The Road Map Steering committee adopted a proposal to expand distance learning at Binghamton University — one of several proposals that will expand the role of technology in teaching.

The proposal suggests installing video equipment in classrooms, to allow students to view full video lectures via Blackboard.

It also calls for new equipment in classrooms and increased network capacity to support “the burden of video bandwidth.” Low bandwidth would result in choppy, low-quality videos, while higher bandwidth would allow for smoother video playback.

To implement distance learning, professors teaching distance learning classes will be sent recordings of their lectures, which they will then be able to share with their students through Blackboard. Certain classes are already equipped with distance learning capabilities.

“The Educational Communications Center has helped record over 2,000 individual recordings on our Echo360 DL capture system,” said Andrew Tucci, director for educational communications. “It totals nearly 5,000 hours of material and has been viewed online over 115,000 times.”

A sample distance learning lecture provided by Tucci showed a video of him lecturing in one window while the lecture slides he was showing appeared simultaneously in another.

The class that holds the all-time viewing record is “Statistical Analysis and Design,” with 10,656 views. It is followed closely by “Exploring Engineering II” with 9,936 views.

If passed, the proposal would take at least five years to complete, but Tucci believes that it will still be able to have an important impact on current students.

“What I think current students will begin to see is more materials and learning experiences being made available to them … and in formats that they didn’t have before,” Tucci said. “Students studying for finals might now have the option to re-watch entire lectures that were captured that semester in one of the eight rooms on campus that currently has the [distance learning] capture systems in it.”

Tucci said distance learning can also give students a convenient way to review or participate in online office hours with a professor.

There is still a long road ahead, but Tucci is optimistic.

“The potential is exciting,” he said.