Retired U.S.\nArmy General Eric Shinseki said, \u201cIf you dislike change, you\u2019re going to\ndislike irrelevance even more.\u201d One of the many things I have always loved\nabout Fort Hays State University is that our culture of innovation has made us\nboth nimble and accomplished change agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you,\nFHSU colleagues, for always being in motion and embracing change. I value your\ncreativity and dedication. It is because of your efforts that this university\nremains relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One area that\nreally sets us apart is our Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies\n(TILT) colleagues, who provide the FHSU teaching community with a range of\nprograms and services centered around effective teaching and innovative\nlearning practices. The development of this center is central to so many\nsuccesses today, including our ability to redevelop course materials for the\nonline deployment of classes in China when the coronavirus first began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the COVID-19\npandemic began in January, our TILT colleagues were on it, ready to ensure the\nsuccessful delivery of a high-quality teaching and learning experience to our\nstudents at Sias University and Shenyang Normal University. Although we could\nguarantee our faculty had the tools and technology to deliver the courses, the\nsame could not be said for all the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our TILT\ncolleagues worked relentlessly to ensure that all materials could be deployed\nthrough cell phones. The cell phone deployment involved in part redesigning the\nstudent interface to access assignments and exams and addressing the challenge\nof an English vs. Chinese keyboard on a mobile phone. That included creating a\nstudent guidebook on how to access mobile app and creating a video tutorial. TILT even created a video tutorial in Mandarin to ensure\nstudents\u2019 success. The team\u2019s ingenuity, dedication, and nimbleness were\nsimply extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a highly\npublicized survey, 75 percent of college students from a number of well-known\nuniversities said they were disappointed with the quality of their learning\nexperience after the pandemic forced universities to transition classes to remote learning this past spring. I am happy to\nreport that such was not the case here at FHSU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of FHSU students who transitioned to remote learning said that the organization of their courses remained consistent after the transition. In fact, over 80 percent of Fort Hays State students, who had been taking their courses in traditional classrooms, reported that their instructors had acknowledged the special circumstances students were facing. Instructors reached out after the transition to make sure the students had all the resources they needed to continue their studies. They also made sure their students understood how to stay connected with their courses and instructors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These\npreliminary results came from a survey of over 700 FHSU students conducted by\nthe TILT team in early May. The feedback from students was heartening, but what\nthey reported that they missed most was the sense of connection with one\nanother and their instructors as a community of learners. This certainly isn\u2019t\nsurprising, and it is a sentiment echoed by FHSU faculty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These\nconnections are part of the learning process, and TILT\u2019s mission is to help\nfaculty promote engaging and productive communities of learners, regardless of\nwhat course delivery will ultimately look like this fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n