Video conferencing
I WAS actually quite excited when I showed up for class in the beginning of September to find 2 big screen TVs in my classroom and a microphone. I thought it was about time we got karaoke in the classroom! I was a little disheartened to find out this wasn’t the case. Its part of the video conference system the college has set up to have class with Prince Rupert. This is one of NWCCs ways of keeping up with technology, and being able to expand its class size without having to find another professor.
After having a few classes with this video conferencing system, it was all the excuse I needed to hop in a car and go to Rupert to check things out. My friend Christina and I loved the idea of being able to go to another city and still take our same classes, but from the other side. This campus is great. It’s only a few years old and couldn’t be located any better. It's placed just off of main street, which means there are three clothing stores, a coffee shop, bakery and gym less than a block away! Errr, I mean it’s easy to get to, with great scenery. When we arrived, we got the classroom number from my friend and decided to go find class. We went on our merry way to find classroom 187, and there it was tucked away right beside the stairs with a sign that said 'student lounge'. We looked around, found some vending machines, and circle tables that looked nothing like what we had seen in our video conference. We may not be detectives, but we saw enough pieces of the puzzle to figure out this was not our classroom. I went to text Krystal back asking if she pulled a fast one on us, just to discover she actually said 186. This was more like it! The classroom was set up very similar to ours, with the microphone over top, projection screen in front and a big screen TV. However all we could see on this TV was our teacher, there was no monitor showing our sister class. We made it through our first class without being to distracted by our new classroom and found we had a few hours to go to explore Rupert before next class. We went for lunch and had to make the mandatory stop at Homeworks. Shopper beware: this store is never safe for a poor student on a budget! But I’m sure if I just eat rice and beans for a week I can rationalize the sweet new necklace I got.
We went back to class a few minutes early, with just enough time for Al Sande to notice that his Terrace classroom was a little too quiet, and his Rupert classroom seemed a little louder. Yes, we were busted. Being a little giddy from our shopping trip, we just snuck in and were trying to settle down for class when we were faced with one of the problems with video conferencing. The power went out in Prince Rupert! This meant the teacher in Terrace was unable to finish the class because if he continued, the Rupert students would be left a class behind the Terrace students. This led me to think about it on the way home. Is the technology we are using to try and better ourselves actually slowing us down? Or should we just accept the little bloopers along the way and accept this as a great opportunity for NWCC to offer more classes to more students in the Northwest? Would you mind looking at a teacher on a screen all day if it meant you could save thousands of dollars and take classes at home?
As a student is there more the college can be doing to be keeping up with this technological era?
Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox!
What a fun trip you had to Rupert! Your blog is great.
Posted by: Char Toews | 10/20/2011 at 04:50 PM
Hmmm . . . your question is very thought provoking. Hopefully someone with technical expertise will weigh in with suggestions. Challenges of living and learning in the north, eh? Thanks again for sharing another 'day in the life' of Christine!
Posted by: Cheryl | 11/02/2011 at 01:03 PM