In the past years, higher education institutions have merged traditional and virtual classrooms, a process that has been met with challenges and successes.
Traditional web conferencing has played an integral role during this transitional period. While instructors have acknowledged the platform’s failings, platforms like Zoom and Teams are not going away anytime soon.
Still, more instructors are choosing to offer their courses pass-fail as it is simply more difficult to teach on web conferencing platforms like Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Students cannot be expected to maintain the same level of retention, motivation and ability to learn on a deep level.
These platforms limit learning in several ways.
__“….having to engage in a “constant gaze” makes us uncomfortable — and tired. In person, we are able to use our peripheral vision to glance out the window or look at others in the room. On a video call, because we are all sitting in different homes, if we turn to look out the window, we worry it might seem like we’re not paying attention.” __ — Harvard Business Review, “How to Combat Zoom Fatigue”
But where exactly does traditional web conferencing fall short in terms of demonstrable outcomes?
Dynamic tasks — like group discussions, collaborative problem solving, and debate — experience significant productivity loss when conducted over a flat communications platform. These deep learning activities have always relied on kinesthetic experiences to give new shape to minds, mentalities, and drive behavioral change.
Retention almost doubles when we provide an environment that facilitates discussion as opposed to demonstration.
Kinesthetic experiences rely on give-and-take interactions that are afforded in traditional classrooms, where eye movements and non-verbal cues — including individual facial expressions, gestures, and personal attention — are naturally present.
Traditional web conferencing solutions cannot easily replicate these more natural, kinesthetic behaviors, which explains why they are ineffective.
Higher education institutions are able to accommodate the kinesthetic challenge with two interventions.
Organize class sessions with specific intent to communicate material audio-visually or kinesthetically
Invest in a sophisticated virtual or hybrid classroom platform specifically designed to create an immersive and interactive experience for both in-room and remote students wherever they are located.
Read about how OneRoom technology offers a better approach to learning to support student success with an interactive, hybrid learning experience for both in-room and remote students wherever they are located.
