Closing the Distance
by Mark Davies
This summer, The Hun School’s new Global and Immersion Programs will be offering students the opportunity to participate in three very different Experiential Learning opportunities. Students can choose from immersive living experiences in China, Ecuador or the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. Pauline McKean, Director of Global and Immersion Programs, needed to introduce the programs to as many prospective families as possible and offer them the chance to get their questions answered.
There were three significant problems. First, there was the challenge of getting parents and students to show up for an evening meeting, on campus. The second problem was that representatives from our China program partners, Where There Be Dragons, were two time zones away, in Colorado. The third potential impediment was the fact that the installation of our brand new high tech classroom’s video conferencing system was not going to be completed by the date of the meeting.
There were three significant problems. First, there was the challenge of getting parents and students to show up for an evening meeting, on campus. The second problem was that representatives from our China program partners, Where There Be Dragons, were two time zones away, in Colorado. The third potential impediment was the fact that the installation of our brand new high tech classroom’s video conferencing system was not going to be completed by the date of the meeting.
The solution: Google Hangouts On Air.
Hangouts On Air is similar to other video conferencing services such as Skype or FaceTime except it allows users to live-stream their video to the world via YouTube. All you need is a digital device with a camera and mic, a Google Plus account, and a good internet connection. Additionally, Hangouts On Air has built-in features like the ability for anyone viewing the video online to remotely submit questions to the people who are in the live conference. Also, Hangouts On Air automatically posts the video of the conference on YouTube so it can be watched after the fact for those who could not see it in real time.
After a quick test run with our Colorado partners, Ms. McKean got the word out to the Hun community via the weekly ebulletin and Schoology to let students and parents know that the Experiential Programs Info Session would be held at 6:30 in the new classroom in the Global Commons and available online for anyone who could not attend in person. The fact that the new classroom’s high tech video conferencing system was not yet operational was inconsequential. Ms. McKean had a working laptop with camera and mic and a solid internet connection. The session started on time at 6:30 and ran for about an hour as she introduced the Hun faculty trip leaders and our partners from Where There Be Dragons, explained the programs, and fielded questions from the audience in attendance - both online and in person.
Knowing that our new Global Commons high tech classroom would offer us access to real cutting edge video conferencing capabilities, the Experiential Programs Info Session seemed like the perfect opportunity to connect local, on campus students and families with other families who couldn’t make the meeting in person, and connect with our experiential learning partners off site, across the country. It also seemed like a great opportunity for Hun to showcase our new facilities and cutting edge technology. When we realized that our new classroom audio and video systems would actually not be online in time for the meeting, the easy and - some would argue - prudent thing to do would be to remove that remote participation aspect entirely. But when offered the chance to leverage earlier successes in her classroom using Google Video Hangouts and extend that by trying a Hangout On Air for the information session, Ms. McKean embraced the opportunity despite the discomfort that was inherent in being an early adopter and in taking a risk.
You can watch the video yourself at the link below:
View info session on YouTube
The video has been viewed more than 60 times in the two months since it was first posted and multiple families have submitted applications for the three experiential programs this summer.
Hangouts On Air is similar to other video conferencing services such as Skype or FaceTime except it allows users to live-stream their video to the world via YouTube. All you need is a digital device with a camera and mic, a Google Plus account, and a good internet connection. Additionally, Hangouts On Air has built-in features like the ability for anyone viewing the video online to remotely submit questions to the people who are in the live conference. Also, Hangouts On Air automatically posts the video of the conference on YouTube so it can be watched after the fact for those who could not see it in real time.
After a quick test run with our Colorado partners, Ms. McKean got the word out to the Hun community via the weekly ebulletin and Schoology to let students and parents know that the Experiential Programs Info Session would be held at 6:30 in the new classroom in the Global Commons and available online for anyone who could not attend in person. The fact that the new classroom’s high tech video conferencing system was not yet operational was inconsequential. Ms. McKean had a working laptop with camera and mic and a solid internet connection. The session started on time at 6:30 and ran for about an hour as she introduced the Hun faculty trip leaders and our partners from Where There Be Dragons, explained the programs, and fielded questions from the audience in attendance - both online and in person.
Knowing that our new Global Commons high tech classroom would offer us access to real cutting edge video conferencing capabilities, the Experiential Programs Info Session seemed like the perfect opportunity to connect local, on campus students and families with other families who couldn’t make the meeting in person, and connect with our experiential learning partners off site, across the country. It also seemed like a great opportunity for Hun to showcase our new facilities and cutting edge technology. When we realized that our new classroom audio and video systems would actually not be online in time for the meeting, the easy and - some would argue - prudent thing to do would be to remove that remote participation aspect entirely. But when offered the chance to leverage earlier successes in her classroom using Google Video Hangouts and extend that by trying a Hangout On Air for the information session, Ms. McKean embraced the opportunity despite the discomfort that was inherent in being an early adopter and in taking a risk.
You can watch the video yourself at the link below:
View info session on YouTube
The video has been viewed more than 60 times in the two months since it was first posted and multiple families have submitted applications for the three experiential programs this summer.
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