Make Education Fun with Video Conferences in the Classroom

Many of today’s educators grew up copying notes from a blackboard. (Or maybe it was more like trying to read the teacher’s handwriting amidst the swirls of chalk and faint eraser marks leftover from the previous lesson.) Younger teachers remember when overhead projectors were installed from the classroom ceilings. Then, PowerPoint presentations lit up projector screens with the shining light of progress.

And now we’ve entered the education age of video conferences, digital whiteboards, and countless ways to explore outside the classroom. Learn how video conferences can add a fun twist on your lesson plans.

Adding new tech to traditional classes

While blackboards and projectors still have their place in the classroom, advances in technology continue to add depth to the learning landscape. Digital whiteboards in particular allow teachers to go beyond writing notes and equations for students to copy. When used to its full potential, a digital whiteboard provides seemingly endless opportunities to make daily lessons a little more interesting and a lot more interactive .

Related: The Best Ways to Brainstorm with a Remote Group

And this kind of technology isn’t limited to select school districts anymore. An education survey from Cambridge International found that in 2018, 33 percent of classrooms utilized digital whiteboards. That figure rose to 59 percent of classrooms when looking at the United States alone. With the increasing use of tablets and smartphones alongside more traditional education tools, teachers can create a world that some students might not even be able to imagine.

Explore your options

A field trip is a great hands-on option for learning. Who doesn’t love piling onto the school bus, brown bag lunch in hand, ready to take off for an adventure? But field trips aren’t always financially or logistically possible to organize. In these situations, virtual tours and video conferences are excellent alternatives. In some ways, a virtual field trip is even better. Teachers and students aren’t limited by location; they can access experts from literally anywhere.

Take Jo-Ann Fox for example. Fox, an instructional coach in California, connected her students with coastal park rangers for an in-depth lesson on protecting marine life . Taking a group of students to just one state park would be a challenge, let alone trying to visit several parks. But taking a different approach to interactive learning and using video conferencing gave the project added meaning.

Related: Stuck at Home? Try These 8 Inspiring and Interactive Virtual Museum Tours

Examples in higher education

Students and faculty at Arizona State University use video conferencing software ( specifically Zoom ) to expand and enhance their online learning initiatives, whether the students are on campus or participating from another location. Other universities have found value in this kind of learning experience as well.

K-12 teachers benefit from higher education adopting this kind of tech. Classroom teachers can invite professors from local or out-of-state colleges to give guest lectures, giving their students a different way to view a topic. With an interactive whiteboard like the Vibe Board, students can take notes during the lecture or pull up web resources that the speaker mentions in the presentation.

Related: Video Conferencing Apps You Can Use with the Vibe Board

Inspire curiosity and encourage discovery

People say, “It’s a big world out there.” But beyond reading about other cultures in a world history class or glancing at news headlines on social media, it’s crucial to actually demonstrate to students other ways that they can contribute to that big world. Teachers have the power to present something greater and give their students alternative ways to study the world around them.

Vibe offers a collaborative solution combining an interactive digital whiteboard and innovative smart software. Increase engagement and efficiency at your brainstorming sessions, virtual training, and classroom sessions by integrating your favorite applications with video conferencing and an infinite, mess-free writing canvas. Collaborate today with Vibe.

Looking for the latest in interactive whiteboard technology? Check out Vibe today!