ITV Student Guide

Welcome to the Electronic Classroom

Courses delivered via media technologies are becoming more common at the University of Minnesota Rochester. Interactive television makes it possible to link two or more electronic classrooms that may be hundreds of miles apart and create one classroom environment. When you walk into the classroom, you will see cameras and television monitors. All this technology is remote controlled and allows everyone in one location to see and hear everyone in the other locations.

Why Interactive Television?

Use of this system for classes, conferences, and meetings saves both travel time and expense for all parties involved. For classes, the system makes it possible for students on other campuses to take courses not available on their home campuses. There are a few small ways in which interactive television classes are different from the classroom situation to which we are most accustomed. This information will give you some guidelines that will make your electronic classroom experience more productive and pleasurable.

Be On Time

The system that controls the routing of signals between campuses and classrooms is computer controlled. A class will start and end on time. If the class doesn’t end on time, there is a good chance that the connection will be broken away since the computer is pre-programmed. We recommend that you arrive a little early for your class. If the technical setup that precedes the class is trouble free, you may have time before class to talk with the instructor or students at the distant sites. Your instructors/TAs are also available to you via e-mail and/or telephone at specified hours set up at the class start.

How the microphones work

Microphones are mounted on the ceilings. They are sensitive enough to switch on when someone talks, but they can also be activated by random noise. Rustling papers, zipping bags, and whispering are examples of sounds that may switch the camera to you and be “picked up” by the microphones. Be mindful of not making unnecessary noise. When speaking in class, please talk clearly and in a normal speaking voice. The audio system in the classroom is not a public address system, so to make yourself heard by other people in the room with you, project yourself, as you would in a normal classroom. Because the microphones pick up all surrounding noises, should there be disruptive behavior, feel free to contact your technician who will arrange for appropriate action.

Be Assertive

Your instructor will establish some type of protocol that allows you to interrupt and get his or her attention. Feel free to interrupt the instructor if you can’t hear or see what is happening. If more than two sites are connected, the instructor may not be able to see you to know that you have a question or are confused. When you do ask a question or interrupt the instructor, it is best to state your name and your site location. For instance, “Dr. Johnson, this is Jane Doe in Duluth and I have a question.” Also, you need to let the instructor know if she or he is talking too fast or if the type on the supporting graphics is too small or hard to see.

Obtaining Technical Assistance

The key to a good experience in the interactive television classroom is to feel free to talk to the technician if you have a question. Sometimes the instructor may control the camera switching from the front of the room in your classroom or at one of the other sites. But some classrooms have an operator assigned to manage the cameras. So if there is a problem with sound or picture, tell the operator about it. The main master control is on the third floor - Room 394. Someone will be monitoring your class from that room at all times. The technicians will also be making rounds every 10-15 minutes where they will be physically checking in on your particular classroom to make sure things are going smoothly. In the front of the room is a flat screen control panel. Please feel free to call the technicians on the phone in the room and they will come in and check the problem also. The phone numbers are posted by the front instructor desk area and by the phones.

Please Participate

The distance learning system is called interactive because you are expected to participate in the experience. In order to make your participation easier, you should know that there is a delay between the time you ask or answer a question and the time that the next person will speak. This delay is a characteristic of the interactive system, the time it takes to code and compress video information, and send it back and forth between the sites. We usually expect a delay of a few seconds, so don’t worry if the response is a little slower than you expect. The reason for the delay could also be deep thought.

Handouts and Assignments

Your instructor will discuss how he or she would like you to submit homework or pick up assignments or papers.

Instructor Contact

You may not be able to stay after class to confer with the instructor. If your question has to do with individual grading decisions, approval for a topic for your paper, or other individual matters, you should contact your instructor outside of class time. Usually the hours and method of communication with the instructor are published in the course syllabus or discussed in class.

Rochester ITV Manager

If you have questions or concerns with anything in relation to your interactive television class technology, feel free to contact the Rochester ITV manager:

Nick Suchla, ITV Manager
University of Minnesota Rochester
111 South Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904
Phone: (507) 258-8049
Fax: (507) 258-8066
Email: njsuchla@umn.edu

If you have specific technical questions or concerns during class, please send an email or call:

umrhelp@umn.edu
Phone: 507-258-8748
Cell Phone: 507-202-5527