麻豆视频

Because she had hip surgery during the winter break, University of Colorado Student Annie Miller could not physically attend class in the beginning weeks of the spring 2017 semester. A robot and some teamwork ensured that she could attend remotely.

Miller, who is majoring in international affairs, asked her Arabic instructor, , if there were some way she could be accommodated in her Arabic 2 course during post-surgery recovery.

With collaboration and support from CU Boulder鈥檚 , the Office of Information Technology鈥檚 , and the , Attwa and Miller utilized a new technology available on the CU Boulder campus, the Kubi, to make the accommodation possible.

A Kubi, called a 鈥渟imple, engaging telepresence robot,鈥� employs a stand that holds an iPad and allows remote students to actively participate in a face-to-face class and to control their classroom experience by panning, tilting and turning the iPad in any direction.

From their home computers, Kubi students can see, hear and speak with their instructors and classmates using the iPad鈥檚 camera and microphone, with minimal disruption to the learning experience. In Spring 2016, a Kubi enabled a student to attend a full semester of Italian 1020, taught by Italian Instructor Giorgio Corda, without the student鈥檚 being present on campus.

鈥淭he main thing that impresses me about the Kubi is听its simplicity and small size,鈥� Attwa said.

鈥淜ubi is a robot, yet you just see听an iPad on a white stand (the Kubi) that sits听on听a tripod. We emailed a link to Annie, and she managed to log on in order听to control the Kubi from home. Using the arrows on her keyboard, she could听turn 360 degrees to view the whole class, and听move the Kubi up and down in order to work on or discuss听group activities. I think the Kubi fulfilled the task that was required, and Annie didn鈥檛 miss a session. Very few times would the Kubi freeze for a few moments, and Annie would quickly reconnect.鈥�

鈥淥f course, this smoothness in having the Kubi would not听have been possible without the help of OIT, ALTEC and Noah Dahm, a student in our class who set up the Kubi each day. I met with听Italian Instructor Giorgio Corda, who had previously used the Kubi in his classroom, and听Mark Werner from OIT鈥檚 Academic Technology Design Team, and they gave me all the directions on Kubi and how to best use it听in class. Mark Knowles, the director of ALTEC, offered to store and charge听the Kubi in his office, right next to my classroom.鈥�

The student鈥檚 experience was also good. 鈥淢y experience with the Kubi was only positive,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t was incredibly helpful to be able to continue my studies with Arabic despite my hip surgery due to an injury. Without the Kubi, I would have been unable to attend class every day, which would have left me significantly behind in the course. It was my hope to stay on track with the language and not fall behind, and the Kubi made that possible.鈥�

鈥淭he technology itself is very simple and easy to use. It was also nice that I was able to control it myself without the help of my peers in class; I was not a distraction to them, as I could move myself and position myself to see either the board or my professor as she moved around the room. All in all, my experience using the Kubi was very helpful throughout the time that I needed it, as it allowed me to be present in class and stay on track with my studies.鈥�

鈥淚t was indeed a success,鈥� Attwa said. 鈥淣ow Annie is back to physical听attendance in class. It was really very nice and smooth. I am very happy we could accommodate Annie that easily.鈥�

The Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations touted Attwa as an example of its exceptional faculty dedicated to supporting students鈥� success.

For more information about OIT鈥檚 pilot program, visit the 辫补驳别.听罢丑别 is also piloting Kubi technology for 听ts students.

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