Teachers Use New Technology to Build Connections

In Beth White’s Pre-Kindergarten classroom, children waved to a squat, bird-like device mounted on a tripod in the middle of the space. On the screen nearby, the students saw their own images projected alongside a wide-angle view of their ffth grade Big Buddies in their own classroom. The ffth graders waved back.

The device the students were using to communicate between classrooms is the

Meeting Owl Pro, a robotic, artifcial intelligence-powered camera that captures 360° video and audio. The Owl works by automatically shifting the camera to focus on whoever is speaking, presenting a wide-angle view of the entire space along with closeups of individual speakers. When used in conjunction with video-conferencing software like Zoom, the result for viewers is an engaging experience that nearly feels like sitting in the classroom. The Owl and similar telepresence devices saw a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the education world adjusted to the realities of closed school buildings, hybrid learning models, and students and teachers sick or quarantined at home. The technology allowed school to continue despite the efects of the pandemic.

Knowing that distance or hybrid learning was a likelihood at some point during the school year—because of either another statewide school closure or the need for isolated quarantines of specifc homerooms or cohorts— Shore acquired the devices for every classroom in the school at the start of the fall. Even though most students ended up attending in-person school on Shore’s campus, teachers of all grades found creative ways to employ the smart technology not only to enable remote attendance for students and faculty members afected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to build vital connections within the school community.

For example, Beth White used the Owl to help keep alive the beloved Big Buddies program, which in a typical year would see ffth graders pairing up with Pre-K and Kindergarten students to read together, play games, complete craft projects, and more. “This year,” says White, “since we couldn’t be with them in person in the same ways, we used the

THE DEVICE Owl as one avenue to virtually visit

THE STUDENTS with with our Big Buddies.” White worked ffth grade teacher David Lund

WERE USING TO to set up a visual math game that

COMMUNICATE ffth graders and Pre-Kindergartners could play via the Owls in each of their

BETWEEN classrooms.

CLASSROOMS IS Elsewhere in the school, faculty members used the Owl to give themTHE MEETING OWL selves a presence in the classroom

PRO, A ROBOTIC, when they couldn’t be there in person. The device allowed Innovation Lab

ARTIFICIAL Manager Cam McNall to teach from

INTELLIGENCEhis technology-rich workspace, even when his students may have been in POWERED CAMERA a classroom in another building. The

THAT CAPTURES Owl also helped teachers who may have been at home in quarantine to 360° VIDEO AND continue teaching, and to be there AUDIO. for students in other ways, too. Upper School teachers could even remotely host their cohort’s morning meeting, letting them interact with the whole class or check in with individual students. Meanwhile, in the Lower School, explains Director of Auxiliary Programs Jocelyn Norris, “Teachers in quarantine

were still able to instruct and guide their students from home, and it was fascinating to see how well the students responded. They loved going up to the Owl to show their work and ask questions about their progress.”

In Oliver Hay’s Upper School science classroom, where quarantines weren’t uncommon, the Owl kept remote students engaged. Hay used the Owl in combination with the screensharing feature of Zoom to enable everyone to collaborate on the same document. “It was seamless to the point that I didn’t have to change my lesson plans at all,” says Hay. “Students at home were engaged as much as students in the classroom. It’s pretty remarkable how normal this new normal became.” “Having the Owl in the classroom was great,” adds Upper School math teacher Katie Sullivan. “I had one student who was remote all the time, and he could join class every day. It was pretty amazing.” According to second grade homeroom teacher Carol Porter, there was a distinct learning curve before she and her

THE OWL KEPT students were able to feel at ease with the technology. “When I frst turned REMOTE STUDENTS on the Owl camera, the students were ENGAGED. OLIVER naturally fascinated by it. The ‘eyes’ of the Owl captured their attention HAY USED THE OWL immediately, drawing comments

IN COMBINATION like ‘It’s watching me!’ and ‘Hey Owl, over here!’” Still, Porter explains, WITH THE SCREEN- “It’s striking how un-self-conscious SHARING FEATURE my students became about using this new technology. With one student

OF ZOOM TO at home in quarantine, the children ENABLE EVERYONE easily understood the dynamic of using the Owl to share with her what was TO COLLABORATE going on in the classroom. And for the

ON THE SAME student at home, it was a gift—seeing how much she enjoyed being part of

DOCUMENT. the class while stuck at home was truly endearing.”