EDTECH: What is the hybrid learning classroom going to look like? How can schools better prepare instructors for typical hybrid learning challenges?
HULEN: You weren’t even on camera before as a faculty member. Now you suddenly have to remember where to stand and where to point the camera as you lecture about terminal velocity. You don’t want to finish the lecture and realize the camera never captured your whiteboard. That’s where the problems are going to be. Again, occupancy sensors — and Alexa — can help prevent these issues. In the future, what if I could walk in and say, “Hi, classroom, turn on for professor John Hulen,” and it would turn on the exact settings and preferences I need. Or, I could scan my RFID badge and it would start the system correctly for my class.
WAY: Being able to have certain camera presets is key. We’re already looking at auto-framing or tracking. We can start anticipating those issues and use the technologies that exist, use the programming that exists, to mitigate that as much as possible. Since we will have social distancing, the seats are already in specific areas. We’re taping on the floor where the faculty members can stand. Besides making sure the faculty is 6 feet away from the students, it also allows me to know where to focus the camera so I can set the presets.
EDTECH: How are you affording new technology amid budget shortfalls?
HULEN: Generally speaking, there’s a few ways. No. 1 is the CARES Act. For some schools, some money might make it all the way down to AV technology, because they’re allowed to use some money for remote learning and for teaching faculty and staff how to interact better with technology. So, some of the schools might be able to get additional funding that way.
Another thing is, as I mentioned, shared resources. We have a solution called the Crestron Flex R-Series. It’s a mobile unified communications system that brings collaboration to the classroom and workplace. To put it in the simplest terms, it’s unified communications on a roll-around cart. When schools have 125 classrooms, it’s hard to have enough money for cameras and mics in every room. So maybe they can buy 10 carts. Or maybe in a building, they dedicate one cart to the whole floor. All they do is roll it around. It’s one power cord and one network. You just log on with your credentials. There’s federal, state and even city grants that can help you afford this.
WAY: We have a major budget shortfall. There’s no doubt about it, every university does right now. I think if we start looking at the money, we’ve already lost. Right now, we need to focus on safety. We need to focus on how we can deliver quality education in the safest way possible.