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KEEPING YOUR COOL WHEN BAD STUFF HAPPENS. ELISA O. TAYLOR INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER. Keeping Your Cool. What can go wrong How to proceed once something does go wrong Preventing further issues. What Can Go Wrong?. Cameras Not Focused on Students Unruly Students in a Receive Classroom
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KEEPING YOUR COOL WHEN BAD STUFF HAPPENS ELISA O. TAYLOR INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER
Keeping Your Cool • What can go wrong • How to proceed once something does go wrong • Preventing further issues
What Can Go Wrong? • Cameras Not Focused on Students • Unruly Students in a Receive Classroom • Facilitator is a No-show or is Tardy • Materials Delivery Issues • Textbooks • Assignments • Exams
What Can Go Wrong? • Illness • Equipment/Technical Failures • Power/Internet Outages
The Good News • The current IVC system is very stable • Instructors who have taught for a long time report that is the best they have ever had! • It is best to be prepared
Camera Not Focused on Students • Camera shy sensitivity • Ask facilitator to move the camera
Unruly Students in a Receive Classroom • Seek additional participation from the site • Have origination facilitator contact receive site • Contact students directly via telephone (out of class time)
Facilitator is a No-show or is Tardy • Try to make contact with facilitator • If you can get access to the room, turn on equipment you know how to operate • Microphone • Monitor/Projector • Classrooms will connect via the bridge • Ask which sites are connected • If possible, start class
Materials Delivery Issues • Textbooks • Students probably won’t have textbooks until the 2nd week of class • Post links to online readings on Blackboard • Assignments & Exams • Bring a copy to class for emergency faxing • Contact Logan RCDE Distribution • distribution@usu.edu • (435) 797-3840
Equipment/Technical Failure • At Origination Site • Facilitator should contact Video Operations Center (VOC) • Assess length and severity of failure • Facilitator to make a reasonable effort to correct the problem • If problem cannot be corrected, facilitator to contact receive sites with instructions
Illness • Contact Originating facilitator • Contact Logan scheduling • Kim Davis • (435) 797-2709 • kim.davis@usu.edu
Equipment/Technical Failure • At Receive Site • Facilitator should contact VOC • Facilitator to make reasonable effort to correct the issue • Facilitator to request recording by the VOC • Students at site to watch class later in the week • Receive facilitator to contact Originating facilitator to update on issue
Equipment/Technical Failure • At Utah Education Network (UEN) • Facilitator to call VOC (1-800-863-3496) for status of failure • If failure happens prior to class start, reasonable effort will be made to contact instructor and students • If class is canceled, contact students according to preset plan
Power/Internet Outages • Treat as Equipment/Technical Failure • Classes can be recorded for receive sites that are having issues • Originating site having issues may result in canceled class • UEN can inform facilitator of outage severity and estimated time of repair
Prepare • First night of class • Come 15 minutes prior to class start time • Get facilitator’s name and phone number • Ask facilitator for basic information, like where to find instructor microphone and how to power on and mute mic • Learn how to switch between sources (Document Camera and PC)
Prepare • First night of class • Let students know expectations if class has to be canceled or is delayed • What to work on • How to find information about making up missed class time • Will you email them? • Will you post information on Blackboard?
Prepare • All Class Sessions • Arrive 15 minutes early • Bring hard copies or a back-up of essential materials • Test videos over the system prior to class • Have a “Plan B” in case something doesn’t work the way you expect
Keeping Your Cool • What can go wrong • How to proceed once something does go wrong • Preventing further issues
Clint Born • The most significant challenges at the remote sites are: • Inability to ascertain the quality of group interaction • Frustration and wasted time that exists when the system fails • Difficulty in getting graded materials back • Perceived impersonal nature of watching television • Test management
Suggestions • Students working in groups • Turn the volume down at their site • Have 1 group at a time turn on their microphone so you can hear them • Give visual cues to switch from group to group and to bring whole class back together • Frustration from system failure • Better system, still not perfect
Suggestions • Getting graded materials back • Send back digitally via Blackboard, if possible • Back-up Blackboard after grading a major assignment (export grade book frequently) • Assignments are mailed daily to sites, students may not go to the site more than once per week • Impersonal nature of watching television • Put yourself into it!
Suggestions • Test management • Create exams that make it difficult for students to cheat
Resources • Eborn, Clint. Teaching with Real Time Technology.http://www.techlearning.com/article/2032 • RCDE Faculty Websitehttp://distance.usu.edu/htm/faculty