Teaching with Technology
Another problem that surfaces with the use of virtual classrooms is communicating effectively . The program allows you to use chat , microphones and webcams , but they of course depend on the hardware of both the teacher and students , as well as the speed of the internet . Because the communicating happens through cables and satellites , there is also the normal delay , making conversations slightly slower , which anyone who has made phone calls through the internet have noticed . This communication problem is not only dependent on the slow internet , but also for the general passiveness of the students and sometimes the fear of participating . This is of course , dependent on the individual , but also the general culture of communicating . Finns for example , through my own experience , are generally a bit shy and reluctant to take part in anything . If , for whatever reason , the teacher gets little to no feedback or communication from the students , it can be very difficult to guage the level of understanding . Teachers can ' t see the puzzled faces of their students when they are not there , nor can the teachers see if the students are just twiddling their pens because the content isn ' t challenging enough . For the teaching to be effective , the teacher should know how the audience is receiving the teaching , and to improve or change the perspective based on it . Therefore the teacher may require different communication strategies . These are of course problems that are not really based on the platform , but more problems with online teaching in general . A student needs to work harder and have more willpower to keep them focused , which is not a problem for very well motivated students , but for an average student it can just be the reason why online teaching is generally worse than traditonal teaching . In conclusion , Adobe Connect is an effective tool for teaching , if it is used for the right purpose and for the right audience . It has a lot of possibilities and many effective ways to satisfy any sort of needs that you might have as a teacher . The general problems with teaching online are present in this program as well , but they are not reinforced by the platform , making it a good choice for online teaching .
Finnish team , Antti Pekkala
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