Business News – Since the invention of video conferencing technology, it has been applied to several different outlets of society, from distance board meetings to even education and training classes. The idea of being able to utilize video conferencing software and services in a continuing education or training environment was a radical one but communication solution services have jumped right onto the idea and taken to applying it in a number of different ways. Whether it’s providing the technology to schools and universities for online classes or to Fortune 500 companies for continuing education and training, these technologies and services have been made available to all with astounding results. Individuals, business and educators alike have been utilizing video conferencing services through companies like Blue Jeans for training, communication, and more.
Just as video conferencing had made major advancements in simplicity and cost effectiveness in the business world, it’s also made just as many advancements in training and education
environments. Being able to communicate face to face with miles, states, or even countries and oceans in between has created a convenient environment for both the trainer or teacher and for the student. This direct line of communication has given students and trainees the benefit of added support and easier understanding. The exact details of what makes this technology so useful in training may not be as easy to see as expected, but they’re clear nonetheless.
Video Conferencing Offers Unrivaled Convenience
While video conferencing has been shown to be successful within the business world by allowing face to face meetings without the travel time, it also creates this same environment in the worlds of training and education. This is due in part to the ability of the professors to study and speak from anywhere while still maintaining their lecture schedule, and the ability for students to attend lectures and meetings from anywhere in the world, from their own home to a hotel abroad to a traditional regulated classroom.
This convenience has led to a number of case studies from Life Size Results illustrating just how lecturers take advantage of this technology—being able to give lectures and speeches from over 500 miles away without leaving their place of employment. These services, offered by companies like Blue Jeans, provides a user-friendly and simple interface; using it in a training environment, whether for new employees or students seeking continued education—or a mix of the two—is beyond beneficial, it’s integral. These services allow a single trainer to host and teach multiple classes simultaneously through a video conference, resulting in more time saved for the instructor while students all get the benefit of a face to face training session with peers from all across the globe.
Educational Benefits of Video Conferencing
One of the greatest things about video conferencing as training and teaching tool is that it isn’t just convenient for the one providing the material, but also offers fantastic educational benefits to the students.
A recent article written for Black Board Educator Support states that nearly 50 percent of all higher education institutions utilize a form of online learning, whether that is prerecorded sessions or video conferences. The issue with prerecorded sessions is that if the student has questions or issues with the material they are unable to get direct support from the person providing the material, whether a trainer or professor, and have to rely on external assistant to garner a better understanding. In this way video conferences has a notably more powerful educational benefit than the prerecorded sessions and lectures of yesteryear, as conferencing allows direct interaction between instructor and student. There is also the added benefit that the student can either be in a regulated classroom with other students that can be questioned for assistance or they can be in their own home to better accommodate different learning styles and health situations.
Student and Trainer Support
Convenience for both the instructor and student, more personable interaction than prerecorded sessions, and the ability for the student to study in an environment appropriately suited to their specific needs has caused a dramatic increase in support of video conferencing services within educational and training environments. A recent study done by the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning found that within the last ten years, support for distance learning has made dramatic increase compared to traditional teaching styles. The training benefits to both students and trainers have caused the business world to also adopt the practices of the universities with distance learning, which has ushered in an educational age contingent entirely on this excellent technology.
The key to getting involved in this growing field is to select the video conferencing service best suited to your business or facility, and get your students and employees on board. There are plenty of excellent services out there offering the opportunity for growth in a new field, so don’t let unfamiliarity hold you back. Find something intuitive, user-friendly and affordable, and you can take your training and education to new heights.
