ACADEMIC & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
As the campus grows, use of OIT’s instructional technologies and services has grown as well. In 2017, the Academic & Emerging Technology (AET) unit continued to track steady growth in the number of faculty, courses, and assignments in CatCourses, our campus learning management system.
2017 also saw use of Kaltura—the cloud-based video streaming service introduced in Fall of 2016—increase exponentially.
18
Videos Uploaded
392
Videos Uploaded
702
Videos Uploaded
800
Videos Streamed
15,500
Videos Streamed
17,617
Videos Streamed
Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI)
Funded by the University of California Office of the President, the Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI) was designed to provide the university with resources to develop high-quality hybrid and online courses.
ILTI will enhance educational opportunities for UC Merced students and allow them to access high demand courses, satisfy degree requirements, and graduate on time.
Faculty who have received awards and are working on hybrid or online course redesign or development include Jeffrey Yoshimi, Michael Dawson, Marcos Garcia-Ojeda and Nigel Hatton.
Instructional Video Studio & Services
In 2017, OIT installed a professional-quality instructional video studio, complete with a learning glass, in the Social Sciences and Management building.
The studio, funded by a University of California Office of the President award, allows AET staff to offer a new suite of services including scripting, storyboarding, recording, editing, and captioning instructional videos for UC Merced faculty designing or redesigning hybrid or online courses. To date, AET staff have recorded more than 50 videos that were used in fall 2017 instruction.
WHAT'S A LEARNING GLASS?
A learning glass is a tool that lets instructors write equations and other course content on a lighted, transparent glass while facing the camera during course video capture.
The learning glass software flips the image so that the writing is visible to the student when they stream the content.
Downtown Campus Center A/V Room Design
The Academic & Emerging Technologies group was responsible for the audio-visual design, installation, and implementation of 38 new technology-enhanced spaces at the UC Merced Downtown Campus Center (DCC).
Classrooms
DCC houses two 18-seat classrooms that will allow our campus to branch out into extension courses for community members. The spaces can be combined for larger presentation-style events and, in the future, will integrate Zoom for remote & synchronous classroom experiences.
Conference Spaces
DCC has 35 conference rooms—9 large and 26 small—that are fully outfitted with flat-panel digital displays, microphone arrays for the highest fidelity of sound, and full Zoom and VoIP integration as well as traditional video- and teleconferencing.
Large-Scale Presentation Space
The DCC lobby doubles as a large-scale presentation space with a 165-inch commercial video wall. When not otherwise in use, the video wall acts as a portal to campus—displaying content that is designed to give visitors and building occupants alike a sense of connection to the main UC Merced campus.
Looking Ahead
Academic & Emerging Technologies staff are already working hard on the 2020 Project—namely, design and specifications for 35 new classrooms, including a 300 seat lecture hall; 3 TEAL spaces; 67 collaboration spaces; and a 14,135 square-foot conference center.