Technology-Enhanced Learning Space
Technologically Advantaged
No academic community has greater strength of character or faith than Pepperdine University, and our students, faculty, and staff proved it in the spring semester of 2020 in the most profound way possible. We kept our heads; we kept our focus; and we kept our commitment to finish the academic year by pivoting our entire pedagogy in five days. And we didn't stop there. By August 1, 2020, we had upgraded 166 classrooms on five Southern California campuses to accommodate distance learning in the middle of a pandemic, punctuating Pepperdine's position as a Top 50 University in America, regardless of circumstance.
Pepperdine's Information Technology department continues to evolve our classroom design to accommodate hybrid and distance learning using state-of-the-art technology, training, and technical support, backed by a wealth of video and digital documentation. Here is a brief look at the community of support that stands behind every student, faculty, and staff member in the Pepperdine community.
Multi-Layered Support
Audio Visual Technologies (AVT)
All members of AVT oversaw the entire classroom upgrade process from project management to the supervision of installation, to the commissioning of each of the retrofitted classrooms, to assisting with the Distance Learning Training Team. The AVT team also supports our faculty throughout the academic year, providing classroom AV training and support.
Tech Central
Members of Tech Central attended the Train the Trainer session in preparation to assist faculty and staff with scenarios ranging from basic questions to technical emergencies during synchronous or fully online training. The support team also conducted the final AV testing in all of the academic learning spaces to ensure a successful launch. With remote and phone support, plus scheduled on-ground support through appointments, Tech Central's staff can help professors and staff learn how to use the classroom technology and troubleshoot problems.
Training Development
IT Training
IT Training created New Student Orientation videos that highlighted the use of these primary tools for students that will be used by their professors. IT Training also developed and delivered customized training to staff that directly impact the long-term adoption of these tools.
TechLearn
TechLearn provides additional training in using Panopto, Zoom, and Courses integration, so faculty are confident in using all new resources recently acquired by University Leadership. TechLearn also delivered specialized New Faculty Orientation events and additional faculty workshops to prepare faculty to use all the tools needed to teach online using Zoom, Courses, and Panopto in the classroom.
Training Curriculum
Daily 90-minute Training Sessions
A one-hour training session including time for Q&A, followed by a half-hour lab.
Lab includes hands-on learning with all the new tech specs
Train the Trainer
Before training faculty, the Distance Learning Training Team trained many members of IT support in order to blanket our faculty with comprehensive support during the 2020 Academic Year, fall semester 2020, and beyond.
Training Faculty
- One-on-One
- One-on-one training with faculty allowed us to cater our training session toward their particular pedagogic preferences, eg: setting up specific Zoom preferences, approaching small discussion vs. lecture sized classes, or the best way to share/stream media.
- Two-on-Multi Training
- Distance Learning Training Team (DLTT) also hosted daily training sessions with approximately 8-10 faculty/staff. One DLTT member would host in-person in the classroom and the other team member would assist online via Zoom. This helped demonstrate all perspectives, from in-class professor to online professor, to online student.
Technical Specifications
- Panasonic Pan-Tilt-Zoom 22x Camera
- A webcam located at the back of the classroom to transmit video for remote students
- Shure Wireless Lavalier Microphone
- A wireless microphone attached to the professor for remote students
- Shure Table Array Microphone (Seaver only)
- A wired puck-style microphone for remote students to hear in-class students
- Dell OptiPlex Micro Form Factor PC
- The computer connected to the webcam and microphones.
- Note: This PC must be used to deliver long-distance lessons
FAQ
- For more information on Zoom, including training opportunities, safe meetings, and the login to Pepperdine's Zoom, try our Zoom Web Conferencing page.
- To learn more about Panopto, including the online video platform's features and available training, go to our Panopto webpage.