More than 4,000 classes moved online at FIU

 

POSTED ON Mar 27, 2020

 

Florida International University (FIU) announced Thursday that the university has moved more than 4,000 classes online in what it calls an “unprecedented transition.”  The statement said that 2,400 faculty members and 50,000 students have been moved from face-to-face classes to remote instruction.

“What we understood early on, even before we had conversations about going entirely remote, was that if we were going to help faculty who previously hadn’t gone online and hadn’t taught using all the technological tools available to them, we had to get them going,” said Senior Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs Elizabeth Bejar.

According to FIU,  Bejar assembled a team of digital professionals to help the university prepare for a shift online. The new Academic Continuity Team (ACT) is made up of more than 100 employees from FIU Online, the Division of Information Technology’s Media Technology Services and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching. The team coordinates with the Division of IT to secure hardware and software, ensure cybersecurity protection and more.

“It has been an unprecedented effort. Out of over 5,500 face-to-face and hybrid courses that were in Spring 2020, 84 percent of those have been transitioned to a remote teaching environment,” said Vice President and Chief Information Officer Robert Grillo in the statement.

Digital support can be fun, noted FIU. One professor reportedly edited his virtual background on Zoom to make it look like he was teaching calculus on the beach. Students have also been dragging their favorite pets onto the screen. Another lecturer said he has seen dogs, cats, and guinea pigs.

“As long as they didn’t interrupt, that’s alright. They’re at home. We had some folks eating breakfast, and again, that’s just part of remote learning. You have to meet the students where they’re at,” he said. Read more here 

An FIU Advisory posted on the university website said that state universities in Florida have extended remote learning through the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. In-person commencement ceremonies are also canceled pending alternate plans.