Proposal

Narrative

This tech fee proposal will expand the potential of in-person classes-while maintaining their benefits-by implementing and researching ways for students to participate remotely through blended synchronous learning. While there is a growing research base on hyflex course delivery (which typically offer asynchronous options as well), I am primarily interested in researching blended synchronous sessions (also called remote live participation), where in-person students are joined by remote participants during hands-on real time educational experiences. The potential benefits of developing effective blended synchronous learning options include: * Offering remote and in-person options in the same course section to accommodate students who learn best with regular (at least biweekly) classroom sessions, as well as those who are unable to attend in person. * Helping to stabilize student numbers in course sections and reduce the times in-person courses or sections are cancelled due to not meeting new minimums. This is especially relevant for branch campuses. * Reducing the impacts of distance, emergency-related, and logistical challenges to student attendance while still maintaining in-person experiences for those students who desire them. Research on the technology and associated pedagogies will focus on ways to allow remote students to engage in more meaningful real-time discussions, group work, and hands-on activities. These experiences are essential to teacher education in STEM and are very challenging to acquire in asynchronous online modalities. The blended synchronous sessions need not form the majority of the instruction, but rather would offer an important complement to online asynchronous assignments and instruction. However, remote students seeing their peers actually trying hands-on activities and being able to inquire and react in real time is a crucial benefit.

Facilities

Hardware Requirements

Blended Synchronous Technology to Test DJI OM 5 foldable smartphone stabilizer. $159 https://store.dji.com/product/dji-om-5?vid=106401 For logging in with a student cellphones so they can stream participation in classroom activities in a smoother, more professional quality way. This will also facilitate teaching beyond classrooms, including field trips, interviews, and site visits to community partners. IPEVO VZ-X Wireless 8MP Document Camera $329 https://www.ipevo.com/products/vz-x To use when it is possible to integrate into classroom or lab setups in order to show (and hear) hands-on activities being done by small groups, to provide a "part of the group" perspective for remote students that is impossible to achieve with wall-mounted cameras. Owl Labs Meeting Owl Pro $999 https://owllabs.com/products/meeting-owl-pro To enable professional quality interview and seminar discussion setups for graduate students that can include both in-person and remote participants. This portable option would also allow class sessions to be broadcast onsite from community partners that the class visits, a unique experience. Staff or administrators at these locations could join the students (both in-person and remote) live for discussions and questions.

Software Requirements

None, or included as part of hardware purchase.

Personnel Costs

NA

Other Costs

NA

Timeline

The technology would be incorporated into existing courses as soon as it became available. The tech items requested in this proposal (smart phone stabilizer, wireless doc camera, 360 meeting cam) are relatively portable and can be used in variably equipped classrooms and on visits to community partners. They would initially be tested in the following contexts: Undergraduate and graduate science methods courses focusing on hands-on activities where remote students can "join" a group right at their table as they learn and practice activities. Summer 2022-Summer 2023. Graduate level seminar courses focusing on real time discussions of challenging material. Fall 2022. Honors or graduate level site visits and staff interviews where students, site staff, and remote students can all interact in real time. Spring 2022, 2023. Honors or graduate level lessons and activities taking place outdoors (an important part of science and environmental education). Spring 2022, 2023 Formal implementation and research would follow any promising use cases for the technology studied.

Sustainability

While in-person classes may be the best option for some subjects and students, they can limit the reach of courses that feature this mode. The pandemic forced remote live participation on many K-12 teachers, most of whom did not have the equipment, the training, or the right students to make this a successful option. However, blended synchronous learning has a greater likelihood for success with undergraduate and graduate level courses and students. The tech items requested in this proposal (smart phone stabilizer, wireless doc camera, 360 meeting cam) are relatively portable and can be used in different classrooms, by different instructors or students, and even on visits to community partners. They do not require paid software updates to work, so their effective use can continue beyond the project. As an education researcher and experienced STEM curriculum designer, not only can I plan these new tech-faciliated modalities, I can develop appropriate lessons for them, pilot test them, and initiate research on benefits and other impacts. This will result in related publications in both practitioner and research journals, which will help keep FAU on the cutting edge of new tech-enhanced pedagogies. If the testing and resulting research shows they are beneficial, more can be acquired for additional courses, rooms, or instructors. Given the potential interest in this work as more programs consider online transitions, and the relevance of blended synchronous learning beyond STEM and environmental education, I will be engaged in research and publication well beyond the length of the grant.

Resource Matching

My time. (NA)

Implementing Organization

FAU