OUTFITTING OUR CLASSROOMS
OUTFITTING OUR CLASSROOMS
Benjamin Fletcher, VP Business Operations
As the world is rapidly changing around us in the age of a pandemic, it’s our responsibility as a college to adapt on behalf of our students. Being a tech school, Neumont is better equipped than other institutions to quickly transition into an uncharted world of virtual classrooms, new teaching styles, and preparing for long-term unexpected difficulties in education. To best inform our community on how we’re currently combating these challenges, we spoke to the Vice President of Business Operations at Neumont, Benjamin Fletcher. He oversees all classroom advancements and describes Neumont’s current position as we continue teaching amidst a global pandemic.
In the middle of our Spring Quarter, Neumont College shifted to virtual teaching in the best interest of our students’ and community’s health. While this was an unforeseen and swift change, Neumont’s transition to teaching solely from virtual classroom wasn’t as challenging as you’d expect. Our institution has been utilizing the popular meeting tool, Zoom, for the past two years–meaning our faculty and students were already experienced with the platform. Fletcher implemented the usage of Zoom after attending the annual EDUCAUSE conference in 2018, making our classrooms fully wireless. In addition, Neumont students were outfitted with laptops featuring state-of-the-art webcams, resulting in a prepared student body readily able to succeed while learning a virtual curriculum. In addition to classes, students are able to attend virtual meetings with their instructors via Zoom, giving them access to faculty outside of the classroom during their office hours. We’re proud to say that from day one of the transition to an online format, classes and business carried on as usual.
In preparation for the upcoming quarter and the hybrid teaching format, Neumont’s IT department installed a 4K camera in every classroom and outfitted the teachers with lapel mics. These enhancements allow each class to be streamed in real-time and recorded so students can review the lesson as needed. Fletcher pointed out there was no need for third-party support because our IT department is made up in part with our own well-trained alums. “We expect a seamless transition back to Fall Quarter,” said Fletcher.
Looking to the future, Benjamin Fletcher isn’t too worried about Neumont’s virtual teaching capabilities if we have to make that transition again. Fletcher describes Neumont’s wireless structure as, “The densest wireless network west of the Mississippi.” While we can’t predict impending hurdles, we’re confident Neumont College is capable of successfully teaching the next generation of tech professionals, despite the pandemic and ever-changing field of computer science.