New addition to enhance classroom experience
Leslie Armstrong
Arts Editor
@Peachcrate
A series of brand-new flatscreens were installed in the Vari Hall tutorial rooms, but teaching assistants and professors using the space were left in the dark about the new installations.
Ten flatscreens—each at the cost of $2,600—were installed to replace the old projectors in Vari Hall tutorial spaces. However, faculty holding seminars and tutorials were never told that these changes were going to happen, and many are experiencing trouble with the new technology.
For some classrooms, tech support took up to an hour to arrive, and they still ran into difficulties. For instance, in Jo-Anne Maclellan’s communication class tutorial, the wireless keyboard barely functioned and she had to call tech support frequently.
“I’ve been in classrooms and the TV won’t go on,” says Maclellan. “The equipment fails a lot here.”
Despite the occasional difficulties, however, she admits that she is impressed with the sleek new technology.
According to ITC, the Instructional Technology Centre, the screens went up over the reading week. Whenever profs needed assistance, they could contact the ITC for assistance.
Professor Tony Dittenhoffer, who teaches a fourth-year criminology seminar in Vari Hall, ran into several problems when he first encountered the new technology; he was never notified of the changes.
“It looked impressive, but it was inaccessible without a pass code and basic knowledge on how to start and operate it,” he wrote in an e-mail. When he called for help, class support sent a technician to offer assistance. Dittenhoffer was later given a written manual for future reference.
Janice Walls of York media says the upgrades were to enhance the classroom experience for students and faculty, and noted that the changes may have initially surprised some people.
“The goal here is to improve the environment in all of the classrooms to make it better for faculty and students, so we regret if the upgrades caught some people off-guard,” says Walls. “It appears the implementation may have gotten a little ahead of the communications.”
She says a key reason for the installation is that the flatscreens yield better quality overall. hey last longer, have better image quality, work better in confined places, can be viewed with the lights on, and are less prone to theft.
Students in a Vari Hall tutorial shared their thoughts about the new installation.
“There’s unequal funding between different departments, and to keep it even, they’ll buy things like this to balance the scales,” says a teaching assistant.
Another feels there are other things that could have been renovated in place of the flatscreens.
“I think it’s cool technology, but there’s other things we have to work on,” says the student. “The bathrooms suck. And some of our buildings are just terrible. It’s cool technology, but it’s not going to make our learning better.”
Some teaching assistants, however, can get used to the new technology.
“It was nice having a blackboard,” one says. “With the pull-down screen, you could still write behind it. But it is a little easier not having to turn the lights on and off [during class].”
With files from Yuni Kim
