Out of space? No problem! Use technology.

January 28, 2019 by Sue McGinnis

VCU School of Nursing professors in our nurse practitioner program had a bit of a dilemma. They needed a room for 80 students for a day other than their scheduled meeting day/time. All of the largest rooms were booked and that’s when instructors Brekk Macpherson and Rachel Cloutier approached the SON IT department. They asked if it would be possible to use the Zoom software to connect from one class to another so that the class could be split in two. And that is what they did!

Rachel Cloutier instructs the class. — Rachel Cloutier leads the lecture in one room while the rest of the remainder of the class watches in another.

Both classrooms on the second floor are equipped with ceiling microphones so that students in both rooms can interact with one another just like they are in the same room.

Students in second room. — Students in second room listening to the lecture.

This is an example of out-of-the-box thinking that has technology solving a real issue – the physical size limitations of a classroom. This same set up could be replicated by adding a third or fourth room. The options are endless! Way to go, Brekk and Rachel!

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