It's something that's way cool. At the same time we know it's ridiculously primitive at this point. Now that the students are over the initial entertainment factor, they're getting down to work. In Finland, the students huddle around one PC with a digital camera mounted on top. At UNC-CH, the setup is more sophisticated, with several cameras operated from an adjoining control room.
Different cameras zoom in on individual students' faces when they speak to the group.
For the first several weeks, the students communicated by e-mail. Still, it's not like sitting a few feet apart in the same room, Gwyn said. The students in both countries are so enthusiastic, Sonnenwald said, that they're asking her to set up extra class sessions. The Finnish students, who speak English fluently, say they feel as if they're taking a class at UNC-CH even though they probably will never see the campus. They're delighted with their newfound Tar Heel friends.