Woodland Community College media center lets College students, staff teach
Carlos Guerrero posted: "A novel partnership between two multi-media centers is offering increased educational opportunities for Woodland Community College students and their instructors. Located in Building 800, on the southern side of the Gibson Road campus, the "E-Learning " Daily DemocratRead on blog or Reader
A novel partnership between two multi-media centers is offering increased educational opportunities for Woodland Community College students and their instructors.
Located in Building 800, on the southern side of the Gibson Road campus, the "E-Learning Studio" has been in existence since 2019 and has been assisted since that time by Davis Media Access of Davis.
Operating under the Instructional Design Department, which is led by Betsy Allen, the college facility has a video studio as well as a podcast booth, both of which allow students to create media for their classes or instructors to create tutorial aids that students can watch on their own time.
Allen holds a Master of Arts in English from Rutgers University and a Master of Science in Educational Technologies from Drexel University. When not involved in Instructional Design, she also acts as Distance Education coordinator.
Allen is assisted in large part by Jeff Shaw, who is a production manager and station director for KDRT-LP 95.7 in Davis. He serves as a media production liaison with Davis Media Access, which also has partnerships with Davis Unified School District, the city of Davis and other nonprofits.
At the E-Learning Studio, Shaw basically handles technical issues and keeps the various pieces of equipment operational. Both he and Allen also offer training for students and staff who want to use the facilities.
Allen said the studio space – which is slightly larger than two school classrooms - was unused when created in 2019 with a grant from the California Virtual Campus and was modeled after "Studio U" at San Diego State.
With the assistance of Davis Media Access, the college studio has been re-engineered, so today, it is more user-friendly and takes no more than two people to operate.
"This isn't tied to any classes," Allen explained recently from what could only be considered a studio control room filled with video monitors and sound equipment. "You can't take a course in it. But students and faculty can use the space for classes."
Allen said faculty may use it to create instructional videos or podcasts, while students can do the same.
By way of example, she and Shaw showed a teacher doing a video on the English language. The teacher was writing on what Allen called a "learning glass," that the camera could automatically "flip," so the writing could be read by viewers, just as a mirror reflects images in reverse.
Once completed, the lesson could be watched over and over by students for greater understanding.
Podcasting is very popular among students, and Allen said that recently, those taking Ethnic Studies courses were able to do "reflections" on a recent Sana Sana event at the school, where they were able to interview each other and then share the results with others in the course.
While the studio, podcast booth, and equipment appear on the surface to be complex, Allen explained that usually, students and staff get a briefing first and then are allowed to do what they would like. That allows them to get some skill, "but it's always in context with the classes they're taking."
The television studio is set up with a "green screen" and desk that allows for "news" or "interview programs," three separate cameras, as well as a "look-down" camera that comes in handy if someone is performing an activity on a desk or flat surface.
There's also a sound booth, which allows for voice-over work, or dubbing if needed.
Instructors like the tools offered, Allen and Shaw explained because they can interview different guests for a lecture and then offer the video to their students multiple times, or from semester to semester, as a way of augmenting coursework.
Allen cited as another example the Future Business Leaders of America on campus, which brings in local entrepreneurs to do interviews.
"They have this whole playlist of people they have interviewed, and people can watch them again and again, to learn about how to set up a business, and the challenges faced."
The E-Learning Studio is also getting a bit more use of late due to its partnership with Davis Media Access, the executive director of which is Autumn Labbe-Renault, who has held the post since 2007.
Davis Media Access, which has been in existence since 1988, is in the process of remodeling its studios, making them temporarily unusable. As such those groups or individuals have been using the Woodland College facility, thus offering nonprofit agencies a way to continue showcasing local events and activities as well as provide for community individuals to offer election information or other topics of local importance.
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