University of Greenwich Evolves to Hyflex Learning with AVer Auto Tracking Cameras
- University of Greenwich, London, UK
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.Established over 125 years
.3 campuses: Greenwich and Avery Hill (London); Medway (Kent)
.Public research university with 4 faculties: Liberal Arts, Business, Education, Engineering
.Part of University Alliance, achieving a silver rating in Teaching Excellence Framework
.Globally recognised for research: 9 Times Higher Education Awards & 5 Queen’s Prizes
The University of Greenwich has been providing higher education for over 125 years.
The University of Greenwich is a public, research university with four faculties: Liberal Arts & Sciences; Business School; Education, Health and Human Sciences; and Engineering & Science. It is part of the University Alliance group and is gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
The university operates across three campuses: Greenwich and Avery Hill in London and Medway in Kent. Its renowned research has been globally received and endorsed by nine Times Higher Education Awards and five Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher & Further Education.
The university offers over 200 courses to prospective graduates, attracting a high calibre of UK and international students.
At the end of 2020, UK restrictions were starting to lift. This meant that classroom lessons could resume from January 2021. However, there was still uncertainty around the lifting of restrictions. In the event of a positive COVID test, staff and students would have to self-isolate and international students, who make up a considerable proportion of the students, were unable to attend classes in person due to international travel restrictions.
Uncertainty from COVID-19 Lockdown
During 2020, the university, like the rest of the UK, had been subject to COVID-19 lockdown laws. Teaching staff and students had switched from classroom teaching to remote learning using the Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) software platform to ensure courses could continue.
At the end of 2020, UK restrictions were starting to lift. This meant that classroom lessons could resume from January 2021. However, there was still uncertainty around the lifting of restrictions. In the event of a positive COVID test, staff and students would have to self-isolate and international students, who make up a considerable proportion of the students, were unable to attend classes in person due to international travel restrictions.
This presented Mark Affection, Head of Digital AV Solutions at the university and his team with a unique AV challenge: to ensure that a quality learning experience was provided by the university to both in-class and remote participants. To ensure that no student was left behind due to physical restrictions, a new hybrid system of underpinning AV technology was required.
Lessons from Lockdown
During lockdown, the MS Teams software functionality proved to be invaluable. Online video sessions enabled course continuity and teaching staff made the most of MS Teams’ inbuilt messaging and screen sharing features to create the most interactive experience possible. Nonetheless, a survey about remote teaching from the university to staff and students revealed experiences of fatigue, frustration and loss of concentration during the longer discussion and debate sessions, especially when either the lecturer or student was not able to use video facilities.
“Not having a camera creates a disconnect,” explained Mark. “When having two-way teaching, it is important that participants are seen. Video conferencing is complex. Some students may switch off if they feel uninvolved; others can struggle to pay attention and sadly fall behind. We had to enable our teaching colleagues to deliver an enriching learning experience.”
It became apparent that a new AV solution that could provide a flexible learning environment for both in-class and online remote participants was required to ensure an engaging, immersive experience. The solution needed to be adaptable to change in the event of future restrictions on attendance at the university’s three campuses.
It became apparent that a new AV solution that could provide a flexible learning environment for both in-class and online remote participants was required to ensure an engaging, immersive experience. The solution needed to be adaptable to change in the event of future restrictions on attendance at the university’s three campuses.
What Was Needed?
Prior to the start of the January 2021 term, Mark worked with colleagues across the university to assess the capabilities of the software, hardware and estate facilities where teaching is delivered.
Firstly, the features of MS Teams were explored in greater detail. Teaching staff had shown great initiative during lockdown and there was now a good degree of familiarity and acceptance of the platform.
The team took this innovation and feedback from the survey to map out how the classrooms could be modified to integrate with MS Teams and other camera and microphone technology.
Hello Hyflex!
The entire Old Royal Naval College campus, where the university’s Greenwich campus is located, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Furthermore, the historic Queen Anne Building on the Greenwich campus is a listed building; and therefore, before any work could be considered, a dialogue with Historic England would be necessary. Ensuring compliant building methods were adhered to, different concepts were set up in a room to try to find a standard teaching configuration that could be used to teach students in situ, remotely or via blend of both. The university coined this solution as “Hyflex.”