Who’s Zoomin’ Who? Videoconferencing & the Pedagogical Gaze – An Interview

This interview between Etienne Vallée and Dr. Norm Friesen explores lived experiences of videoconferencing and the significance of the “pedagogical gaze.” Dr. Friesen details how digital platforms reconfigure human interaction, leading to experiences of simultaneous connection and (bodily) disconnection. Central to the discussion is the “pedagogical triangle”—the relationship between teacher, student, and content—and how technology disrupts essential relational cues like eye contact and auditory modulation. Friesen also examines the act of pointing as a fundamental human and instructional gesture mediated by digital devices. Ultimately, Friesen encourages a turn to “continental pedagogy,” a framework that rejects technocratic language in favor of understanding the lifeworld and the aesthetic and experiential qualities of pedagogical experience and relationality.