Learning

Student Learning

The main driver behind the iFisher Next Generation Learning Initiative, and all the work we do on campus, is to improve the overall student experience at Fisher. We believe the initiative has done just that. Here are a few stories from our students on what the iFisher initiative has meant to them.

Where Learning Happens

In the summer of 2020, as Fisher decided to move forward with the expansion of iPads to all faculty and undergraduate students, OIT equipped every classroom on campus with an Apple TV and programmed each podium to include the Apple TV as a display source. The academic year that followed was a tumultuous one, with courses taught online, face-to-face, and many with a mix of both in-person and remote students at the same time. Most faculty used Zoom to connect students into the classroom on a daily basis. The iPad technology became essential during this time to allow faculty to write while teaching in a way that not only in-person students could see, but also remote students. Encouraging faculty to join their Zoom meetings from both the podium computer and their iPad provided this level of flexibility and for many, especially those in the sciences, the ability to continue teaching even under the unique circumstances that hyflex classroom instruction required.

During the 2021/2022 academic year, the Apple TVs became an even more vital aspect of our teaching environments. Not only did faculty present to their classroom students via their iPads through Apple TV-enabled projection, but many faculty encourage their students to share their iPad work with the class directly through the Apple TV as well. Many instructors also become proficient at using the Classroom app to make the transition between many students' displays quick and easy.

Apple TVs have also become common in some conference rooms and other meeting areas on campus, since so many interactions happen via iPads across campus. A number of active learning classrooms have also been enhanced to incorporate not just one Apple TV, but enough devices to align with the multiple display sources in each room. We have a number of renovated classrooms with dual displays that have two Apple TV sources and a highly interactive room in the Wegmans School of Nursing that currently contains eight displays and eight Apple TVs, one connected with the instructor podium and seven more connected with each of the group table displays. Two additional active learning classrooms in the Integrated Science and Health Sciences building will have Apple TVs installed at each of the six projectors in these rooms during summer ’22.

The iFisher initiative has also supported student learning outside the classroom in a number of ways. Science students have taken their iPads into the field to collect samples, photos, and videos of their surroundings. Students have created maps, tours, and augmented reality presentations of the plant life around campus. Student athletes have found the iPads helpful while traveling for games and to support their work both on and off the field. The DePeters Family Center has also encouraged students to explore their iPads for stress relief during busy times of the semester and provided tips to keep their technology safe while traveling away from campus. Faculty and students alike have found their iPads helpful to support their overall organization, access, and enjoyment as it relates to everyday activities to be a successful member of the Fisher community.