Professor’s ‘yawn’ rant offers a lesson in viral video by Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

"Recorded meltdown a reminder that embarrassing behavior can be seen around the world in an age of video lectures," writes eSchool News 


Cornell Professor Outbursts at a Student's 'Overly Loud' Yawn

Cornell University Professor Mark Talbert’s search for a student who yawned during class was first seen by about 200 students. The recorded rant had been viewed 522,000 times on YouTube as of press time—and educators say it’s a reminder that anything said in a lecture hall these days can be held against you in the court of viral video
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Even if lecture capture technology isn't used in a classroom,
a student could record an embarrassing moment on a cell phone.
Photo: eSchool News

Talbert, a senior lecturer in Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, was recorded in a late October lecture searching the hall for a student who had yawned loudly in the middle of Talbert’s presentation.

Talbert asked the more than 200 students to identify the person who had yawned, adding that the “overly loud” yawning had become too frequent.

My bad side is as bad as my pleasant side is pleasant,” he said. “Don’t push me that way. … If I hear one more of these overly loud yawns, get up and walk the hell out! Yawn outside! Stay out of class—whatever it is you need to do to get over it.”

Talbert, who later asked the class for an anonymous tip revealing the yawner, continued: “You should be asking yourself, ‘Why am I the one loser that has to [yawn] when 220 know better? Don’t push me to this point again.”

Professors and lecturers said that while viral video lectures could be embarrassing for educators, knowing that a breach in decorum could be seen by hundreds of thousands might discourage professors from classroom meltdowns.

Tammy Peery, chair of the English Department at Montgomery College’s Germantown, Md. campus, said videotaping lectures — with officials lecture capture systems or by camera phone — could create carefully-edited internet hits that make educators look petty and mean spirited.

“While … part of the solution is to always be civil and professional, it is always super easy to take snippets of recordings and video out of context and make them look damaging,” said Peery, who was ranked Maryland’s top online instructor last year. “I want my faculty to be aware that it could happen to them. It’s yet another reason why many of us require that cell phones, in particular, be stowed during class.”
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Source:  eCampus News