BDN reports on College of Education’s virtual classroom
The Bangor Daily News reported on a new lab in University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development that enables students to teach in front of a virtual classroom of avatars in preparation of their student teaching in Maine schools. The new lab uses the program TeachLivE, a mixed-reality teaching environment that supports teacher practice in classroom management, methods and content. The program began development a decade ago at the University of Central Florida in a partnership between the university’s education and technology schools. Last year, the company Mursion purchased the rights to commercialize the technology, according to the article. UMaine’s TeachLivE lab, with an 80-inch screen and new computer, is being set up in Room 207 of Shibles Hall and is expected to open next month, the article states. “Teaching is one of those professions that, often, people underestimate how challenging it can be,” said Susan Gardner, interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development. “Just knowing the content is not enough to be a good teacher.”