Fall Technology Dual Delivery Updates

This site is dedicated to keeping everyone updated on the technology and the rooms that are being outfitted with technology for the dual delivery teaching in Fall 2020.

In order to start planning for dual delivery, Learning Environments (LE) created a preliminary list of equipment and distributed it to the IT Academic Technologies Subcommittee. This subcommittee is part of the Faculty Senate Committee, the University Committee on Information Technology. It is chaired by Scott Rixner and seated by faculty across the university. It advises the Office of Information Technology (OIT) on academic technology in classrooms. The committee met and provided initial feedback into what is important for classroom technology design. Upon receiving the feedback LE began procuring a set of test equipment to pilot the options with faculty in classrooms.

Faculty from the IT Academic Technologies Subcommittee came to campus to view, test and provide feedback on some equipment that we are evaluating using in classrooms. The faculty members who were in involved in testing were: Renata Ramos (Engineering), Farès el-Dahdah (Humanities), Scott Rixner (Engineering), Lesa Tran Lu (Natural Sciences) and Kathy Matthews (Natural Sciences). Even though needs change based on pedagogy, there are consistent themes resulting in basic requirements.

These are (pictures available here):

• Webcam/camera – there are a number of different types of cameras, but the committee was able to settle on two types
  • A large camera that will be mounted near the back of the room that captures the front and can zoom in on the whiteboard as well as the instructor. This camera will be used in medium to large size classrooms.
  • A web camera that will be mounted at or near the podium to pick up the faculty teaching or the students in class will be used in smaller discussion type rooms.
• Microphones in the classroom to pick up the students speaking in class
  • In most classrooms, microphones will be mounted in the ceiling to pick up the students in class as well as the faculty speaking. Faculty not having to share a lavalier microphone was very important to faculty.
• A large monitor on a rolling cart so that the instructor and/or students can see and interact with remote students. The faculty member will be able to adjust the monitor as they wish.

Learning Environments is working with the Office of the Registrar (OTR) in collaboration with the Academic Restart Committee (ARC) on which classrooms will be used for fall. Each room being used will be assessed on which type of camera, monitor, and microphones will be in the class as each classroom configuration is different. The first set of rooms has been identified as they are some of the larger classrooms that will be utilized for fall.

Resources:

Equipment 

Phase I rooms