In the event of an extended student absence, Academic Affairs and ITS have collaborated to offer this resource document for faculty seeking assistance in delivering course content to students who are unable to attend class.
Assessing Delivery Needs
For any scenario involving remote delivery of instruction (RDOI), the P.L.A.T.O. learning management system is an instructor's most valuable asset, and should be considered the linchpin of most delivery methodologies.
- For short absences, often text-based resources are sufficient: a one- or two-page document outlining what was covered in the class session that was missed. This is effectively no different than a student missing class due to short illness at any time.
- For longer absences, other tools will likely be required for effective instructional delivery, but the P.L.A.T.O. course site is the ideal platform to manage access and delivery.
In the event of a confirmed extended absence (e.g. quarantine or isolation), some type of classroom capture toolset will likely be required. Depending on the classroom and course content, a variety of options exist:
- For standard lectures, often a simple desktop screen capture and voice-over will suffice. Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom provide desktop-sharing capability, and ITS has a limited supply of tabletop or lavalier USB microphones that work easily with both platforms. MS Teams has the added bonus of real-time live captioning, and is the better long-term solution in most cases due to PCT's robust Microsoft licensing agreement. Depending on available inventory and demand, ITS is usually able to deploy USB microphones within 24-48 hours of notification.
- If real-time video streaming of instruction is required, a USB camera is usually the answer. Depending on the complexity of the request and equipment availability, ITS may require up to 7 days' notice to deploy this hardware. There are multiple iterations of this solution:
- Standard webcams with built-in microphones, which are confined to the instructor workstation and require the instructor to remain at the teaching PC.
- PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) webcams, which are typically mounted on a tripod or similar support and can be moved around the room in a limited way. These are usually coupled with a separate USB microphone to capture audio.
- Wall- or ceiling-mounted PTZ cameras are available as permanent installations in a select handful of classrooms (ACC 404, ATHS E205, ATHS E254, PCW 214). Use of these resources in a live classroom setting requires the face-to-face class to be physically relocated to the corresponding room. Instructors can also book available time in these rooms to create content independent of live classes (Dean/VP approval required for scheduling usage of these classrooms).
- Mobile telepresence carts, which feature a self-contained Zoom or MS Teams system and can be rolled into any space on campus with an available network connection and power supply.
- In addition to the equipment described above, personal cell phones, tablets, or laptops can also be employed as ad hoc recording devices by employing the Zoom or MS Teams mobile apps.
- Access to live streams or recordings should be managed by the instructor via available tools (P.L.A.T.O., Capture Central, Microsoft Stream, etc.).
- Instructors who already employ a flipped-classroom model can continue to deploy their lecture content as normal, and may want to set up regular meeting times with affected students via telepresence solutions to discuss content, answer questions, or reinforce necessary material.
Specialized Instruction
Remote access to specialty labs poses significant challenges, and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ITS has extremely limited resources available for software virtualization or specialized video recording. For coursework with resource-intensive software needs (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc.) or physical lab spaces (e.g. welding, construction, etc.), faculty should contact their Dean and/or Academic Affairs to discuss options for optimal curricular delivery.
Getting Help
If you are unsure what delivery option will work best for your needs, please submit a request for IT consultation and our instructional designers will assess your course needs and work with you to optimize a delivery plan. Similarly, if you need technology training or help with anything that's been discussed in this article, please contact Educational & Emerging Technologies (EET).