivity between individualpartner sites and equipping the lecture theatres orteaching area with the necessary technology. Thesecond and third years were spent delivering lecturesand using the feedback from this experience to modifydelivery.

Why videoconferencing was chosenThe project aimed to use collaborative teachingcourses to teach undergraduates surgery. This allowedsharing of scarce teaching resources, particularlyclinical case studies. By using video technology andprojecting the images on a large screen the studentswere given a better view of the patient than they wouldachieve around the bedside. The collaboration of theteachers resulted in students being taught by experts ineach topic, where this expertise would not necessarilyhave been available at their own centre.

The ExecutionFirst Year - Technology Set-up

The first year was concerned with setting up thenetwork and equipping the teaching space. TheSuperJANET network connected five centres. BristolUniversity was not connected to SuperJANET, sospecial considerations were given to connecting thatcentre; (SMDS technology was used). Further workhad to be carried out to connect the teaching space tothe SuperJANET network.

The SuperJANET project did not have special Audio-Visual expertise, and there were a number of problemsassociated with the AV requirements. Audio inparticular presented problems and work had to bedone to incorporate echo cancellation facilities. Thesefacilities are now incorporated in mostvideoconferencing systems. It was vital that thetechnical capability of each site was the same, so thata lecture could be transmitted from any of them.

Teaching contextSubject area Medicine (Surgery).

Course level Undergraduate.

Participants Staff 6, one from each site.

Students Several hundred, spreadacross 6 sites.

Type of use Lecture series.

Teaching methods Traditional lecture, clinical casestudies, online Q&A sessions.

Length of use An 18 lecture course delivered 6times over two years.

Project background Teaching and Learning TechnologyProgramme (TLTP) Phase 2 Project,INSURRECT (INteractive SURgicalTeaching at REmote CenTres).

Sites Medical Schools at UniversityCollege London (project leader),Cambridge University, NewcastleUniversity, Edinburgh University,Manchester University, and BristolUniversity.

Prior experience Most staff involved had none.

Technical contextConference type Multi-point 6 sites.

Technology used SuperJANET ATM (Equivalent toISDN 20).

Additional equipment At each site: Two fixed cameras,OHP and slide projectors, VHSVideo projectors.

ContactContact name Dr D G Jameson

Contact details Director, Multimedia Support andCommunications Centre, UniversityCollege London, Windeyre Building,Cleveland Street, London W1P 6DB.

Tel: 0171 504 9320


3 Further information about the Insurrect project (INteractive SURgical Teaching at REmote CenTres) can be found at http://www.mmscc.ucl.ac.uk/insurrect/index.html


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Second Year - Traditional lecture delivery

As the lecturers had virtually no experience ofnetwork teaching and it was difficult to explain this tothem, it was decided to permit the teachers to givetheir lectures in the same manner as face-to-faceteaching. This experience was a shock as they wereforced to realise that many of the methods of feedbackfrom their audience did not work over networks andthe students found asking question difficult in thesecircumstances.

The lecturers had a second chance to deliver theirlectures but this situation did not improve the secondtime round, and so the project decided to have aspecial meeting to discuss the problems associatedwith network teaching. We had collected feedbackfrom students and this was also discussed.

It was evident that the prime requirements were thatthe sessions should be interactive and that multimediamaterial should be used more in the lectures. In themedical context this meant that we should try to bringreal patients into the lectures as part of thepresentation of case studies of the clinical conditions.

Third Year - Modified lecture delivery andConclusions

Changes were instituted and these improved thequality of lectures, which was measured by theproportion of students who continued to attendlectures throughout the course. Where possible clinicalmaterial was used in the lectures and this wasappreciated by students.

Evaluation commentsThe project had highlighted that the use of ISDNvideoconferencing techniques for teaching was verydifferent to the experience of videoconferencingmeetings. Application was made for another TLTPproject award for further work in this field but this wasnot supported. The cost of ISDN calls between the 6sites was too high to maintain from departmentalresources and consequently this teaching activitystopped.

The BarriersInteraction was a major problem because students werecautious about asking questions in front of colleaguesfrom other universities. We found that the best way tomaintain the anonymity of the student was for thestudents to decide who should be their spokespersonand for this person to channel all questions andresponses. This also overcame a technical problem ofmicrophones being able to pick up the sound of theaudience. A roving microphone was used and carried bythe student spokesperson at each site. This person alsointroduced the teacher at whichever site was responsiblefor the lecture on that day.

The EnablersIf the teaching session was structured for interaction totake place at specified stages, i.e. after the initialpresentation of the clinical condition of the patient, butbefore a discussion of how to treat that condition, theninteraction was successful. This did not stopspontaneous questions and as the students becamemore accustomed to the network environment theinteraction improved.

European Collaboration

A project has been recently completed linkingCopenhagen (Denmark), Turku (Finland) and UCLLondon, which was funded through the EUSOCRATES Programme. This collaboration haspresented clinical case studies, given by studentsunder the supervision of a clinical teacher. Thiscollaboration is continuing between London andCopenhagen although the funding has finished. Thestudents have the opportunity to compare clinicalpractice in different countries.

Desktop Videoconferencing

Another project is being carried out within the UKbetween London, Manchester and Edinburgh using theIP (Internet Protocol) videoconferencing technique(i.e. desktop conferencing), where packet-switchingtechnology is used. The user interface is very differentto that used in the ISDN environment and this willhave an important impact on the teachers and studentswhich needs to be examined. The problems of takingthe network to the teaching space have occurred againand also there are problems handling the audio forsmall groups. These audio problems can be avoided ifthe PC workstation is used by a single person who iswearing headphones.

At this stage there is much work to be done toestablish a stable network. The AV quality is limitedover the network, but if enabling packages such asNetMeeting are used then high-resolution images canbe presented. Currently there are severe limitations onplaying out video in this environment. If the multicastenvironment can be made to work suitably then a lowcost method of network teaching is possible over apervasive network.

Advice for new usersExperience of teaching in this way led us to theconclusion that this type of network teaching wasmore suited to delivery in small rooms to groups ofbetween 12 and 20 students because the size of thegroup was not too large for interaction. Sessions haveto be more interactive than traditional lectures, andshould make more use of multi-media materials.


21

Using videoconferencing forresearch seminar presentationsDawn Lamond

BackgroundThe Department of Nursing and Midwifery at theUniversity of Stirling has three campus sites, one inStirling itself, one in Inverness and one in Stornoway.The Department views research activity as an integralpart of its work across all three campus sites.

Why videoconferencing was chosenIt was felt that using videoconferencing was theobvious way to facilitate research activity and ensurethat all campus sites could participate.

The ExecutionThe seminars occur in one of two different types oflocation within the main University site. One locationis a traditional lecture theatre which has an ISDNsocket. This means that the seating is fairly“traditional” in that the audience sits in rows, with thespeaker at the front of the lecture theatre. Thevideoconference equipment is organised so that thedistant sites can see the speaker, but not the audience.The set up in the distant sites is such that the speakercan see the audience.

The second location at the main University site is aclassroom which has an ISDN socket. This allows formore flexibility in the set up of the seminar, with theaudience in rows and the speaker at the front of theroom. The videoconference equipment can beorganised so that the distant sites can see the speakerand part of the audience. The speaker can see theaudience at the distant sites.

When speakers have presented from one of the distantsites to the main University campus, the organisationis similar. In this instance, the videoconferenceequipment is organised so that the speaker can be seenby the distant audience, and the audience can be seenby the speaker.

The seminars normally consist of a 40-45 minutepresentation by an invited speaker. The equipmentused varies depending on the speaker, but has includedoverheads and slides (projected with the aid of avisualiser), PowerPoint presentations and the use ofvideo clips. After the presentation the audience has theopportunity to ask questions of the speaker, and oftena lively discussion ensues, across the campus sites.

Teaching contextSubject area Health care.

Course level Mixed (see below).

Participants Staff Several organisers. Oneinvited speaker for each seminar.

Students Between 3 and 30 at eachsite.

Participants are a mixture ofmembers of staff from within theDepartment, from otherdepartments across the University,students (both undergraduate andpostgraduate) and staff from clinicalareas (hospitals and communityhealth care). Participants oftenknow each other, with members ofstaff from within the departmentacross the three campus sites.

Type of use Research seminars, lasting 1 hour.

Teaching methods Speakers present a researchseminar paper. The audience thenhas an opportunity to ask questionsand discuss the presentation.

Length of use Series of seminars over 2 years.

Project background No special funding.

Sites Stirling, Inverness, and StornowayCampus sites of Department ofNursing and Midwifery, StirlingUniversity.

Prior experience Most speakers have no priorexperience. Author fairly confidentabout using the technology.


Technology used ISDN 2.

Additional equipment Visualiser, video player.

Software Shared software applications.

ContactContact name Dr Dawn Lamond

Contact details Department of Nursing &Midwifery, University of Stirling,Stirling FK9 4LA.

Tel: 01786 466345


22

What support was neededAs the organiser of the seminars, some training onhow to use the equipment was provided by the Mediaand AV Services Department at the University. Theyoffered full technical support for the seminarpresentations, including setting up the equipment andtesting it before the seminar commences. This hasbeen crucial, as the variability in the types ofpresentations given by invited speakers has oftennecessitated quite complicated technical back up.

Evaluation commentsOn the whole the seminars have been evaluatedpositively by participants across the department. Oftenevaluations depend on the nature of the speaker, ratherthan the logistics of the videoconference itself.

The BarriersSeveral factors have been identified over the 2 yearswhich seem to inhibit good videoconferencing at theseminars. Firstly, the speakers need to ensure that thematerials they use can be seen by audiences at theother end of the videoconference equipment(especially for overheads and PowerPointpresentations). Also, many of the invited speakershave not encountered videoconference equipmentbefore, and find the set up quite daunting. In order totry and overcome this a leaflet has been developed(entitled “Guidelines for seminar speakers”) which issent to each invited speaker. This has appeared to aidthem in their preparation for talking at the seminars.

Another barrier identified in the early stages of theseminar programme occurs during the question phase.If there is a large audience at one site, and someoneasks a question from the back of the room, it is oftendifficult for the distant sites to hear the question, andthey therefore cannot gain full benefit from theensuing discussion. This has been rectified by theChair of each session repeating the question clearlyinto the microphone, for the benefit of all audiences.

A final barrier is concerned with feedback (in terms ofaudience noise or sound echoing) which may occurfrom the distant sites when the seminar is in progress.This has been easily solved by the distant sites turningoff their microphones whilst the speaker is talking,unless they wish to ask a question.

The EnablersOrganising the seminars so that the distant audiencescan see the speaker, and ask questions, appears tofacilitate good discussion across the sites. If thespeakers have clear materials (whether they areoverheads / slides or a PowerPoint presentation) theseminars seem to be more successful. If possible,copies of speaker’s materials (overheads / notes) aresent to the distant sites in advance (by fax). This alsoappeared to aid the presentation of the seminars.Speakers who are clearly spoken are also receivedmore favourably. When the questions asked are clearlypresented, whether by the questioner or when repeatedby the Chair, this also seems to facilitate a goodseminar session.

Advice for new usersThe department seminars continue to bevideoconferenced. Any advice to be given has beencovered in the previous sections, however in summary:

1. Make sure you have good technical support andthe ability to use a variety of different methods ofinformation presentation.

2. Speakers should be given some informationbeforehand regarding the nature ofvideoconferencing and what to expect.

3. Information presented should be clear, and ifpossible check that it can be seen on the distantsites.

4. Make sure that any discussion can be clearly heardby participants on all sites.


23

Teaching by videoconference- a guerrilla approachSean Milligan

BackgroundThurso College identified that there was local demandfor a navigation course, but did not have a local tutoravailable. Staff in Thurso were aware of an existing(very successful) navigation course provided onOrkney, and decided to approach that tutor to teachtheir course from a distance.

Why videoconferencing was chosenThe course relies on the use of navigational charts soan audio-only link would not have been adequate.There was also an interest in both Thurso and OrkneyColleges in piloting a course delivered throughvideoconferencing. We were able to offer the course tostudents on Skye, which would not otherwise havebeen possible.

The ExecutionThe students on this course were well motivated adults- indeed one of them was a lecturer at Thurso Collegewho herself has considerable experience in the use ofvideoconferencing. There were no students in Orkney,where the tutor was based.

The navigation course has been running for sometime, and there are well tried and tested paper basedsupport materials provided. Class preparation waslittle different to the face-to-face tutorials which havebeen used in previous years with the primaryconsiderations always being the best way to achievethe teaching objectives.

The typical format for the class was to presentmaterial in a tutorial format, to work on some practicalexercises, and to check these, and then to have anopportunity for further questions before moving on tothe next section of the topic. For navigation much ofthe course relies on large navigation charts, and it wasimportant to find a strategy which allowed all studentsto see examples and illustrations presented by thetutor, and for the tutor to be able to check work thatstudents were doing on the charts.

The tutor spent about 15 minutes prior to each sessionchecking that the equipment and camera settings wereas desired. One fixed camera was trained on the tutor’schart (actually the camera was balanced on animprovised tripod made from cardboard boxes), onecamera was used to give a talking head image of thetutor, and the visualiser was also available. The

Teaching contextSubject area Navigation.

Participants Staff 1

Students 4 - 5 at each of two sites.

Type of use Adult learners in evening classes.

Teaching methods Tutor presentation, online practicalexercises in groups.

Support materials Paper based background reading.

Length of use One evening a week for 10 weeks.

Project background No special funding.

Sites Orkney College, Kirkwall (tutor),Thurso College and Sabhal MòrOstaig, Skye.

Prior experience None, but short training sessionprovided. Enthusiastic about thetechnology.


Technology used Studio based ISDN 6.

Additional equipment Visualiser, fixed camera for displayof materials.

ContactContact name Sean Milligan

Contact details Orkney College, Kirkwall, OrkneyIslands, KW15 1LX.

Tel: 01856 851021

Email:Sean_Milligan/[email protected]


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camera trained on the chart could zoom in to show thedetail, including the figures written on the chart, or itcould be used to show an overview of the whole chart.The tutor had a split screen image allowing him to seeall the student sites at once; the students turned offvoice-switching so that their views were fixed on thesignal output selected by the tutor.

The students worked in groups. While the studentswere working their microphones were on, allowing thetutor to listen to the discussion and conversationwithin the group. Students placed their completedcharts onto the visualiser to allow the tutor to checkand comment on their work.

When using the visualiser to build up diagrams thetutor was careful to draw something, withdraw hishand, and then pause, to allow the image beingreceived by the students to settle.

What support was neededAt one of the student sites there was technical support,and this site took the lead in dialling up the other sitesand establishing the necessary links. The students atthe other site did not have technical support, andinitially had to be talked through the steps necessary toget everything set up as desired. They quickly learnedthis process, and were happy using other equipmentsuch as the visualiser.

Weaker students were supported and encouraged bythe others in the group. This worked particularly wellwith a group of adults; it may work less well withyounger students.

The tutor was given about half an hour individualtraining before undertaking this course.

Evaluation commentsThe students quickly gained confidence in using thesystem. They spontaneously took to waving theirhands as they interrupted with a question, so it waseasy for the tutor to identify the source of the query.

The BarriersOnly during the first session did the students showsigns of being nervous about the technology.

Daylight shining on the chart sometimes made itdifficult to see properly, but by adjusting the lightingthis could easily be overcome.

The EnablersBetter not to have a local class as well as the remotestudents.

Advice for new usersWe needed to be able to move equipment to positionsthat the teacher wanted. In a teaching space theteacher is likely to rearrange tables, OHP etc., so thissort of flexibility is important. The sessions benefitedfrom a variety of activities, some across the sites andsome locally. If you do anything for long enougheverything that can go wrong will go wrong - it isn’tyour fault. Keep a sense of humour.


25

Videoconferencing in MathematicsNeil Pitcher

BackgroundIn identifying a subject of common interest toMathematics students in different universities, wefocused on Mathwise, which is a multimedia systemproduced as a Teaching and Learning TechnologyProgramme project. Mathwise is in use at manyuniversities, but students require training in how bestto use it. The aim of the keynote lecture was to haveMathwise experts present the system to students, whowould then use it in their courses.

Why videoconferencing was chosenOur aim was to present a keynote lecture inMathematics to students in different universities at thesame time. Our intention was to experiment withvideoconferencing as a medium to achieve this. Wecarried out a pilot study and have maderecommendations as to how videoconferencing mightbe used more widely in Mathematics teaching.

The ExecutionTwo groups of students participated, one at theUniversity of Paisley and the other at Heriot-WattUniversity. One Mathwise expert was at Paisley andpresented the system’s Learning Units, whilst theother Mathwise expert was at Heriot-Watt anddescribed its assessment facilities. The Mathwisesoftware was demonstrated “live” via the MAN fromone location to the other, using a PC at each site.

Eight students were present at each site, seated inclose proximity to the speakers. At one site thespeaker was facing away from the students, whichmade interaction difficult. In order to promoteinteraction, each presenter spoke for just 15 minutesand questions were invited from the students aftereach presentation. However, the amount of interactionwhich took place was limited. Some questions wereput to the presenters, but these were mostly asked ofthe lecturer at the same site. Students seemed to find itharder to ask questions of the presenter at the othersite.

However, in the evaluation study students were verypositive about the experience. In general, they felt thatthey had a good opportunity to put questions, but theydid feel slightly more inhibited than in a normallecture. The students said that the videoconferencesession was more interesting than a normal lecture, but

Teaching contextSubject area Mathematics.

Course level 2nd year undergraduate.

Participants Staff 2, one at each site.

Students 16, 8 at each site.

Participants had not met.

Type of use Keynote lecture.

Teaching methods Lecture with online Q&A session.

Support materials Courseware demonstrated atconference.

Length of use Single trial of videoconferencing.

Project background Part of the SUMSMAN project(Scottish Universities Maths andStatistics across the MANs), aSHEFC-funded Use of MANsInitiative.

Sites University of Paisley and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

Prior experience No prior experience but traininggiven. Enthusiastic about thetechnology.



Additional equipment Visualiser, camera controlled byvoice tracking, video recording ofsession.

Software Shared software applications viaMAN networked PCs.

ContactContact name Dr. Neil Pitcher

Contact details Department of Mathematics &Statistics, University of Paisley,High Street, Paisley, PA1 2BE.

Tel: 0141 848 3504


http://www.maths.ed.ac.uk/~ama/UMI/


26

this was because it was a new experience. They wouldlike to have more classes by videoconference if thiswere possible.

A subsequent videoconference session was used togather feedback from students on the Mathwisesystem itself. Here the focus was on students’ opinionsand discussion, rather than on mathematicalinformation. In this second session the level ofinteraction among students was far greater. Studentsconversed reasonably freely between sites.

What support was neededWe benefited greatly from the training provided byTALiSMAN. In fact, without such training we wouldpossibly not even have attempted to use suchtechnology, as it is such a radical departure from thetraditional lecture. The training was invaluable as itprovided an overview of the technical aspects and alsoenabled us to consider what the experience was likelyto be like for the students, and indeed for us aspresenters.

Excellent technical support was provided by each ofthe universities. Without this assistance, thevideoconference sessions could not have beenconducted smoothly.

Evaluation commentsEvaluation was carried out via questionnaire andinterview. Formal evaluation was carried out withinthe SUMSMAN project, of which this experimentformed one part. The students were positive about theoverall experience of using Mathwise in conjunctionwith a demonstration session by videoconference.They felt that the videoconference was a goodpreparation for Mathwise and that the softwareprovided an effective way to learn a mathematicaltopic.

The students particularly appreciated the opportunityto see a demonstration of Mathwise by two of theexperts who had produced the system. They also feltthat videoconferencing would be a good method topresent classes, particularly when there are too fewstudents wishing to take a subject at any oneuniversity.

The students were also asked how they would like tosee videoconferencing used in their Mathematicscourses. Their response was that they saw it as a usefulteaching method, alongside other classes and as anoccasional change. Not one single student was infavour of replacing all lectures by videoconferencesessions.

The BarriersThe one significant difficulty was with scheduling.Timetables at different institutions are inevitably fixedand large scale flexibility in terms of moving classesto other time slots is not possible to achieve. For ourkeynote lecture, which was a “one off” event, it didprove possible, by asking favours of variouscolleagues, to arrange for both sets of students at thetwo institutions to be available at the same time, and tobook the same one hour slot on the MAN.

The EnablersThe keynote lecture was delivered jointly by twocolleagues: Dr. Neil Pitcher at the University ofPaisley and Dr. David Wild at Heriot-Watt University.Both presenters prepared thoroughly, to the extent ofworking to a pre-written script and an agreed agenda.As a result the session was conducted smoothly.

The network proved reliable for the session and thequality of pictures and sound was good.

Advice for new usersThrough these initial experiences I came to the viewthat the best use of videoconferencing with students islikely to be in small group work, where interaction is avital part of the session. In videoconferencing it is ofthe essence to get students conversing with each other.Possible activities could be student presentations,problem solving exercises sharing computerapplications, or student feedback debates on relevanttopics.

Keynote lectures are feasible, but interaction is likelyto be limited. It may be that a “chat show” formatcould be an appropriate model for such a session byvideoconference. As for the formal presentation ofstandard lecture material, videoconferencing may havelittle to offer beyond the simple expedient of makingvideos and playing them back to students at home orin the lecture theatre.

A general comment is that far more preparation isneeded for a successful videoconference session thanfor a conventional lecture. Preparation needs to givemeticulous attention to detail, even to the point ofwriting a script and planning camera shots.


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A Doctoral viva by videoconference4

Michael Pitt

BackgroundThe Viva is the culmination of at least three years’work on a highly specialised topic, and necessarilyinvolves bringing together the candidate with aninternal subject specialist and at least one externalexpert in the field. The candidate discusses anddefends the thesis through about two hours of detailedquestioning.

Why videoconferencing was chosenTwo external specialists had agreed to take this Viva,Professor Parrish from Cambridge and Professor Fox-Genovese from Atlanta, USA. For health reasonsProfessor Fox-Genovese was unable to travel, and theViva had to be cancelled at very short notice. While Ihad a (rather dismal) holiday and contemplated alengthy delay, Professor Banfill at Heriot-Wattsuggested a videoconference with Professor Fox-Genovese, (in spite of his having no prior experience),and this was arranged. The alternative would havebeen a search for another suitable external subjectspecialist willing to take on the commitment toreading through the thesis and participating in a Viva,entailing a delay of at least six months. Furthermore,the thesis topic was closely related to the specialistwork of Professor Fox-Genovese, making her the mostappropriate examiner.

The ExecutionProfessor Parrish travelled from Cambridge toEdinburgh, and all the examiners had a briefdiscussion via the videoconference link before I wasasked to join them in the room. After some initialstrangeness, communication felt quite natural and wewere able to discuss the thesis very freely. I don’t feelthat the “tele-presence” of one member of the panel inany way detracted from the quality of the discussionor distracted my attention from the subject. While oneis naturally a little apprehensive about such a majorexamination, I don’t feel the videoconference elementaffected this. Indeed it became quite an enjoyableexperience and the time passed extremely quickly.

I gather the conference call cost several hundredpounds, which probably compares quite favourablywith the cost of travel from the USA.

Teaching contextSubject area Building Engineering.

Participants Staff One internal and oneexternal examiner on site, oneexternal examiner at remote site.

Students PhD candidate on site.

I had met the remote externalexaminer once, and knew theinternal examiner well, but had notpreviously met the second (on-site)external examiner.

Type of use Doctoral Viva examination.

Length of use Single occasion.

Project background One-off use, paid for fromDepartmental funds.

Sites Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh,and Emory University, Atlanta, USA.

Prior experience None, but confident withtechnology.


Technology used Studio based ISDN6 conference.

Additional equipment Visualiser.

ContactContact name Dr Michael Pitt

Contact details Dept. of Building Engineering andSurveying, Heriot-Watt University,Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS.

Tel: 0131 451 4661


4 See Appendix C for a copy of the guidelines for examination by video link drawn up by the University of Edinburgh.


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What support was neededA week before the Viva I visited the studio on campuswith Professor Banfill. The technicians provided avery helpful briefing on what to expect, warning meabout the possible blurring of the picture if the personat the other end moved too quickly, and also that therewould be a slight time-lag in both audio and video,putting the image out of synch with the sound. Wewere also able to discuss with the technician whatseating arrangement would work best. The studio is afairly small space, but the table and chairs are movableand we were easily able to arrange to sit around theend of the table so that everyone could see and heareveryone else. While the pre-conference visit did helpto some extent, I had no experience of a realvideoconference beforehand and so was not sureexactly what to expect.

Evaluation commentsAs indicated above, the whole experience was quiteenjoyable, and I was able to engage in a lively anddetailed discussion with Professor Fox-Genovese quiteeasily. Professor Parrish commented at the end that hehad found this discussion stimulating, suggesting thathe too had not found the technology obtrusive. Beingable to use the visualiser to sketch some diagrams toillustrate points also helped make the meeting more“natural”.

So far I have had no need to make further use ofvideoconferencing, but would certainly use it for one-to-one or small group meetings and tutorials if theneed arose. I am wary of computers replacingtraditional paper-based materials, but found this set-upvery straightforward. Videoconferencing does imposea rather formal feeling, and I would be hesitant aboutusing it where a greater degree of informality wouldbe helpful. However it offers many advantages over aphone call, for example.

The BarriersBecause this was a “first” for the University, we had toseek special permission to validate a Viva conductedthrough this medium.

My initial reaction when walking into the room wasthat it was oddly like a “Monty Python” sketch, threepeople and a TV set sitting in a room - and indeed Icommented on this. However I very soon forgot aboutthe technology. It became a minor difficulty while wefocused on the subject matter.

The time delay caused by the ISDN link across theAtlantic was slightly disconcerting at first, andoccasionally caused minor problems of people talkingacross each other, but this was easily overcome. Weexperimented with the “zoom” facility on the camerabut the normal setting allowed us to see each otherclearly enough to allow natural communication. I hadto ask Professor Fox-Genovese to repeat herself a fewtimes when the sound was not too clear.

The EnablersThe technical support staff did all the work of settingthings up and indeed I still don’t know much about thetechnical side.

Professor Fox-Genovese was either experienced insuch videoconferencing or well briefed, as she madeno sudden sharp movements or big gestures. The set-up at her end was such that she appeared to be lookingdirectly at me, which was certainly helpful. At this endwe had a single mike on the table, which presented noproblems. I did not have to move towards it or raisemy voice, nor did the others.

Advice for new usersIf circumstances prevent a face-to-face meeting,videoconferencing is an obvious and very goodalternative. Within Scottish HEIs it is especially easybecause the rooms and technical staff are all there foryou.


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Videoconferencing to provide highlyinteractive learning environmentsJonathan Side

BackgroundThis BT UDA was a joint award to Heriot-Watt andAberdeen Universities, and enabled an exploration ofthe use of ISDN technologies to support variousteaching and learning environments with remote sites.At Heriot-Watt University the staff and studentsinvolved with the two MSc courses in MarineResources, at the Orkney and Riccarton sites, providedthe basis for all trials.

Why videoconferencing was chosenSimply being able to deliver the same modulesimultaneously at both sites at which students arestudying for the MSc courses enables far more cost-effective teaching. One aim of the study, however, wasto look at teaching/learning contexts where thetechnology could provide additional benefits (e.g. inrole play simulations) rather than merely supportingtraditional teaching/learning forms.

The ExecutionA number of configurations were investigated for thedifferent teaching and learning modes. Generally thefollowing were adopted for the performance trials. Thesites were a classroom at ICIT in Orkney linked to ateaching room at Riccarton.

Formal teaching

A separate high quality audio link was used inconjunction with the VC8000s. PowerPoint graphicsor similar were projected using a tablet and OHP. Theremote site saw a video image of the teacher on amonitor, alongside the projected graphics. At the hostsite, the monitor showed the remote side, and graphicslides were projected alongside this. Tripod mountedcameras were used at both sites to supplement the PCmounted cameras.

Tutorials

Set ups varied depending on the nature of the tutorial.With larger numbers, the computer screen wasprojected. With smaller numbers, students could grouparound the PC. With smaller groups thevideoconferencing system’s audio was used. Howevermost staff and all students opted to use the higherquality audio link where possible. Images were moreimportant in these settings and again were provided bymonitors at both sites, if not being projected.

Teaching contextSubject area MSc Marine Resource Management

/ MSc Marine ResourceDevelopment and Protection.

Course level Taught Masters courses.

Participants Staff 5 different staff, usuallyone at a time but up to three inspecific role play situations.

Students approx. 25 in Orkney, 35in Edinburgh.

Staff knew each other but Orkneyand Edinburgh students had notmet.

Type of use Formal teaching, tutorials,meetings, conferences andsupervision of researchdissertations.

Teaching methods Lectures and tutorials. Groupworkoffline presenting results online.

Tutorials used role-play simulationexercises.

Support materials Paper-based course materials.

Length of use Over three years (1994-1996).

Project background Funded through BT UniversityDevelopment Award (UDA).

Sites Heriot-Watt University, InternationalCentre for Island Technology (ICIT)at Orkney and Riccarton Campus,Edinburgh.

Prior experience No experience but practice sessionsfor staff were organised. Fairlyconfident and enthusiastic aboutthe technology.


Technology used VC8000 PC based ISDN 2.

Additional equipment Separate high quality audio link,additional user-controlled cameras.

Software PowerPoint, shared softwareapplications.

ContactContact name Dr Jonathan Side

Contact details ICIT, Heriot-Watt University, OrkneyCampus, The Old Academy, BackRoad, Stromness. KW16 3AW.

Tel: 01856 850 605Fax: 01856 851 349



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Meetings

These were mostly set up and operated by thestudents, with generally small numbers participating.The favoured set up was video to a monitor andseating around the PC screen and monitor. Again, innearly all cases, the high quality audio link was used ifavailable.

Conferences

At the remote site the set up was just around theVC8000 using its camera and audio. Most conferencessought to display a projected video image or graphics,but rarely both – in contrast with our own preferredconfigurations.

Supervision

Usually the same as for a small tutorial group, sittingfacing PC screen and monitor.

Simulation Exercises

Each set up was designed to fulfil the requirements ofthe exercise.

What support was neededThere was no formal training but staff wereencouraged to have practice sessions so they werefamiliar with the room set-ups and could adjust theseif required. Preparation time is very important,especially for “little” things like using a mouse pointeron a slide. The system introduces a greater formality,which requires some thought. We had technical andevaluation support staff for many of the earlier trialsbut there is no requirement in general usage for these.The best encouragement for the students was lettingthem loose on the system. The most useful form oftraining would probably have been voice training.

Evaluation commentsAll trials were evaluated by questionnaire anddebriefing. In general respondents were asked tocompare the trial with their experience of comparablebut “conventional” teaching/learning settings. Asummary of results is given above.

The BarriersTeaching is a social activity, and the use ofvideoconferencing was always easier where the classand teacher were already familiar with each other. Ittakes longer to get to know a class using only a video-based teaching link. In general use on the courses,staff found it helpful to have met the students at theremote site prior to first use of a video-link. Thisreduces the formality. There is little doubt that thequality of the audio link is of paramount importance.Thereafter, for formal teaching, the graphic image ismore important than the video image of the teacher. Innearly every case the high quality audio link was usedif it were available. Ironically while the newer systemshave improved video quality, for many of them,simultaneous graphic and video transmission is notpossible, and the audio quality is still somewhatlacking. This simultaneous graphic and videotransmission was a huge advantage of the VC8000.

The EnablersOnce familiar with its use, the students at the remotesite are the key to successful use. Encourage use of thesystem by them, even in little things like setting up acamera to ensure they are all visible. Greater successcomes from their feeling they can control thetechnology as much as the teacher. Ideally, design

(Percentages of responses where participants indicated an average or above average positive response to the questions).

TRIAL LEARNING INTERACTION EFFECTIVENESS PERFORMANCE MEAN Video Sound

FORMAL TEACHING

One to Many 98% 78% 98% 85% *85% 89%

Many to Many 78% 83% 78% 40% *75% 71%

Professional SeminarOne to Many (Solicitors’ CPD) 100% 80% 80% 20% †60% 68%

TUTORIALS

One to Several 90% 100% 86% 25% 25% 65%

One to Many 100% 100% 73% 20% 40% 66%

MEETINGS

Several to Several(Student initiated trials only) 90% 100% 100% 65% *100% 91%

MEAN OF ABOVE 92% 90% 85% 46% 64%

CONFERENCES

One to Many 100% 100% 100% †100% 100%

SUPERVISION

One to One 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

* Indicates the provision of a separate ISDN audio link. † Indicates a cross platform trial.

Summary of evaluation responses, comparison with conventional setting.


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some group meetings/assignments where they can usethe technology themselves, without technicians orteachers.

Advice for new usersLike all teaching, good preparation gives greaterconfidence. Use of these technologies imposes agreater formality, even on informal interactions (e.g.research supervision); those teachers who have veryinformal styles of delivery (even in formal situationssuch as a lecture) probably need to think mostcarefully about this. Our experience suggests that thevoice is the most important element. Well-thought-out

graphics (and course materials) in formal teaching canunderpin the voice communication, and are moreimportant than the video image. The video image ismostly used by students as a reference. In highlyinteractive settings the video image becomes moreimportant, but still less so than audio. Silent pauses inpresentations can be awkward and should beexplained. Good chairing of transactions is essentialfor highly interactive meetings. Users have to havetime to become confident in the use of the technologybefore highly interactive settings (e.g. role playsimulations) can succeed.


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5 PictureTel and ProShare are systems which support PC-based (desktop) videoconferencing.

Entrepreneurship: report on multi-national, multi-disciplinary team projectsBryan Temple

BackgroundGroup projects have been used to give students anunderstanding of how different functions of acompany are mutually dependant. In the first instance,business students and engineering students haveworked in teams to develop new products within anentrepreneurial environment. The principal novelty ofthis multi-disciplinary activity is that the two differentdisciplines are geographically separated.Communication is electronic (e.g. by email, fax) andthe use of videoconferencing has proved extremelyvaluable.

Why videoconferencing was chosenThe use of other forms of communication betweengeographically separated sites has provenunsatisfactory for group projects. Students hadsuggested videoconferences when they complainedabout the difficulty of getting information from theother site by e-mail or fax. The problem is not themedium, rather the twin uncertainty of knowing if therecipients have, in fact, received the message and, ifthey have, are they doing anything about it? Thisuncertainty demotivates the students.

The ExecutionContact was made for 15/20 minutes on each of the 12weeks of the project. Students were seated in atriangular array in front of the PC. One personoperated the keyboard (if needed). There were nomore than 6 students to a team. Training was minimal,they were told how to operate the machine and to havea pre-agreed agenda. After that they had to learn bythemselves. This proved successful in that they learnedvery quickly and liked the medium.

What support was neededNone, except for those students using ProShare5 whoneeded careful instruction on the use of sharedapplications. In practice, those using this package

Teaching contextSubject area New product development /

entrepreneurship.

Course level 3rd-4th year undergraduate.

Participants Staff 3 in Glasgow, 2 inSheffield and 1 in each of the otherlocations. Tutors provided advice onprojects, but were not present atmost videoconferences.

Students Up to 6 students indevelopment teams from pairedinstitutions. A total of 100 studentsfrom 6 institutions were involved.

Participants had not previously met.

Type of use Undergraduate group project work.

Teaching methods Teams of students in separateuniversities meet weekly byvideoconference to discussprogress and to plan further workon their joint project. They alsoused email and the postal system.

Length of use Two years.

Project background No special funding, but in AY 99/00will have SOCRATES funding.

Sites Glasgow Caledonian University –Sheffield Hallam University

Glasgow Caledonian University –Université de Liège

Glasgow Caledonian University –IUT de St Denis, Paris

FHTW Berlin – TEI Larissa, Greece

Prior experience None, but enthusiastic about newtechnology.


Technology used Studio based ISDN2 / Desktop VC.

Software NetMeeting enabling sharedsoftware applications.

ContactContact name Dr Bryan Temple

Contact details Department of Engineering,Glasgow Caledonian University,Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow,G4 0BA.

Tel: 0141 331 3549Fax: 0141 331 3974



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were continuously supervised during the first year ofoperation. Subsequent years will see a trainingprogramme followed by minimal supervision.

Evaluation comments6

Torsten Geisler and Claudia Nahl, students from theFHTW, Berlin:

“A few month ago we attended a videoconferencewhich was held during a Socrates meeting at ouruniversity. We were really enthusiastic about this formof communication. Using videoconferences opens thepossibility to answer questions immediately and to seethe reaction of the conference partner. This helps todevelop a personal relationship and a feeling ofresponsibility.”

“Last term we worked on a project together withstudents from a Greek university. Our only possibilityto communicate was sending e-mails. Many difficultiesoccurred during our project because of the missing ofa personal contact to our team-members in the othercountry. It would have been easier for us if we haddeveloped a certain group-feeling which did not existalmost at all in our project-group because of theanonymity of e-mails. Videoconferences could haveavoided many misunderstandings and delays becauseone could have cleared important questions directly oreven start a discussion.”

“We are convinced that videoconferences are veryuseful and this technique should be available for allstudents in the future, at least for those who work oninternational projects.”

Here are some extracts from a reflective evaluationthat students submitted as part of their assessment ofthe module:

“unbelievable what body language signals werepicked up…seemed to shrink in their seats.”

“it allowed a bond to be created that you cannot geton a phone or by email…”

“definitely improves communication…”

“you can intimidate them when they do not pull theirweight…”

“very beneficial for good quality contact and debate.”

“work with Glasgow greatly improved with theintroduction of videoconferencing.”

“real life situations are highlighted by the problemsencountered.”

“important to have a good degree of communicationfor successful completion of a project.”

“this is the first group project I have enjoyed…”

The BarriersISDN costs money. Internet based applications arecheaper and will most often provide adequateoperation. We are conducting a survey to understandthe limitations of Internet connections at differenttimes in the working day and between differentcountries. It is anticipated that for some countries andsome times of day ISDN will provide a faster andmore reliable connection.

The EnablersStudents love it.

Advice for new usersJump in with both feet and then evaluate what you’vegot. New users to ProShare should avoid NT at themoment until some bugs are fixed (Windows 95 isfine). Letting students have control of theconferencing, leaving them to get on with it afterinitial training, seems to work well.

6 Text of this paper is available on application to the author. It has been presented to the conference on “New Horizons inIndustry”, Santorini, September 1999.


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Lessons for lessons

Teaching and Learning StylesAs with any teaching event, the effectiveness of avideoconference session will depend on clear aimsand objectives.

� Consider the possibilities of seminars, tutorials,group working sessions, and access to multiplemedia (videos, websites, shared software, etc.).

� Get participants involved by asking questions,encouraging discussion, or setting groupworktasks. These can be local (i.e. off-line) or acrossseveral sites (i.e. on-line).

� Plan for a variety of activities to provide a regularchange of pace.

� Plan interactive tasks that are meaningful in termsof the lesson and educationally useful.

� Use the special camera facilities (presets andzooms) to focus on current speakers.

� Take advantage of the technology to use a widerange of “props” and illustrative material.

� A videoconference session may require moredetailed planning than traditional live teaching.

� Take account of participant numbers in planningthe session, especially for the types of presentationand interaction being used.

� A detailed lesson plan with a timetable is anessential tool for successful videoconferencedteaching.

� Avoid being just a “talking head” on screen, byusing visual aids and changing the camera shot.

� A “live” teacher gets feedback all the time frombody language, facial expression etc.Videoconferencing doesn’t always give a clearenough picture for this to be useful, so you need tobuild in pauses to ask for feedback.

� Creating a “remote lecture” is the least effectiveuse of videoconferencing for teaching. Its main useis where a visiting expert could not otherwisedeliver a presentation.

� Lecture type presentations should, ideally, includesome interaction, such as question and answer ordiscussion sessions.

Remember - everything takes longer than youexpect.

It’s easy for a teacher to slip into addressing onlystudents in the same room, and pay less attention toremote students.

� Build interaction with remote students into thelesson / tutorial plan.

� Stay aware of what remote sites are seeing at anygiven time. In a multi-point call you may not bevisible all the time, or the on-screen image may bevery small.

� Locate the camera(s) and remember you need tolook at the camera, not the monitor, if you wish toappear to be looking at participants at the remotesite.

� Practice giving clear feedback that you’re payingattention. Visually: nod, smile, and if possibleplace the camera above the monitor so that youappear to be looking at the speaker. Verbally: formulti-point conferences you may not always bevisible.

� Remember that gestures or moving around toomuch may cause problems for remote viewers.

� Forget that you’re “on camera” and try to keepthings as natural as possible.

Speaking to strangers in this alien environment can bedaunting.

� If possible, arrange for all the participants to havemet “in person” before videoconferencing, at leastfor the participants at each site. This encouragesinteraction.

� Allow time for local groups to talk and for cross-site introductions, or leave on-air time for coffeeand chat.

� Make sure there is a teacher or facilitator at eachsite, at least at the beginning or for first use.

� Spend time at the beginning introducing thelecturers, facilitators and the students, especially ifyou are planning group working.

Here is a short list of some of the lessons learned in the case studies, and their implications for the planning anddesign of sessions. The “Further information” section gives details of resources for all aspects ofvideoconferencing.


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� Make sure all participants are familiar with anytechnology they may have to use in the session.

� Set realistic expectations of the participants at thestart, make sure everyone knows what is expectedof them.

� Being “on television” and in a studio can make theconference very formal. Try to use activities whichencourage informality and participation. Seatingarrangements are particularly important.

� Some studios and rooms have an inflexible layoutwhich may not be ideal for your session. Ifnecessary, think of ways to work round problemssuch as the speaker not being able to see studentsin the same room or having to sit in fixed rows.

Although the ATM videoconferencing network is veryhigh quality, there are limitations imposed by thetechnology.

� Looking at a screen, however large, can be tiring.Plan to provide a change of activity or focus everyten minutes or so.

� Large text and illustrations are needed to appearclearly on monitors and projectors. Text must be atleast 24pt. Remember the “landscape” format ofthe screen. You may need to revise coursematerials such as slides and PowerPointpresentations to allow for this.

� You can also show 35mm slides and actual objects.

� Some video presentations, websites or animationsmay move too quickly for clear transmission.Check the quality at remote sites before you usethem.

� Use dark or bright colours against a palebackground.

� “Busy” fabric patterns and “busy” illustrations canblur or distort in transmission. For ISDNconferencing try to avoid using or wearinganything with lots of small detail.

� Moving around when you are on camera but notspeaking can be distracting.

� Microphones can pick up background sounds. Inlarger groups speakers have to “take turns” andfacilitators manage discussion sessionsaccordingly.

� If a mute facility is available, is good practice tomute the sound from your site while another site istransmitting, to avoid feedback and distraction.Remember to turn the sound back on when youneed to speak.

� Similarly, remember to switch from preview totransmit mode for vision, and to refresh stillimages sent from the visualiser as required.

EquipmentYou and the other participants will be using unfamiliarequipment, and be dependent on it to make the eventrun as planned.

� Practice using it before the session begins, to buildexperience of and confidence in the equipment.

� Take part in a videoconference someone else isrunning before you run your own.

� Know who to contact for technical help at eachsite.

� Check the quality of sound and vision is adequateat all participating sites. This is especiallynecessary if some participants are not using theMAN ATM network.

� Provide remote sites with hard copies of handouts,slides and any other materials to be used, beforethe videoconference.

� Have backup plans for continuing or re-schedulingthe lesson if the connection fails.

� Fixed room bookings mean that sessions usingvideoconference studios must run to time. Time thelesson plan and practice your time-keeping skills.

Potential barriers to success� Timetabling. The complexities of finding a

suitable time-slot for students and teaching staffacross more than one institution can be formidable.For use as an integral part of the curriculum,students across institutions have to be at the samestage of their courses.

� Cost. While the Scottish MAN network is fundedcentrally and therefore free to individual users,conferencing outside this network incurs chargeswhich can quickly mount up. In some cases theymay be high enough to eliminate any savings madeon travel expenses etc.

� Facilities. Not all videoconference suites or roll-about systems provide the additional facilitieswhich might be required, such as the possibility ofsharing applications or providing high-qualityvisuals. In some cases on-line and off-lineactivities might have to be modified to take thisinto account.

� Flexibility. The layout of videoconference suitesand camera angles, etc. may not be flexible enoughfor some teaching situations.

� Staffing. Some studies found the need to have astaff facilitator at each site limiting. Othersadvocated letting students control the technologyand select a facilitator from amongst themselves.


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� Formality. Videoconferencing seems to promote amore formal approach than a face-to-faceinteraction, so teaching styles and methods must bemodified to take this into account and if necessarypromote informality and interaction.

� Time-lags. ISDN2 or desktop (Internet)videoconferencing can introduce significant time-lags. This can inhibit discussion and make studentsreluctant to interrupt.

� Unfamiliarity. The situation is likely to beunfamiliar to both staff and students, and this caninhibit communication. However most studiessuggest that this unfamiliarity can be rapidlyovercome.

In summaryUsing a videoconference to deliver part or all of acourse means that some or all of the course contentand structure will have to be re-designed. The casestudies here show how this can be used as anopportunity to improve what is on offer to studentsand to re-think and explore alternative teachingmethods. For most participants, this will be a newform of interaction, so give everyone involved time toget used to it. Because Scottish HEIs have their MANlinks, very cost-effective and high qualityvideoconference use is possible. As with any teachingsituation, careful preparation and planning paysdividends in promoting a successful experience for all.


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Further Information

Pedagogic information

Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms

http://www.linov.kuleuven.ac.be/bic/index.html

Site for European Union Telematics Education andTraining Project “Blueprint for InteractiveClassrooms”, includes links to a wide range ofdemonstration projects. These make extensive use ofvideoconferencing and discuss pedagogic aspects oftelepresence. Project publications include “Classroomsfor Distance Teaching and Learning - A Blueprint”,which can be ordered from this site.

Practical Guidelines for Teaching withVideoconferencing

J Burns, R Lander, S Ryan and R Wragg, De MonfortUniversity. JISC JTAP Report 37/99. These guidelinesare based on extensive experience in HE institutions.They are aimed at users of room- or studio-basedsystems with medium or large groups of students.There is a useful section on using spreadsheets forplanning. Available as html or Word 97 formatdownload from http://www.jtap.ac.uk “reports”section.

LEVERAGE: Learn from Video Extensive RealATM Gigabit Experiment

http://greco.dit.upm.es/~leverage/

A three-year European Union Funded experimentlooking at the use of high-speed and high qualitynetworks to give learners real-time video connectionsto assist language learning. The project finished at theend of 1998 but newsletters and information continueto be available on the website. There is a lot of helpfuldiscussion of the pedagogic implications of this typeof videoconference use.

SAVIE - Support Action to facilitate the use ofVideoconferencing in Education.

http://www.savie.com

An EU-funded Telematics Applications Programmewhich maintains a very wide-ranging searchabledirectory of resources - including guidelines andhandbooks. There is a manual, “Videoconferencing forlearning”, which can be downloaded as a pdf file, andthere are online courses which can be downloaded fora small fee.

Survey of User experience of the University ofWales Video Network

http://www.man.ac.uk/MVC/SIMA/wales/title.html

A report on this survey carried out between December1994 and January 1995. It includes a tutor’s guide tousing videoconferencing and a checklist for use.

University of Ulster videoconferencing services

http://www.ulst.ac.uk/mediaservices/pages/vc.html

The University of Ulster has participated in a numberof major videoconferencing projects. This siteprovides outlines of the technology available and linksto details of projects such as ACTOR (Applications forISDN Communications Technologies to ExtendOutReach) and NEELB (videoconferencing insecondary schools).

Video conferencing in a learning environment. Atutor’s manual

http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/vcman/

A really helpful manual for the use ofvideoconferencing for teaching and learning in furtherand higher education. Produced by Lews CastleCollege for the University of the Highlands andIslands Project, it is aimed at tutors wishing to makeuse of videoconferencing. Covers all the necessarypoints at least at an introductory level, and issufficiently clear and general to be applicable to awide range of circumstances including different typesof videoconferencing equipment.

Projects and further examples

ECSTASY: Enhanced Collaboration with SharedTools for Art+Design Systems

http://www.rave.ac.uk/ecstasy/project.html

A JTAP funded project at Ravensbourne Collegewhich is exploring a variety of tools andmethodologies for supporting collaborative work in artand design, including videoconferencing.


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Videoconferencing in the Valleys

Gornall, L, Pengelly, S and Shearn, D. A case study ofthe “ALPs” Project. University of Glamorgan. JISCJTAP Report 35/99. In this outreach project, theUniversity of Glamorgan made PC-basedvideoconference support available to adult learners viacommunity centres throughout the valleys of SouthWales. The report is available as html or Word 97format download from http://www.jtap.ac.uk “reports”section.

ICON: Institutional Collaboration over theNetwork

http://cvu.strath.ac.uk/courseware/cvds2/index.html

The Clyde Virtual University has now hosted twoICON projects as part of the Clyde Virtual DesignStudio. These pages outline the aims of the ICON andICON2 projects and illustrate some of the students’project work.

Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit forScotland (MATTUS)

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/surgicalskills/mattus.html

An extensive video training network has beenconstructed to link seven training hospitals throughoutScotland to the three Scottish Royal Colleges and theSSU MATTUS laboratory training facilities. Thenetwork supports live clinical (endoscopic) videomaterial transmission for inclusion during formalMATTUS laboratory based courses or didacticcourses. Multi-point transmission of special eventsand courses is a feature of the system, which has beenoperational since May 1996.

NEAT: Networked Expertise, Advice and Tuition,University of Wales

http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Telematics/NEAT/

This site is an online facility which enables students toreceive help at their workstations from remote advisersusing desktop videoconferencing and remoteapplication control. A good example of usingtechnology to support learning.

RELATE: The REmote LAnguage TEachingproject

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/pallas/relate/

The University of Exeter is developing and testingvideoconferencing software for language teaching.The site includes information about this specialistsoftware in use and a number of links to furtherinformation.

Using and booking videoconferences:technical information

Advisory Group on Computer Graphics

http://www.agocg.ac.uk/

Although AGOCG no longer exists, its websitecontinues to host the SIMA Reports (Support Initiativefor Multimedia Applications), many of whichexamined videoconferencing in UK HEIs. Most ofthese look at technical aspects of videoconferencing,but some consider its impact on teaching and learning.While a little dated now, still useful as there are so fewstudies of videoconferencing in use in HEIs.

British Educational Communications andTechnology Agency

http://www.becta.org.uk/index.html

Useful background information on technology forvideoconferencing, including a factsheet which listssuppliers and other sources of information. Use thesite’s search facility to find videoconferencing links.

ISDN Technology

http://www.isdn.bt.com

BT’s ISDN site which has a FAQ section on ISDN andcurrent information on services available, installationoptions and prices.

JANET Videoconferencing Services

http://www.jvcs.video.ja.net/

Outlines the SuperJANET video network and theScottish Metropolitan Area Networks. Has technicalinformation, current bookings and details of how tobook sessions using these networks. Includes a link tothe Scottish MANs site and a MAN user guide.

TALiSMAN videoconferencing site

http://www.talisman.hw.ac.uk/studios/index.html

This TALiSMAN site has a directory of Scottish MANvideoconferencing studios, a brief technical guide toATM videoconferencing, and a number of usefulchecklists.


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Videoconferencing Advisory Service

http://www.video.ja.net/

Part of the JANET Service which provides support forthe use of videoconferencing through the UK HigherEducation Network. Includes the MultimediaConferencing Applications Archive, maintained as anarchive of downloadable tools developed as part of theJANET projects. Information is mainly on ISDNconferencing.

Videoconferencing Cookbook

http://www.sunsite.utk.edu/video_cookbook/

Online manual from Southeastern UniversitiesResearch Association, designed to assist educationalusers in the Southeastern United States. Clear andwell-presented introduction and good links to moretechnical material.

Videoconferencing glossary

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/glossary.html

Pacific Bell glossary of videoconferencing terms,designed for non-technical people! The Pacific Bellsite has links to several introductory publicationsincluding Pacific Bell’s Manual on videoconferencingand a larger, more technical, directory ofvideoconferencing terms.


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Appendix A

Videoconference basics

Videoconference linksVideoconferences can be:

� point to point (directly linking two sites) or

� multi-site (three or more sites).

These refer to the number of sites linked by theconference, not to the number of people participating.

Multi-point conferences can link all sites equally, orcan be a main site linked to remote sites. Theefficiency and therefore quality of sound and visioncan be affected by the type of link used.

Types of videoconferenceThere are three main types of videoconference:

� Desktop conferencing using the Internet (IP)network

� ISDN conferencing using special digital telephonelines

� ATM conferencing as in the Scottish MANs(Metropolitan Area Networks).

Desktop IP videoconferencingThis system uses the Internet to link desktopcomputers running videoconferencing programmes.

The advantages are:

� It is cheap. You need any PC, an Internet link,cheap video camera and microphone, and specialvideoconferencing software (also fairly cheap).

� It is accessible: you can videoconference fromyour own desk, at any time.

The disadvantages are:

� Sound and picture are very poor quality.

� You are dependent on an Internet connection,which can be very slow.

� It is not suitable for medium or large groups ofpeople to use, gathered round a PC.

ISDN videoconferencingThis uses digital phone lines (Integrated ServicesDigital Network) and special connections. Thenumbers (2 to 32) indicate the equivalent number ofphone lines being used.

The advantages are:

� Widely available in Higher Education Institutions.

� Ranges from ISDN2 to ISDN 32. Most HEIswhich use ISDN have ISDN6.

� ISDN6 offers reasonable quality sound and vision.

� Often available as a portable “box” which can beused in any room with an ISDN connection.


� ISDN2 is poor quality.

� Installation and equipment can be expensive.

� Availability is restricted to where the lines areconnected.

� ISDN line charges for use, especially whereISDN6 or more is used, can be high.

ATM VideoconferencingMakes use of the cabled MAN connections in ScottishHEIs and special technology which compresses andbundles up the signal (Asynchronous Transfer Mode).

The advantages are:

� Very high quality sound and video.

� Fast and reliable conferencing in dedicated suites.

� Available throughout Scottish Higher Educationinstitutions.

� Free at point of use.


� Can only be used in dedicated suites.

� Some suites are not set up for flexible use.

� Must be formally booked in advance and so maycause timetabling difficulties.

Videoconferencing equipmentAll videoconference participants must have, as aminimum

� camera

� microphone

� conference management software

� display monitor.


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In addition, dedicated videoconferencing suites inHEIs are likely to have some or all of the following:

� Visualiser (or document camera): used like anoverhead projector, can deal with slides or paper.

� VCR connected to conference so that video tapescan be shown.

� Monitors: large monitors used to present the mainpicture to participants, smaller monitors to presentother views or line up pre-set shots.

� Projector and screen: can provide a large image,especially useful for large rooms and lecturetheatres.

� Computer and scan converter: allowing computerimages to be sent across the videoconferencenetwork.

� Data conferencing software. Runs in parallel withthe videoconferencing session: allowingparticipants to share data and applications betweensites.

Booking a videoconference inScottish HEIsThe booking system for videoconferencing throughoutthe Scottish MANs is straightforward. All theinformation you may need for this is available via theUKERNA site on http://www.jvcs.video.ja.net/

From this site you can find

� A list of sites connected to the Scottish MANs

� A list of current bookings of these sites

� A list of who to contact at your own site.

Check the availability of all the sites you plan to use,and contact the person in charge of bookings at yourlocal site. They will need dates, times and the othersite contacts for the meeting.

The checklists in the following section provide furtherguidance on arranging a videoconference.


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Appendix B

Video Conferencing Minimal Manual

Weeks/Days before thevideoconference� Share information between local and remote sites.

� How many students/presenters at each site.

� How many sites.

� Mail accompanying literature for support ofconference.

� Confirm who is dialling whom and when. Havealternative contact (voice) numbers available incase of technical problems.

� Test compatibility between different systems if thisis the first videoconference between the sites.

Room set upScreens

� Ideally, each site should have two screens, oneshowing outgoing video, and one showingincoming video.

� Aim to have no more than as many people perscreen as inches across display (i.e. a 28” monitorcan be viewed by no more than 28 people).

Microphones

� Lapel microphones are the preferred audio systemfor presenters.

� Add ambient microphones throughout room foradded realism and accessibility.

� Try to avoid “push to talk” microphones: theyinterfere with natural dialogue.

� Voice-activated microphones tend to break up theaudio signal.

Audience(s)

� Remote: Cameras should be placed so a remotesite can see both the presenter and local audience(if present).

� Local: Audiences should be able to see bothremote site and local presenter.

The Presenter� Plan and rehearse presentations.

� Allow involvement of remote site and local site: donot forget to involve both audiences.

� Special considerations should be given to thetimings of the presentation. A slick performance isespecially needed when video conferencing. Thinkabout:

� Time speaking vs Time summarising.

� Time explaining vs Time for audience to think itover.

Just Before The Videoconference� Encourage informal interaction between sites. A

warm up period will allow you to get the most outof your audience once the videoconference sessionstarts.

� Personal introductions of participants.

� Games for breaking the ice.

� Camera panning around room (if possible).

During the Videoconference Considerthe Following PointsOral

� Speak clearly and try to maintain a constantvolume.

� Pause often for reflection.

� Allow for time delay when in a discussion.

� Clearly indicate when you have finished talkingand are expecting a reply.

Visual

� Most subtle expressions will either be lost orexaggerated.

� Avoid excessive movement.

� Avoid pointing devices (will not be seen).

� When initiating conversation, use hand signals tohighlight who is speaking.

� Keep pictures or images on screen for long periodsof time.

� Do not move pictures once they have beenpositioned.

� Avoid poor quality (second generation or worse)video.

� Wear low contrast clothing (subtle colours).


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Keeping the Remote Audience’sAttentionOrally

� Give attention to talking through presentations.

� Explain clearly each new area of the presentation.

� Constantly summarise each section.

� Pause often for questions.

� Actively attempt to involve the remote audience byasking questions, etc.

Visually

� Use different media to keep attention (slides,images etc.).

� Allow for visual gags where possible (cartoonsetc.).

Discussions� Allow for breaking the ice between sites.

� Have one controller or chairperson who overseesinteractions.

� Attempt to involve everybody from all sites.

� Attempt to use personal names where possible.

� Begin talking by visually and orally identifyingyour name and site.

� Allow long time for turn taking.

This is an extract from “Video conferencing in a learning environment: a tutor’s manual” produced by Lews Castle College,University of the Highlands and Islands Project. It is reproduced by kind permission of UHI. For full details see the FurtherInformation section.

Just After the Videoconference� A virtual Coffee bar.

� Allow for period of “warm down”.

� This must be done with the videoconference linkstill active as there is no informal period after thesession when any student can interact with lecturerin an informal “coffee bar” setting.

Day(s) After the Videoconference

� Send out (and get back!) questionnaires toparticipating students for feedback to incorporateinto the next session.


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Appendix C

University of Edinburgh Guidance notes / checklistfor oral examinations by video link (PGS 250/3)

The normal expectation remains that the oralexamination will be held in Edinburgh. If exceptionalcircumstances make it necessary for an oralexamination to be conducted by video link, thefollowing guidelines should be observed.

The authority for any such decision lies with thefaculty PGS committee on written application fromdepartments. In considering applications for theconduct of examinations in this way, FacultyCommittee will expect cases to be fully costed. Anapplication to conduct the examination via ISDN linkshould be considered only if circumstances make itimpossible for the candidate to return to Edinburghwithin a reasonable period, or if this is the only meansby which the most appropriate external examinercould undertake the examination.

1. The oral should normally be held between twosites only, with the candidate accompanied by oneof the examiners. A supervisor may attend, ifappropriate, under the normal rules of attendance.

2. Exceptionally, three sites may be used. In any suchcase, the candidate must be accompanied by anapproved authority under suitable guidance. If thecandidate is abroad, such an approved personmight be a British Council representative.

3. The candidate and each of the examiners mustsignify in writing their agreement to conduct theexamination in this way. Prior to making adecision, they should have the benefits anddifficulties of the technology explained (i.e. thatthere may be a break in the link mid-examination;that over long distances, scheduling theexamination at a conventional time may beproblematic; that there may be some time delaythat could slow the flow of discussion; and thatnormal forms of cueing and interrupting do notwork in the same way as in face-to-face contact).

4. Appropriate training must be provided tocandidates and examiners. If necessary, skilledoperators should be present at one or all sites.Examinations should only proceed whencandidates have signified in writing that they feelconfident about operating the system. Thecandidate should not feel under any pressure toacquiesce to being examined by video link, but,having given such an assurance, a candidate willnot normally be permitted to appeal against an

adverse result on grounds connected with her orhis ability to operate the system.

5. Flexible seating arrangements should be made thatencourage direct interaction between the candidateand examiner at the same site, rather than with thecamera.

6. If the internal and external examiners are atseparate sites, they must take account of their needto consult privately with each other on the conductof the examination; how the pre-oral discussionshould be conducted; the form and sequence ofquestions; who should take the lead at variousstages of the oral; what graphics, and documentviewing facilities, etc., might be required.Examiners must not be in contact with each otheruntil each has submitted the Part I report.

7. As part of the video link, examiners should discussand agree privately the content of Part II of theexaminers’ report so that their recommendationsmay be conveyed to the candidate. Their finalsigned report must then be submitted in the usualway.

8. The candidate’s department will be responsible forany costs which are incurred in the provision ofspecial training to the candidate and/or theexaminer(s), and in the attendance with thecandidate of an approved person. Examiners’ costsup to the normal limit will continue to be met fromcentral funds for external examiners. If theexamination is to be conducted using the ISDNlink, the department concerned may be asked topay only those costs which could be regarded asbeing beyond the normal limits. If the link is to beused because of the candidate’s inability to returnto Edinburgh, the department will have thediscretion to require the candidate to contribute allor part of the additional costs.

Discretion to make use of the video facility forexaminations should rest with the FacultyCommittees. However, it would be useful for theSPGSC to receive detailed reports over the first twoyears on costs and procedures in order that experiencecan be profitably shared, and a more detailed set ofguidelines and instructions compiled, if necessary.

These notes should be made available to candidateswhen oral examinations are to be conducted by videolink.

Guidelines reproduced by permission of the University of Edinburgh.

LTDI and TALiSMANInstitute for Computer Based LearningHeriot-Watt UniversityEdinburghEH14 4AS

Tel: 0131 451 3282Fax: 0131 451 3283Email: [email protected]

URL: http://www.talisman.hw.ac.uk/URL: http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/

ISBN 0 952 8731 8 4

case studies text - icbl.hw.ac.uk

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