Hybrid teaching at Said Business School

A number of lecture theatres have had high quality audio/video equipment installed and Hybrid sessions have been running since late 2020. The main lectern is a sophisticated setup including a range of additional inputs if required (tablet, document reader etc.) along with high quality microphone and camera systems.

Ceiling-mounted high quality ‘directional’ microphones – these effectively respond to audio direction and can shut out unwanted background audio
High spec ceiling-mounted video camera at rear of room. Note that the current models  are static and impending upgrades will utilise ‘tracking’ cameras that follow the lecturer – a lanyard indicates the target object
A large double screen set-up behind the main lectern.
Floor-mounted monitors which show the same screens as above – particularly useful if the lecturer moves to the space between the lectern and the front row.

Lessons learnt:

• AV support within the School is substantial and includes short ‘awareness raising’ sessions to brief academics on the hardware – there have been few problems but support staff are always close by
• Anecdotal evidence suggests that faculty have had issues dividing attention equally between in-person and remote users
• Zoom has generally proved to be more effective as it permits a ‘split’ screen approach
• The technology is driven, in the main, by lecturer
• The in-room cameras are currently being upgraded to tracking version – i.e., teaching staff with wear special lanyards that the camera can track around the room
• Pedagogic support is provided by Julia Horn and team