Faculty Technology Advisory Committee
Meeting Minutes: Monday, September 11, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Attendees
All attendees joined remotely, via Zoom.
Attendees (22):
Members (12): Taylor Barnett, Jonathan (Jon) Becker, Michael Cabral, Amita Chin (Chair), Mark Crosthwaite, Shannon Harris, Jennifer Joy-Gaba, Oscar Keyes, Kirk Richardson, Valerie Robnolt, Carmen Rodriguez, Dayanjan (Shanaka) Wijesinghe
Ex officio members (4): Colleen Bishop, Alex Henson, Elaine Reeder, Susan Coombes
Guests (5): William Nelson, Jr., Katie Shedden, John Bogan, Houston Griffith, Jared Parker
Scribe (1): Jana Avery
Welcome and Introductions
The meeting began at 2:00 p.m., with Amita welcoming everyone, and introducing herself as the new chair for FTAC for the next year. She confirmed with everyone that our guests could speak first and that our administrative business would be discussed afterward. The meeting began with William Nelson sharing updates about funding.
Classroom Funding Update
William Nelson, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Administration and Operations shared the following information with FTAC.
- As a followup to past FTAC discussions about modalities and technology in our academic spaces, William shared that almost 100% of our classrooms have been updated to meet some level of capability with Zoom.
- With what we learned from the pandemic, and the Provost’s use of the term “Hybrid University”, more attention has been drawn to addressing the technology needs in our classrooms, defining the requirements, and allocating funds to support teaching modalities.
- After working with Alex Henson’s staff and the Provost’ Office, William shared with FTAC that a funding initiative has materialized, and a little under four million dollars will be invested in teaching and learning capabilities across the campus. Changes to the way we allocate HEETF funds for instruction and support will be implemented in the coming year, beginning in the next 30 days or so. This strategic investment is a huge step towards upgrading our classrooms, investing in infrastructure changes and technologies to support the faculty in their teaching.
- William plans to keep FTAC informed and continue some of the conversations we’ve had about what teaching and learning is going to look like in the future at VCU. They are working with SAEO to define hi-flex classrooms for the future, and to put a pilot in place so that faculty and students can use and identify any concerns that should be addressed.
Accommodations for Using Zoom
Impromptu Question from Valerie, and Brief Discussion:
- Valerie shared that some faculty in her program were asked by Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity (SAEO) to have accommodations in place for students to attend classes on Zoom. She said that they are not being asked to have the class in Zoom, but are being asked to try to make it an option. She expressed concerns, as she has in previous FTAC meetings, about the difficulty of teaching while managing students both face-to-face and online.
- William responded that during the pandemic, there were a lot of conversations around campus about doing whatever we could to accommodate students. Faculty stepped up and really tried every possible way to accommodate many different requests from students. The feedback from faculty was heard very clearly, that it’s not sustainable in terms of how to teach across different needs and capabilities. Academic affairs is redefining modalities based on recommendations from the faculty. These redefined modalities will also clarify the roles, expectations and responsibilities of the modality. (i.e. For a face-to-face class modality, the student would be held accountable for being physically in the classroom.) They understand that every course will not accommodate every type of modality, and are defining the modalities so faculty and students know what they are signing up for. He stated that it is very difficult to accommodate the unique requests like the one Valerie described. We should try to accommodate, but also realize that it may not be sustainable.
- Valerie expressed concern for adjunct faculty who are not here all the time. William provided a contact in SAEO that Valerie can reach out to about the concerns.
Central Classrooms
Update on Central Classrooms - Jared Parker, John Bogan and Houston Griffith, from Academic Technologies:
- Jared shared a slideshow of Classroom Technology Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 survey results, and discussed the feedback on hybrid course usage. Hybrid usage declined significantly after Fall 2022. Feedback also indicated that student cameras are needed, not just an instructor camera. Summer 2023 updates now offer 60% of central classrooms hybrid-capable. (All but 3 rooms in Harris Hall were updated.) Amita asked which faculty were sent the survey. Jared explained that the “instructor of record” in Banner for central classrooms received it, as well as FTAC and similar groups, and department contacts. Amita asked how we can increase the response rate. Amita asked for the link to the survey, so FTAC members can ask their deans to distribute and encourage participation from instructors who teach in central classrooms.
- Jared gave a quick overview of the recently launched, new and improved classroom technology website website.
- Brief discussion about faculty who need training at the last minute. Jared shared that there are a couple of older how-to videos and that his team is working on new videos that will include more recent technology changes.
- Amita encouraged everyone to shared the new website with their departments and peers, which includes many helpful resources.
- Valerie suggested that we try to address some of the scheduling needs that Crystal Williams told FTAC couldn’t be done.
- Houston gave a quick overview of the new student technology website launched in the summer, which replaces the former Student Computer Initiative (SCI) site. Shanaka asked about the software limitations of Chromebooks and asked if we are still recommending them. Houston explained that we do not recommend them for everything. They are available as loaners from the IT Support Center, and there is a disclaimer on the student-tech website that they are for immediate, temporary use and may not meet the requirements for all colleges and academic departments. Oscar Keyes mentioned that faculty need to be aware of software that will and will not run on Chromebooks (i.e. Adobe Creative Cloud does not).
Canvas Faculty Survey
Overview of the Canvas faculty survey from spring 2023 - Katie Shedden, Senior Manager of Learning Systems
Governing Better Outcomes: Canvas Apps at VCU
- Katie shared a powerpoint presentation and discussed the functionality in Canvas that are the most important to faculty who responded. (Assignments, grading, etc.)
- She touched on the use of 3rd party tools, and the variation in the ones that are currently being utilized. There are concerns that these tools in use have not been vetted by IT Security, and other departments.
- The VCU Faculty Canvas Survey - Spring 2023 revealed that most faculty get help with Canvas from their peers.
- As a result of the survey feedback, Learning Systems has expanded their workshop delivery topics and frequency.
- Shanaka asked if Canvas has plans to include ChatGPT in their system. There was a short discussion about AI and the possibility of using it at VCU. Katie shared an link to a Canvas AI roadmap with everyone.
Approval of Minutes
The April 3, 2023 meeting minutes were shared, reviewed, and approved.
FTAC Resources and Leadership
With several new representatives on the committee now, Amita reminded everyone of the FTAC resources:
- Communication: Google Group, email - mailto:ftac@vcu.edu
- File Sharing: Google Shared Drive - Faculty Technology Advisory Committee (Please confirm you are receiving emails from FTAC and can access the shared drive)
- Website: https://ftac.vcu.edu
- Two leadership positions (1-year terms) open this year:
- Chair - Amita stepped up from Vice Chair to Chair after the April 2023 meeting.
- Vice Chair - Shanaka volunteered to serve as Vice Chair. Amita opened up the floor to anyone else who might be interested. No one else expressed interest and Amita asked for a nomination for Shanaka. It was seconded, she asked for a show of hands by those who approved, and those opposed. No one opposed and Shanaka was welcomed as Vice Chair.
Conclusion
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: Monday, October 16, 2023 at 2:00-3:30 p.m. via Zoom
FTAC Meeting Schedule