Introduction
Information technologies are known as a combination of computer systems usage and framework support, resulting in information receiving, storing, and delivering. To be more particular, video conferencing is one of the most frequently used forms of communication since it involves organizing a live video meeting amongst concerned parties. Therefore, video conference technology might be considered highly efficient since it synchronizes both audio and video. In addition, it seems advantageously versatile since it can accommodate up to two hundred and fifty users in a single meeting, depending on the application.
This information technology allows users to deliver messages through video, audio, text, or slide presentations during online sessions. As a result, video conferencing’s diversity in use accommodates a large social group, including differently-abled people. Overall, virtual meetings are conducted using video-enabled gadgets, such as computers with webcams or mobile phones. Multiparty video calling also allows users located in different geographical areas to communicate in real-time.
Transformations in My Life Achieved by Video Conferencing
Technology has dramatically improved the quality of education for all students in general, not only for me. To be more exact, I can now save up a significant amount of time I used to spend commuting before. As a result, the process of learning has become less challenging and much more comfortable for me and my groupmates. Furthermore, since video conferencing is used as an education tool, my peers and I now have the opportunity to study in our residential areas (Correia et al., 2020).
Therefore, video conferencing helps me enhance my grades considerably and makes my learning experience more effective and fruitful. Another critical point is that I only need to have access to the internet and have a webcam-enabled device to study from home comfortably. As a result, online studying makes my learning process more affordable, considering that extra costs for commuting are not incurred in my studies now.
Additionally, daily travels in the early mornings and late evenings used to be common for me when studying at school. Consequently, commuting tended to increase the possibility of me experiencing various problems in dangerous areas after dawn. Nevertheless, now I can comfortably attend both my early and late lectures with video conferencing from my residential area. Studying online using video conferencing ensures that I can interact sufficiently with learning materials such as slideshows in the same way as at school.
Another critical point is that my groupmates and I did not always have a high-quality exposure to the audio-visual materials in crowded lecture rooms. However, with video conferencing, I can now efficiently acquire more knowledge through interacting with the learning aids provided by my tutors online. Information technologies have transformed my experience with education courses by ensuring exceptional audio and video tools within the applications. As a result, such a learning method considerably increases my productivity during lectures.
In light of recent events caused by the pandemic disease, teleconferencing has also proved to be the safest means of communication. COVID-19 has resulted in millions of individuals dying since the virus is easily and quickly spread between people in the air (Fatani, 2020). Therefore, the risk of getting the virus is incredibly high during face-to-face interactions. Hence, most people have shifted their social lives online due to the drastic spread of the disease. Consequently, information technologies that provide users with online interaction thrive since they help eliminate the chances of contracting and spreading the virus (Wiederhold, 2020). With the help of video conferencing, I no longer need to worry about catching diseases during my classes now.
Video Conferencing: Social and Ethical Issues
The increased usage of video conferencing applications stems from social issues created by the global pandemic. To be more particular, the government recommended people avoid large gatherings to minimize the possibility of contracting the disease. Therefore, people across the whole world were undergoing a lockdown and staying in quarantine. All the establishments of any type were closed, including educational ones, to prevent face-to-face interaction on the streets.
As a result, many students, including myself, were forced to adjust to online learning from their homes. For instance, students now frequently employ the following apps in their online education: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skype (Correia et al., 2020). To sum up, video conferencing ensured that education courses continued without any obstacles and problems.
Nevertheless, online education has also deprived teenagers of face-to-face communication and interaction with their peers in school settings. It is evident that breaks between lessons served students as an opportunity to have fun chatting with their groupmates. However, considering the inability of adolescents to now interact between lectures, a social issue in online learning has appeared. As a result, students lose interest in studying as a whole learning process becomes dull and mundane without interaction with peers.
In addition, video conferencing systems make a learning process less challenging, and therefore ensure that education is accessible to more students. The essential advantage of online education is that teenagers do not waste extra money on commuting, lunches at the diners, paper textbooks, and stationery. As a matter of fact, tutors provide all the necessary materials from online sources, scholars, and websites. Moreover, it is now useless to purchase notebooks, pens, or pencils since teenagers submit their assignments within online apps, such as Google Glass, and do not have to do their homework on paper (Khotimah, 2020).
Another critical point is that video conferencing apps ensure ease of admission, meaning that students who have the internet and a webcam at their disposal can easily use these technologies. However, nowadays both aspects are not necessarily common in the homes of every student (Wiederhold, 2020). Consequently, minors from low-income families cannot efficiently employ the gadgets to log into video conferencing platforms to study online.
In other words, poverty restricts people from accessing stable internet connections, which seems an essential aspect while holding a virtual meeting. Moreover, students cannot experience effective communication as the video and audio quality is deficient (Mpungose, 2021). Consequently, the considerable decrease in both aspects’ synchronization defeats the initial purpose of employing video conferencing during a learning process (Mpungose, 2021). Overall, such a social issue leads to the inability to reach a stable internet connection, affecting the productive use of information technology on the whole.
Conclusion
To sum up, the progress made by the innovative development in information technology has significantly altered the course of students’ lives. Video conferencing, for instance, has become an essential part of the modern learning process. Information technology’s flexibility in use creates an efficient and productive model of online education. Furthermore, videotelephony caters to tutors’ academic needs, ensuring easy access to audio, video, and presentation tools within the applications.
The educational establishments can efficiently address the social and ethical issues created by video conferencing. The solution to the problems is to provide students with the gadgets necessary to acquire high-quality education from home, such as computers and Wi-Fi routers. As a result, adolescents might experience more benefits from employing information technology tools during online learning.
References
Correia, A. P., Liu, C., & Xu, F. (2020). Evaluating videoconferencing systems for the quality of the educational experience. Distance Education, 41(4), 429–452. Web.
Fatani, T. H. (2020). Student satisfaction with videoconferencing teaching quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Medical Education, 20(1). Web.
Khotimah, K. (2020). Exploring online learning experiences during the covid-19 pandemic. International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities, 68–72.
Mpungose, C. B. (2021). Lecturers’ reflections on use of zoom video conferencing technology for e-learning at a South African university in the context of coronavirus. African Identities, 1–17. Web.
Wiederhold, B. K. (2020). Connecting through technology during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: Avoiding “Zoom fatigue.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 23(7), 437–438. Web.