Over the past year I attended several remote conferences, (EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), Innovate Transformed (Ohio State University), and the College Art Association (CAA) annual conference. As you might imagine, remote/hybrid teaching and learning along with issues of equity and inclusion were at the center of discussion.  In this post I have tried to compile some of the key conference takeaways and other resources that you may find useful as we look forward to in-person learning in the fall. I’ve sorted these into sections for you: Pandemic Findings, Equity, Inclusion and Universal Design, Land Acknowledgement Resources, Tool and Tutorials, Vassar Teaching and Learning Resources and Funding. 

Designing for flexibility (multi-modal options for student participation, including mobile) is a key justice and equity issue.
– John Muir (conference attendee) 

Pandemic Findings

Educause Survey Results: Student Experiences Learning with Technology in the Pandemic                                                                                                            Christopher Brooks, Ph.D. Director of Research, Survey dates 10/4-12/14/2020 Total sample: 9,499 students, 58 institutions, US sample: 8,392 students, 54 institutions
Link to full report: https://tinyurl.com/2021StudentStudy 

5 Key Findings

• Pandemic learning happened everywhere and whenever. Learning environment appears to have played less of a role in determining students’ evaluation of their learning experiences than did course modality. Full-time students favored synchronous online courses. Married students, students living off-campus, and students who are working full-time preferred online asynchronous courses.
• Keep calm and embrace technology. Students reported that their instructors communicated effectively and demonstrated a reasoned and reasonable approach to technology use in their courses.
• Significant learning experiences start with opportunities for student and instructor interaction. Synchronous courses tended to be rated as better organized with greater opportunities for student–instructor and student–student interaction.
• The best technology experiences students had during the first semester of the pandemic were related to the use of the LMS, videoconferencing applications, and recorded lectures and access to specialized software. Regarding recorded lectures, the ability to review lecture materials whenever, wherever, and for however long respondents might need was seen as the major benefit of such recordings.
• Students’ worst technology experiences varied considerably but generally fall into one of three very broad categories: (1) explicit technology issues, (2) attempts to use technology that failed, and (3) poor pedagogical choices and course management practices.

Equity and Inclusion and Universal Design

Interaction Institution for Social Change. Artist: Angus Maguire

Equity Unbound
https://unboundeq.creativitycourse.org/
Equity Unbound is an emergent, collaborative curriculum which aims to create equity-focused, open, connected, intercultural learning experiences across classes, countries and contexts.  Equity Unbound is for learners and/or educators at all levels (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, professional development) who are interested in exploring digital literacies with an equity and intercultural learning focus, in an open and connected learning environment.
Virtually Connecting – YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/VirtuallyConnectingChannel/videos
The purpose of Virtually Connecting is to enliven virtual participation in academic conferences, widening access to a fuller conference experience for those who cannot be physically present at conferences.

Equity Unbound
Equity Unbound has teamed up with OneHE to develop some open educational resources for online community-building
https://onehe.org/equity-unbound/
Community-Building Resources from OneHE & Equity Unbound

Inclusive Stock images

Nappy
Beautiful photos of Black and Brown people, for free. For commercial and personal use. https://nappy.co/
Disabled And Here Collection
This stock library is a disability-led effort to provide free and inclusive images from our own perspective, with photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC). https://affecttheverb.com/collection/

Harvard Implicit Bias Test
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition – thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet.

Zoom Pros and Cons– Should you require your students to turn off their camera? Pros, Cons and Advice from Oregon State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning
https://oregonstate.app.box.com/s/j6vcszazsgaq3ikyqkcxc4s51pueb53h

Collaborative Learning Techniques – Quick Reference
Think-pair-share, talking chips, role play and more. 
https://library.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/tlc/CoLT%20Quick%20Reference%20%281%29.pdf

On Grief & Loss: Building a Post-Pandemic Future for Higher Ed without Losing Sight of Our Students and Ourselves – Joshua Eyler Keynote:
Open CoLab Live

Land Acknowledgement  Resources

Native Land – Native-Land.ca is a website run by the nonprofit organization Native Land Digital. We are guided by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council. Our funding comes from friendly organizations and individual donors. https://native-land.ca/

Native Governance Center
Native Governance Center is a Native-led nonprofit organization that serves Native nations in Mni Sota Makoce, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We support Native leaders as they work to rebuild their nations through our leadership development and Tribal governance support programs. We believe that strengthening governance is a direct pathway toward improving quality of life for Native people. https://nativegov.org/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/

Universal Design

Pedagogies of Care– Pedagogies of Care: Open Resources for Student-Centered & Adaptive Strategies in the New Higher-Ed Landscape offers practical and engaging advice about what “next” should look like across higher education, from sixteen current and forthcoming authors in the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education book series from West Virginia University Press.

Why Universal Design for Learning is Essential to Higher Education’s “New Normal”
Thomas J. Tobin, State College PA, 2 May 2020

Tools and Tutorials

Discord (download app) is a voice, video and text communication service used by over a hundred million people. 
Discord offers:

• A dedicated, free to use, invite only class space for classes 
• Text channels to organize things like lessons, homework, or study groups so students can go over the latest assignments together
• Voice channels for both one-to-one and group discussions, or even office hours
• A real-time teaching environment where lessons can be shared with up to 50 people at a time

 Check out Chad Fust’s Techademia post to Get started.

Discord Server Templates will let you clone existing categories, channels, roles, and permissions to help you create a new server easily!
Discord template for Studio Art 
Discord Template Library

Join Vassar’s Discord User Group. Email Amy Laughlin (amlaughlin@vassar.edu), Chad Fust (chfust@vassar.edu), or Karly Andreassen (kandreassen@vassar.edu). 

Vassar Teaching and Learning Resources

• • Vassar Together Teaching and Learning
  • Vassar Moodle – Faculty Resources and Training 
  • Vassar Spaces- Vassar College provides students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to register a domain name and create a digital presence through various mediums such as blogs, portfolios, and wikis. You can easily install open source applications such as WordPress, MediaWiki, Drupal, Scalar, and Omeka to your own domain, and use this space to create your digital identity and express your creativity.
  • LinkedIn Learning Provided by Vassar College at no charge to Vassar students, faculty, and staff, the LinkedIn Learning library offers access to more than 1,000 self-paced training courses. Get comprehensive training in audio, video, photography, graphic design, web design, business, and development from expert instructors, 24/7.
  • Equipment Checkout – SLR and Video Cameras/Audio/Lighting. Email Media Resources or Academic Computing Services.
    Media Resources – Lower Level of College Center 
    mediaresources@vassar.edu, (845) 437-7479                                                     Academic Computing Services – acs@vassar.edu
  • Vassar Innovation Lab – Chad Fust, manager, chfust@vassar.edu
    Amy Laughlin, director, amlaughlin@vassar.edu
  • Techademia (ACS Blog)
  • Vassar Engaged Pluralism Initiative (EPI)
  • Vassar College Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice – Connecting with each other to dismantle, disrupt, and destroy racism, inequity, and injustice in our community

Funding 

Putnam Summer Fellowship for Teaching with Technology 
Frances D. Fergusson Faculty Technology Exploration Fund

Need help?  Email you ACS liaison or acs@vassar.edu

In this post I’ve gathered some tutorial videos and slideshows from Art Prof along with some links to using Discord in your classes. What is Discord? Check out Chad’s post, Using Discord for Teaching, Learning, and Community.  I’ve also included a handy tool for displaying images during in-person class discussions, critiques, or virtual meetings. 

Art Prof is a global online community of visual artists that cares deeply about art, learning, and sharing. We provide equal access to art education on a global scale, removing barriers that exist due to the cost of higher education, private classes, and online classes with paywalls. 

 Art Prof Clara Lieu, talks about her experiences using Discord to teach art courses online. 

Discord  (download the app)

Discord Server Templates will let you clone existing categories, channels, roles, and permissions to help you create a new server easily!
Discord template for Studio Art 
Discord Template Library

Reference Slideshows

Best Practices 
Discord for Classes
Get to Know Students
Video Layouts with OBS
Set up & Equipment
Photographing Artwork 

Stock images for drawing and painting 
ART Reference Photos

Quick Space Bar Image Viewing Tip for Mac OS – Helpful tool for sharing images in class or during virtual meetings. 

1. On your Mac, select one or more items, then press the Space bar.
   A Quick Look window opens. If you selected multiple items, the first item is shown.
2. In the Quick Look window, do any of the following:
   • Resize the window: Drag the corners of the window. Or click the Full Screen button  in the top-left corner of the Quick Look window. To exit full screen, move the pointer to the bottom of the window, then click the Exit Full Screen button  that appears.
   • Zoom in and out of an item: Press Command-Plus (+) to make the image bigger or Command-Minus (–) to make it smaller.
   • Rotate an item: Click the Rotate Left  button or press and hold the Option key, then click the Rotate Right  button. Keep clicking to continue rotating the item.
   • Mark up an item: Click the Markup button . 
   • Trim an audio or video item: Click the Trim button , then drag the yellow handles in the trimming bar. To test your changes, click Play. To start over, click Revert. When you’re ready to save your changes, click Done, then choose to replace the original file or create a new one.
   • Browse items (if you selected multiple items): Click the arrows near the top-left of the window or press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key. In full screen, click the Play button  to view the items as a slideshow.
   • Show items in a grid (if you selected multiple items): Click the Index Sheet button  or press Command-Return.
   • Open an item: Click Open with [App].
   • Share an item: Click the Share button , then choose how you want to share the item.
3. When you’re done, press the Space bar or click the Close button  to close the Quick Look window.

Short Demo Video:

The Eucharistic Dove, one of only a few left in existence, is found behind glass in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, making it a difficult piece to investigate closely. Academic Computing Services students, Dylan MacDonald, Zechariah Lee, and Sufyan Abbasi, under the guidance of Amy Laughlin and Professor Andrew Tallon, were put to the task of producing a 3D model that preserves the texture of the Dove for closer inspection.

The model was produced using a technique called photogrammetry, which is the process of stitching together a 3D model based on a sequence of images. The technique combines novel application of computer vision with classical projection mapping that produces stunning results. The software used was Agisoft Photoscan, an industry standard photogrammetry software that allows users to stitch together an orbit of still photos into a 3D model, like so:

As a proof of concept, we began with trying to model a candlestick, donated to us by Professor Tallon, which had similar properties as the Eucharistic Dove in size and luster. Due to the reflective surface of the candlestick, we found that using a green screen was out of the question since the shades of green were reflecting off of the object and projected onto the model. After trying different techniques, we discovered that shooting with a white background in the Loeb photo studio proved to be the best way to eliminate any unwanted reflections in our model.

Once we took photos of all angles of the Dove (over 200 pictures total), we used Adobe Photoshop to mask out the backgrounds and loaded the images into Photoscan. There, a second masking process was done to tell the software the bounds of the object to be generated.

Once Photoscan was finished processing the files, we were left with a .obj file that formed the 3D model of the Dove, a .tif file that dictated the texture, (shown below) and a .mta file that maps the texture to the 3D model.

Next, we loaded the model into Blender, an open source 3D modeling software. Here, we made edits to the generated 3D model, such as filling in the bottom area of the Dove where photos were not available.

Finally, the model was ready to be published on SketchFab, an online publishing platform for 3D models, which allows users to manipulate the model in 3D space and view the model in virtual reality. 

From start to end, the process took about a semester for the initial research and testing, and half a semester for photographing the Dove and making edits to the model. Dylan and Zech worked on masking the Dove in Photoshop and Photoscan and generating the 3D model in Photoscan, and Sufyan worked with Blender to make the edits to the model.

Eucharistic Dove by Vassar College on Sketchfab

We hope that you enjoy the Dove as much as we enjoyed producing the model. If you have a project idea involving 3D modeling and need some help,  please contact Amy Laughlin in Academic Computing Services in CIS.

WATCH: Tech-savvy art historian Andrew Tallon uses lasers to unlock the builders’ secrets behind the construction of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

National Geographic Article