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Cutting Edge: Webcasts, Webinars, and Other Web-Based Judicial Education Courses

By Daphne A. Burns, NJC Program Attorney

12/10/2008

Alexander Kapp coined the term, "andragogy," to distinguish the strategies and processes in adult learning from those in child- or youth-based education. Malcom Knowles expanded Kapp's work into a theory of adult learning that is widely accepted, although still relatively new, today.

Knowles' theory relies on basic characteristics of adult learners—they have a foundation of life experiences and knowledge; they are practical, goal- and relevancy-oriented; they are autonomous and self-directed; and, as adults, they need to be shown respect. These characteristics of adult learners led to four assumptions or principles by Knowles:  First, adults need to know why they need to learn something; second, they need to learn experientially; third, they approach learning as problem-solving; and, fourth, they learn best when the topic is of immediate value.
           
Applying all of these principles in classroom teaching can sometimes be challenging; applying them in distance learning can be daunting. How do you create an experiential learning experience from a distance? How do you create a problem-solving experience when all of the participants are in individual, remote locations? 

Webcasts or webinars, or other such media, may provide the tools—both literally and figuratively—to bridge the gap in adult learning created by distance learning.

The National Judicial College recently broadcast its first Judicial Webcast entitled, "From the Second Amendment to the Death Penalty: Notable Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, 2007-2008 Term." Robin Wosje, Director of Grant Projects and Special Initiatives at the NJC, who essentially worked as the Webcast producer, said, "The biggest challenge with the Webcast was trying to recreate the experience of being at the College." To do so, Robin worked with the NJC's Distance Learning and Technology Manager, Joseph A. Sawyer, who has directed an untold number of online courses presented without the synchronicity afforded a live broadcast. Robin also tapped the Honorable David M. Gersten of the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami, Florida, to serve as the faculty for the Webcast. Judge Gersten has served on the NJC faculty for over a decade and, most importantly, has a comfort level in working with this medium from teaching other judicial education courses online.   

With the producer, director, and actor, if you will, in place, the first question was, how is the course going to be designed—what tools, visuals, hardware, and software would best replicate the classroom experience and bridge the distance learning gap? To answer that question, they conceptualized what kind of presentation would best present the subject matter. They chose to use PowerPoint, as they would in a classroom experience for this subject matter, broadcast via WebEx.  Because of the additional challenges presented in this medium, they held tight to the golden rules of PowerPoint presentations: at most, seven words per line/seven lines per slide; add visual for each topic; two or three slides per case, in this instance, to hold the participants' attention; and, overall, use the minimum number of visual words possible.

While Judge Gersten pored over the U.S. Supreme Court cases for the best kernels of law to synthesize into bullet points, Robin and Joseph worked on adapting the tools available in WebEx into adult learning activities. Their goal was to make the presentation interesting and keep the participants involved. Once Judge Gersten completed his PowerPoint presentation, the team literally went slide-by-slide to make the presentation interactive—deciding ahead of time when to call on participants; when to use polling tools and graphs; when to invite participants to comment, etc. Judge Gersten also prepared case summaries which, along with the PowerPoint presentation, were provided to the participants. Judge Gersten estimated that he, alone, spent approximately 100 hours preparing for the one hour of substantive content.

To add the degree of professionalism they sought, they choreographed and rehearsed the entire presentation. Joseph also invited the roughly 150 judges and others from across the country who signed up for the Judicial Webcast to sign in a day or so ahead of time to test their access and ability to participate in order to alleviate any problems or anxiety associated with what was a new medium for many. On the day of the presentation, with Joseph at the technological helm, two people assisted Judge Gersten in transitioning on and off camera and handing control back and forth to Joseph who, behind the scenes, created the interactive experience.

From all accounts, the Judicial Webcast was a success. Over a quarter of the participants who responded to course evaluations stated that more than one person viewed the Webcast at their location. Indeed, a judge in Washington invited the public, via the local newspaper, to attend the Webcast in one of their courtrooms. Ninety-four percent of those who responded agreed that the Judicial Webcast was a worthwhile learning experience.

Forty-five percent of those who participated in a survey of state judicial educators responded that they have used Webcasts, Webinars, or other web-based media to deliver judicial education. Ninety percent plan to do more; and, approximately sixty-seven percent of the states whom they represented give continuing legal education/continuing judicial education credit for the Web-based courses (but limit the amount of credit allowable).

Going forward, Judge Gersten's best advice to faculty who consider teaching in this or a similar medium: You have to be comfortable with, and have confidence in, the technology. He said, "In a classroom, you can wing it if you have a problem.  In a setting such as this, you have zero control over any technological problems."  To compensate and get over the fear factor, Judge Gersten said you have to have a back-up system—you have to know ahead of time how you will handle all the technological glitches you can imagine may occur.  From a pure teaching perspective, he said, "It is a difficult medium to warm up an audience and know you're bringing them along with you in the presentation." 

Although the current state of the technology provides tools to create an experiential and problem-solving learning experience over the Web, the greatest challenge, it appears, may still be "as old as dirt," as they say:  employing those with a passion for teaching who will commit themselves to the time and energy it takes to create the best learning experience possible. 

The National Judicial College wishes to thank the State Justice Institute for funding the Judicial Webcast.

To participate in more NJC webcasts view the story and schedule here.