Shawn Martin, Instructional Technology Coordinator for Riverland Community College, introduced the room to faculty and students at RCC Monday and he said things are going smooth early on in the school year.
"This has been a project that's been really close to my heart, because I did a degree online, and I'm a very social person. What I missed the most about doing school online was being able to interact with people," Martin said. "I was missing that sense of community, and I'm hopeful that this environment allows us to bring that sense of community a little bit closer to those students who are off campus."
The Zoom Room 2.0 is the equivalent of six zoom rooms in one. There are six learning pods that each have two interactive screens overlooking a table to make it feel like the Zoom students are in the building. Online students are able to interact with in-person students as though they were in the building.
Betsy Goetz, a full-time Riverland faculty member who teaches Humanities and English, said that the new setup is as good as she's seen. With a mix of in-person and distance learners in her classes, she has felt a connection that wasn't there in the past.
"For the first time in many, many years, I feel good about what the students online are getting from the class. I feel like they're integrated. The students love it; the pods create almost family settings and they all know each other. We feel engaged," Goetz said. "This is not easy for me, because I'm not a tech person. If I can do it, anyone can do it."
Martin said that Riverland students are catching a glimpse of what education will look like in the years to come.
"This is what we're hoping the future of distance education looks like," he said. "It allows us to engage with students who are attending off campus, with students who are on campus, who are here in the room."
RCC first began experimenting with Zoom in 2017 and the use of the room has evolved over the years. Martin spent his entire summer preparing the Zoom Room 2.0 for this school year.
"I don't know of another system that exists like this anywhere else in higher education," Martin said. "Trying to build a plane as you're flying it, I wasn't even sure that it would completely work the way that I had theorized that it would, until I got everything turned on and connected."
The project, funded in part by the Consortium of Minnesota Educational Telecommunications (COMET), marks a significant step in improving access and equity for students, whether they are on campus or connecting from home.
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