UW received $8.2 million in federal funds from Governor Gordon to help the university address technological needs and infrastructure, and purchase or develop softwares for this semester’s online and synchronous courses. Provost Anne Alexander said most has been spent.
“Everyone is continuing to innovate,” said Alexander.
Alexander said many teachers are having to adjust with the new technology and platforms provided for the synchronous courses, which are both in person and online. Alexander said many of the First Year Seminar (FYS) teachers are working especially hard to make sure the students on Zoom are able to engage through discussions and activities “so they feel engaged with those in the face-to-face classroom.”
Neil Theobald, senior vice president of administration, said these funds are to help students with technological needs. This is necessary due to the synchronous learning set in place by UW’s COVID-19 plan. Furthermore, this money was spent on technology infrastructure such as cameras, projectors, monitors, computers, microphones and more.
“I think it’s universally true that having good cameras that are responsive to movement and voices is key to every class, as is having the classroom mic’d up,” said Alexander. “Different people use document cameras, Zoom chat, breakout groups in Zoom, laptop or desktop – really depending on the class.”
Furthermore, there was technology infrastructure upgraded for UW’s teaching, learning, collaboration and research spaces, said Theobald. There were also space modifications to the digital learning studios for faculty to record, edit and produce high quality lecture videos for their online courses.
A portion of this fund was also to purchase or develop software solutions or applications to assist with distance learning. An example of this is proctoring softwares that UW had to purchase licenses for faculty and students to use as the number of online courses increased this semester, said Theobald.
McKenna Nylander, a junior from Colorado studying Journalism and Graphic Design, said online classes are not as engaging this semester, even with discussions and Zoom meetings, making them more difficult.
“Sitting in my own home, I feel so distracted by dishes, my pet, my roommates, and even the mailman,” said Nylander. “Last semester I wasn’t online for as long, so I got the hang of it pretty quickly. But this semester, it’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to online schooling.”
Nylander said school this semester has been “extremely time consuming” as well.
“I have no doubt that my workload has increased since being online,” said Nylander. “Simple tasks like introducing myself to my classmates takes a 1,000 word essay in a discussion post versus saying ‘Hi my name is McKenna.’ Simple tasks take so much more time and effort.”
Nylander said she is unsure how the university could help make this semester better other than going back to in person classes.
“I would be more engaged, have more free time, and not be stuck on a computer,” said Nylander. “Personally, I don’t work well remotely. However, I am thankful that the university is doing what they can to keep us safe as a student body.”
