Albany, Georgia - Albany Technical College has adapted to the needs of the current and future teaching environment by acquiring two state of the art interactive virtual classrooms utilized by instructors. The weConnect virtual classroom allows for a quickly deployable and easy-to-use real-time distance learning solution. The goal is to reduce the passive watching of one-directional webinars. Parents can rest assured that Dual Enrolled students can take classes remotely while maintaining the interactivity that is so important in the learning process. This new approach increases interactivity levels and quality standards for all students across every discipline on campus.
weConnect is a purpose-built platform for teaching. The venue was created to respect the basic principle of education: we learn best when there are engagement and interaction. This classroom is an immersive student experience that creates the best learning outcomes and offers students an experience that enables live and active collaboration, just like in a standard class. Analytics give teachers insights into individual engagement levels and learning paths.
“These new virtual classrooms are designed to deliver instructions remotely. An instructor stands in front of the class and sees their students and can read their expressions and body language. The engagement gives instructor insights into student participation, such as raised hands and poll or quiz results in real-time. Albany Technical College is embracing the new technology to better train our upcoming workforces,” stated Dr. Anthony Parker, President of Albany Technical College.
Officials at Albany Technical College believe this new approach offers faculty and students the best remote teaching experience. Teaching to a laptop screen creates its own impersonal challenges. By standing up and teaching to a life-sized audience, it changes the dynamics of how a student learns. This approach is a closer step to an in-classroom experience.
“Our goal is to reduce the passive watching of one-directional webinars. In the virtual classroom, every student is on the front row. Multiple built-in cameras guarantee eye contact at every moment. Just like in class, students decide what teacher content they watch (the classroom, a video, the whiteboard, a microscope, a presentation. And it is all recorded so that a student can access session recordings at their convenience,” stated Dr. Emmett Griswold, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
The new teaching platform, weConnect, was purchased at the end of 2020 and plans are in place to utilize the new technology for the spring 2021 semester at Albany Technical College.