It’s Tuesday night and Joe Stogsdill, a sophomore from Lawrence, is in his geology 351 class. Thirty-four miles away, another group of students are in the same class, with the same teacher, at the Edwards Campus.

Stogsdill is in a video conferencing class, a classroom that links the two campuses to teach a single class. Microphones around the classroom allow people in the two classrooms to communicate with each other and televisions allow the classes to see each other.

Susan Zvacek, director of Instructional Development and Support, said video conferencing classes have been around the University for about a year and a half now and there are about 10 classes that use the technology. The courses are designed by professors and IDS helps support the technology means to teach the class, she said.

Zvacek said there are two classrooms specifically designed to use the video-conference technology in Wescoe Hall. There are also classrooms in Joseph R. Pearson with the same capabilities.

While the current courses are designed with those in mind who can’t commute to the Lawrence campus, Zvacek said the technology may be the future for more courses at the University.

“I suspect that the University will probably in the future move towards a combination of technologies that would involve online coursework as well as possibly some face-to-face as well as possibly some video conferencing type of technology,” Zvacek said.

The classroom is designed to create seamless communication between the two classrooms, but Stogsdill said it’s not perfect yet.

“There were problems with the video breaking up or the audio breaking up,” he said. “It seems like there is some kinks to work out still.”

Stogsdill said there are times that the class won’t use the video conferencing aspects at all, and opt instead to be taught by a graduate teaching assistant at the Edwards Campus and the professor in Lawrence. The video conferencing facet doesn’t negatively affect the Lawrence side at all, Stogsdill said, but he can’t speak for Edwards Campus.

“I honestly think we have the better end of the deal because we have Professor Stearns for 75 percent of the classes,” Stogsdill said. “We don’t really have to deal with any kind of video problems or anything.”

Leigh Stearns, who is in her second semester teaching geology 351, said it’s hard for her to engage students and for them to feel like part of the class.

“For them to see the screen well, they often turn the lights off at Edwards,” Stearns said. “They’re always in the dark so I can never read if they are understanding this.”

Stearns said part of the problem may be with the type of class being taught.

“When I went over to talk to the Edwards Campus coordinators about the best way to set up the classes, they were like, ‘it works best for small, non-technical classes,’” Stearns said. “Well, I’m a large science class.”

Stearns said she is adapting to the new technology and uses a teaching assistant at Edwards to help move past the difficulties. She also has students call during office hours if they need any help.

Once video conferencing classes become more popular, it will continue to get better, Stearns said.

— Edited by Drew Anderson