EMPOWERING EDUCATION

Distance learning powered by innovative teaching methods

Normal is defined as conforming to a standard: usual, typical, expected. The fall semester at Oklahoma State University was anything but normal. However, faculty and staff within the Ferguson College of Agriculture used this opportunity to find new, unexpected ways to be innovative with their methods of educating students.

Katy Teixeira, Swivl resource post-doctoral instructor, said faculty and staff knew they were going to be teaching through a hybrid approach of both in-person and online classes because of COVID-19.

“We needed to be able to broadcast teachers’ classes in case students couldn’t come to class,” Teixeira said.

With the entire world trying to go online and virtual, finding available technology proved to be a major struggle, said Mike Rasmussen, Ferguson College of Agriculture computer support specialist.

“We struggled to find supplies for things as simple as a laptop,” Rasmussen said. “Even webcams were unavailable because everybody was using virtual communication tools.”

As the fall semester approached, faculty and staff searched for a solution that would be easy for people to understand and easy to teach how to use them, Rasmussen said.

“We were fortunate a department within the college was using this technology we’d never actually heard of called Swivl,” Rasmussen said.

Swivl is a robot and mobile application combination that connects to a mobile device, Teixeira said.

This technology has been used by faculty and students in agricultural education to record students’ lessons and agricultural education student-teachers in their cooperating centers, she added, as well as used in agricultural communications and agricultural leadership classes.

“We use Swivl in agricultural education as a feedback mechanism and had not thought about it in terms of using it to broadcast our lectures live with good audio,” Teixeira said.

Swivl is a tool that works with a mobile device and can be used anywhere on campus, Rasmussen said.

“Faculty members wanted to make sure that it was a fluid technology so they wouldn’t have to worry about readapting and relearning how to use it again,” Rasmussen said.

Cynda Clary, Ferguson College of Agriculture associate dean, said the flexibility of Swivl was one of the most important reasons for implementing the technology.

“We are using a lot of spaces that haven’t always been used as a classroom,” Clary said. “So, in order to spread out, we didn’t want to install something in there permanently.”

Katy Teixeira teaches Swivl technology to academic department representatives.

Photo by Todd Johnson.

Swivl has the capability of tilting up and down and panning side to side while broadcasting, Rasmussen said.

With social distancing protocols, having a piece of technology that does not require multiple people is imperative, Rasmussen said.

“The tracking technology acts like a robot that spins,” Rasmussen said. “So, even if you’re in a classroom, field or anywhere moving around, you don’t have to have a cameraman.

“This technology does all the work of a second person,” Rasmussen said. “So, that’s another huge benefit of why we went with Swivl.”

The tracking technology captures the professors’ enthusiasm, which is a characteristic of effective teaching, Teixeira said.

“The robot is able to pan and follow the professor around the room, and that gives them the freedom to continue to do what they do without feeling tied down to a desk or lectern,” Teixeira said.

The Swivl application also incorporates Zoom, a video communications tool,” Rasmussen said.

“We have been using Zoom to do other things such as meetings,” Rasmussen said. “So, it helped that Swivl had built-in Zoom technology.”

This feature allows professors to broadcast classes live with Zoom, Teixeira said.

“They are able to share that classroom experience with students live without causing a huge disruption,” Teixeira said. “If they were just Zooming, they would have to be standing at a computer.”

Students also are able to interact in class while their professor is teaching, Rasumussen said.

"They have the possibility to ask questions even though they aren't in the room have them actively answered, which gives all students the same experience,” Rasmussen said.

Every piece of technology has a downfall, Teixeira said. With Swivl, the biggest challenge is the constant need to continue adding to the technology, she added.

“We’ve realized to hear students live through Zoom, professors need to have an external speaker,” Teixeira said. “The next big rollout will be purchasing speakers for the robots.”

The ability to use Swivl long term outweighed the associated costs and effort to implement the technology, Rasmussen said.

"With somethinglike Swivl, we found a niche where you didn't have to actively have an internet connection to use it," Rasmussen said.

In addition to livestreaming with Swivl if an internet connection is available, the robot can record videos to a mobile device that can be uploaded and shared at a later time, he said.

Because of this, Swivl can be used in a variety of teaching environments to continue to incorporate hands-on experiences, Clary said.

“A lot of the faculty who are also on an extension appointment are really excited about what this is going to do for their extension part,” Teixeira said. “They can go out, give trainings, record those trainings, and put them online.”

The biggest takeaway from using Swivl is how teachers are still able to lecture as they normally would, Teixeira said.

“Faculty have really taken off with it and are doing a great job with the technology,” Teixeira said. “One of the neat things is looking on the Swivl Cloud and seeing the different ways people are using it.”

Peter Muriana, animal and food sciences professor, uses Swivl to teach students live and to record lectures.

“I’ve even gone to the extreme where I’m not giving students the in-class videos,” Muriana said. “I’m actually re-taping on my own separately so I can capture the entire lecture in one sitting.”

Muriana said he is excited about the added teaching opportunities Swivl provides outside of the classroom.

“I’m a food microbiologist, so maybe I can take a trip to a plant somewhere, and I can’t maybe bring the whole class, but they can attend via Zoom while my graduate student and I are on a tour through the facility discussing the ramifications of certain processes,” Muriana said.

Swivl technology is going to lend itself to a greater volume of online classes, which could benefit the university, Muriana said.

“There are students who can’t get to campus,” Muriana said. “By assembling courses that could be taught online, you might be able to reach a greater number of students than we currently serve. So, the Cowboy reach would be farther out.”

Professors will continue using this technology because they can enhance what they are doing in the classroom and what they are doing for online students, Muriana added.

“I’m really proud of the leadership for having the foresight to make this technology available to faculty members,” Teixeira said. “Professors are able to teach what they are teaching and continue to do what they do well. We’ve empowered them to be able to do that with this technology.”

MAGGIE NEUFELD

FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA