Hybrid Teaching Methodologies: Advancing the Use of Online Video Conferencing to Access Professionals in Industry

Abstract

This project proposal builds upon the initiatives taken for the 2010 Semester A course Intelligent Heritage: New Technologies and Cultural Heritage Management - CTL2532. This interdisciplinary course offers CTL and SCM students’ access to expert professional discourse on the use of digital technologies/methodologies in museums, libraries, archives and galleries (GLAMs). This course takes advantage of blended teaching techniques and distributed technologies. It uses extended video conferencing (a total of eight real-time video conferences with leading museum professionals worldwide, each lasting ~1.5 hours, take place during semester) and student/practitioner blogging <http://intelligentheritage.wordpress.com> as extensions to the current Blackboard tools offered to students and staff. The development of this course identified the need at City University to establish for teachers a robust methodology with proven pedagogical outcomes, for implementation of hybrid teaching in their classrooms. The proposed project is predicated on the opportunity to use online technologies as appropriate tools for accessing external expertise, especially in industry (in this case the GLAMs sector) that has not been possible before. The proposed project advances the latest understanding in teaching and learning technologies, specifically real-time video conferencing.