We're going to be using video conferencing (instead of residencies) more in our agricultural communications diploma program starting this fall, and it looks like we're not alone. Catching up on some reading this rainy spring weekend, I see in the November/December edition of Backbone magazine that more and more companies are becoming interested in video conferencing. "Video conferencing is finally being pushed into the mainstream by fuel prices, border hassles and the greening of Canadian companies," it says. We're motivated mainly by fuel prices: No residencies in our program will make it much more accessible to a wider audience. Friday, I met with University of Guelph distance learning specialist Patrick Payne to begin transforming face-to-face modules — mainly involving student presentations — for teleconferences.
OWEN ROBERTS
Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist and communications instructor based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He is a trustee on the Global Foundation for Agricultural Journalism and an associate editor (communications) for the Journal of Agromedicine. Previously, Owen was president of the International Forum for Agricultural Journalists, an agricultural communications faculty member at the University of Illinois, and research communications director at the University of Guelph. His programs and research papers have been recognized through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence and the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation.