In an age where it could be considered a sin not to answer an e-mail within 10 minutes or to leave a cellular device unattended, many can agree technology is a vital part of our lives.
Social media, such as Skype, has transformed communication, making us more connected than ever before.
Although many people may think of these as a way of connecting with friends and loved ones, some teachers at SMU are getting creative with their use of the program.
Dr. Gregory Warden, chair of the art history division at SMU and associate dean for academic affairs in the Meadows School of the Arts, has been teaching at SMU for almost 30 years, but this will be the first year his students will have the opportunity to engage in office hours over Skype.
“Our dean [Jose Bowen] talked me into it,” he said. “He suggested it and I thought, that’s a good idea, why not.”
Warden along with other teachers at SMU are adding a new dimension to learning, incorporating their expertise with convenience, something almost everyone seems to need these days.
“You can always have face time as long as you have an Internet connection,” Jason Warner, digital arts solutions architect, said.
” I do think that as a competitive institution, students want to come in and expect that their faculty and their institution has the ability to connect with them in the ways that they are used to being engaged.”
Longtime user of Skype in the classroom and a veteran of online office hours, Dr. David Sedman believes Skype is just another way to stay connected.
“It’s just another tool in the tool box,” Sedman said.
Some students agree, and feel Skype office hours should not be used as a replacement but in conjunction with face-to-face office hours.
“It [Skype] is a fantastic way to provide a new alley of communication from the comforts of home but should not be a replacement for office hours all together,” junior Samuel Scott said. “It is merely the best recreation of the office hour experience.”
Although Warden encourages students to come to face-to-face office and coffee hours, a form of informal office hours he holds by the Starbucks cart in Meadows, he believes Skype office hours may be more effective.
“They’re probably less intimidated by me on the screen than they are by me in the Dean’s office.”
Past users of Skype hours say they don’t notice a difference.
“Students don’t use it all that much to be honest with you,” Sedman said. “I think they like having it as an option.”
Some students find this compelling.
“As a student involved in a number of areas on campus the Skype office hours are great,” accounting and history major John Angle said.
Although this new form of office hours is more convenient, many students at SMU do not take advantage of any form of office hours at all.
“If I had to tell students one thing that would make them successful in college, other than working hard and being engaged, it’s go talk to your professors,” Warden said.
“That’s one of the great things about SMU. That we’re small enough and teaching oriented enough that we can do that,” he said.
Skype isn’t only being used for office hours.
Teachers have used Skype to interface with students in other countries, “invite” guest speakers into the classroom and
interview potential job candidates.
Although Skype office hours are still new to many faculty members, and others do not yet offer them, they are certainly trying to help.
“I think we’re really extending the boundaries of our classrooms,” Sedman said. “I think that’s great for the students and it’s great for the faculty. I think there’s a bright future.”
