323: Zooming Ahead: How Virtual Learning is Shaping the College Classroom

BackStory

History, Education

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2020

⏱️ 20 minutes

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Summary

Today, the word zoom has become synonymous with an application millions of people are using to learn, teach and work. COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives, including how we teach and how we learn. So what does this all mean for the future of classroom learning? And where does it fit into the broader history of higher education?

On this episode of BackStory, Brian dives into the topic of teaching and where the virtual college classroom fits into the history of higher education in the United States. As Jonathan Zimmerman, author of the forthcoming book, The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America, tells Brian, Zoom and virtual learning are hardly the first time college students and professors have adapted to new technologies in the classroom.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Major funding for Backstory is provided by an anonymous donor,
0:03.8	the National Endowment for the Humanities,
0:06.0	and the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.
0:12.0	From Virginia Humanities, this is Backstory.
0:20.5	Welcome to Backstory, the show that explains the history behind the headlines.
0:25.5	I'm Joanne Freeman.
0:27.0	If you're new to the podcast each week,
0:29.3	along with my colleagues Brian Ballot, Nathan Conley, and Ed Ayers,
0:33.5	we explore a different part of American history.
0:48.0	If you're a student or a teacher, or perhaps even the parent, spouse, or friend of a student or teacher,
0:55.5	chances are you've heard people talk about what it's like holding classes over Zoom.
1:01.0	A few months ago, in a pre-COVID-19 world,
1:05.0	if someone said the word Zoom,
1:07.5	the first thing that probably came to your mind was a close-up camera angle,
1:12.0	or a PBS Kids show from the 1970s that has been reverberating through my brain for weeks.
1:18.5	But today, the word has become synonymous with an application
1:23.5	millions of people are using to learn, teach, and work.
1:27.5	The coronavirus has impacted every aspect of our lives,
1:31.5	including how we teach and how we learn.
1:34.5	Schools of all kinds from elementary to university are shut down,
1:39.5	and it's hard to know when they'll reopen.
1:41.5	In response to the school shutdowns,
	...

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