Video Collaboration for effective 21st century Learning

In India, schools and universities all operate in an extremely complex ecosystem; entrusted with preparing students for a job market in a digital world, coupled with an uncertain environment and buffeted by countless regulatory and budget cuts. Educators are extremely under pressure to empower their students with a wide range of skills and knowledge and to do so, must deliver information in varied and innovative ways, to enrich their teaching, whilst also being challenged with fewer resources and great geographical distances. 

So are educators in India are making institutional and individual collaboration an important pillar of their strategy?

The apt Time

The shift in the education landscape toward video collaboration is occurring due to a number of factors.

Student achievement is likely to improve

Studies show learners who participate in video conferencing have higher scores on cognitive indicators and are more motivated to learn not just the material being presented, but also to find out more about related topics. Video has also been shown to improve learning by up to 400 percent.

Distance and Blended Learning:

Distance-learning business education has been one of the success stories of the last decade, and international demand has continued to rise in the last year. Distance and blended learning initiatives continue to grow. Advances in technology, and an increasingly mobile audience of professionals around the globe have given rise to a number of mass-market providers who count their students in the thousands. The distance learning market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 11% by 2020.

Bring Your Own Device:

The tech revolution story in India has two sides to it: a bleak one, where the schools in India have banned the use of smart phones due to the distraction they cause, and an enlightening one, where some of the top schools in the country are encouraging students to bring their electronic gadgets to school.

Canadian International School (CIS), Bangalore, had a similar experience when they introduced iPads a few years back; there are hundred and one apps that allow students to learn tricky subjects like algebra or grammatical structures of a language in a fun way, something traditional text books weren’t designed to do. The school is happy with the result and has noticed a positive trend in the grasping power of students since the introduction of e-learning.

Why Video Collaboration is Essential to Education

Video collaboration provides many benefits for learners, faculty, administration and campuses

Classroom experiences and learning opportunities are enhanced- Students have the chance to participate in cross-cultural exchanges, speak other languages, interview subject-matter experts and participate in virtual field trips. Learning becomes more collaborative, personalized, interactive and informal, and is more likely to become inquiry-based, a model that is typically more relevant and meaningful for students.

Equity in access is achieved for students who are too ill to come to school, live remotely or who are traveling. Campuses can also expand services to current students and alumni by allowing greater student enrollment, increasing access to career services and connecting with alumni no matter where they end up.

Student achievement is likely to improve- Studies show learners who participate in videoconferencing have higher scores on cognitive indicators and are more motivated to learn not just the material being presented, but also to find out more about related topics.8 In general, video has been shown to improve learning by up to 400 percent.

Instructors have more opportunity to participate in professional development workshops, seminars and collaborative activities when they can do so via video rather than having to take a day or more off to travel to another location. This allows more instructors to take advantage of additional training. Administrators and other personnel similarly can take advantage of continuing education, 4 Video Collaboration in Education professional development and other types of meetings, saving campuses money in travel and lodging costs.

Campuses using BYOD strategies can take advantage of mobile students, instructors, experts and others and bring them together for sessions held off campus. Students on a field trip, for instance, can use mobile video collaboration applications to communicate with each other or their instructors. Students can work on research projects or other fieldwork via video collaboration.

Distance learning is enhanced by virtual face-to-face encounters, rather than text-only ones.

Video collaboration expands the reach of education. Walls mean little; oceans even less. Barriers of time and of place are breaking down, allowing students to learn in much different and more profound ways than ever before. Not only is learning more flexible due to mobile video communication solutions, but it can be eye-opening and life-altering as students experience new worlds, new ideas and new possibilities. Truly, video collaboration is more than just a ”nice to have” technology in education. Today, it is essential to improving student achievement and preparing them as professionals in the global economy