Hybrid Education: Virus and Varsity
By Adam Noyes
It’s undeniable that Covid-19 has changed many pieces of our society, in many different facets. One of the biggest changes has been the response in the AV industry, with a definite shift toward live streaming. This is present in houses of worship, corporate offices and especially, education.
AVinteractive.com recently posted a great article discussing the rise of live streaming in education, between remote lessons, video conferencing and more.
Check out some highlights from that article, below.
Many institutions are focusing on creating ‘hybrid’ learning environments that support both in-person and remote participants. “Not only did this help students continue to learn during the pandemic’s first wave, it also offers a more flexible approach as groups of students need to self-isolate at various times, and ensures overseas students don’t miss out on teaching completely,” says Eliot Fulton-Langley, solutions architect at integrator, CDEC. “Hybrid learning has also obliged tutors to adapt their teaching, often with more focus on discussion and debate to ensure engagement, which could include user-generated project work and video content.”
Many students have suffered through having to isolate or not being able to socialise, adds Fulton-Langley. “This has led to universities focusing more on digital engagement and virtual communication – apps and telemedicine tools have seen significant uptake, for example.”
Phil Waterhouse, business development manager at TIG, is seeing three common learning scenarios:
- All students are off campus and are taught either via pre-recorded sessions or live via Microsoft Teams or Zoom, with the lecturer either in the classroom or at home.
- Some students are in the lecture theatre and others are off campus, with the lecturer on-site and broadcasting to the remote students via Teams or Zoom.
- All students are on-site but spread across three or four different spaces that are connected to deliver consistency for all while maintaining social distancing.