When it came time for Western Nevada College to update the
technology on its three campuses, administrators decided on a system to provide
students with a better way to attend class, even if it meant not in the
physical classroom.
The college built classrooms with smart podiums,
microphones, and high-definition cameras to record lectures. It plans to
combine the video-lecture classes with existing online courses, allowing
students to be in the classroom, on the road using a mobile device, or in front
of their home computer.
Western Nevada will begin offering 15 courses that are
both face-to-face and online in the fall. The school wants to expand the
program, but will limit it to first-year courses in the first year, according
to Clarence Maise, distance education coordinator.
“Sometimes those earliest classes are the toughest,”
Maise told eCampus News.
“Maybe they haven’t figured out college yet or that balance. This wiggle room
allows them to not drop class and work through it. Having that flex allows them
to go to their job, take care of their kids, whatever they need to do.”