{"id":56168,"date":"2020-09-08T09:44:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T14:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=56168"},"modified":"2020-09-08T09:44:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T14:44:36","slug":"covid-19-response-efforts-driving-new-learning-technology-enhancements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=56168","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 response efforts driving new learning technology enhancements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Hays State University has long been known as a trailblazer in the delivery of online classes. It has taken that pioneer spirit to a new level in response to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\npreparation for increased online instruction because of the pandemic, FHSU\nexpanded the use of classroom technology this summer in time for the fall\nsemester. In June, an Academic Affairs Strategic Planning Work Group proposed\nthree different modalities for Fall 2020 course delivery. In addition to the\ntraditional on-campus modality, classes also are being offered totally online\nas well in a new \u201chybrid\u201d method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\nare planning for any number of possibilities, all the while realizing that a\nportion of every course might need to be delivered online at some point,\u201d said\nDr. Andrew Feldstein, assistant provost of Teaching Innovative and Learning\nTechnologies.\u201cWe want to make sure that, whatever the modality,\nwe are focusing on the quality of the student experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nthe time, hybrid was defined as any course that utilizes campus access and\nmeeting time to complete or supplement some learning outcomes but uses online\nmedia to complete other learning outcomes. As the summer progressed this\ndefinition began to shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFaculty\nrecognized that there would be occasions when they would need to meet with\nstudents online and in a face-to-face classroom at the same time,\u201d Feldstein\nsaid. \u201cThe types of interaction needed for those two methods are very\ndifferent, and we needed to determine how best to deal with both groups of\nstudents at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nturned out that Mike Nease in the Office of Technology Services was already\nworking on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nease,\nenterprise technology support director for TigerTech, and his crew devised a\nsuccessful formula. New document cameras installed in the classrooms can\nconnect to instructor\u2019s laptops, via USB, and will appear as a second camera in\nZoom. In addition to being a traditional doc cam, the new model also\nserves as a whiteboard surface, and the camera can be turned toward the\ninstructor or audience to serve as a Webcam.  Zoom can also record the\nclass with the video uploading to VidGrid for editing and posting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeff\nBitikofer, campus audio-visual support specialist, and his team installed doc\ncameras and capture boxes in virtually all FHSU classrooms. Instructors need\nonly bring with them their laptop and head-worn microphones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\ntype of microphone, Nease explained, eliminates feedback in the classroom,\nallowing the instructor to walk anywhere in the room without audio feedback\nthat can be detected when using lapel microphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now,\nwith the use of a head-worn microphone, a laptop computer, a document camera\nand a video capture box, instructors are now able to hold class for students\nboth in the classroom and online at the same time. This hybrid modality will\nmake it possible for instruction to continue online without interruption, for\nexample in instances of quarantine \u2013 for students or instructors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nparticular method, Feldstein said, is more common at large institutions with\nbig lecture halls that have multiple cameras set up with more elaborate\nequipment to capture audio and multimedia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort\nHays State is much more about the personal experience. But exceptional times\ncall for exceptional measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn\nthe past, we prided ourselves on the simplicity of our classrooms; faculty\nliked that,\u201d Nease said. \u201cWe\u2019re just adding a few enhancement features without\ninterrupting the regular classroom. These components will add a lot of\nflexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nteams at TILT and Technology Services collaborated to test and order the\nequipment to be installed in time for the fall semester. Nease made instruction\nvideos for faculty, and a checkout station was made available for the\nmicrophones at Forsyth Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur\npeople always step up, and this is another example of collaboration across\ncampus, good communication and the willingness to work together,\u201d said Dr. Jill\nArensdorf, provost and vice president for academic affairs. \u201cThe Tiger Tech and\nTILT teams have done a fantastic job getting our faculty ready to go this\nsemester, with short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nease,\nwho has worked at FHSU for 25 years, is accustomed to finding solutions to\nchallenging technology situations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese\nwere timely changes and not just COVID related,\u201d Nease said. \u201cThe technology\nadditions we\u2019ve installed will immediately enhance the quality of the teaching\nand learning experience at FHSU for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS Fort Hays State University has long been known as a trailblazer in the delivery of online classes. It has taken that pioneer… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11722],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Hybrid-Image.jpg?fit=1770%2C1180&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56170,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56168\/revisions\/56170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}