The new ‘2 classrooms, 1 professor’ initiative at Rutgers sucks

When I signed up to be in one of these classes under the Immersive Synchronous Lecture Initiative, I really didn’t think I would mind it. The technologically equipped lecture halls put one professor in two classrooms on different classes with the use of cameras, high-definition video screens and microphones.  I mean as long as the teacher would be present in some shape or form I would be fine, right? Wrong. I chose the Loree Classroom Building on Douglass Campus instead of the Wright Reiman Laboratories on Busch Campus because I had another class taking place on Douglass, so less travel. This decision had nothing to with Busch being a barren wasteland that is non-navigable for almost anyone unless they live on that campus. Anyway, I was pretty excited to be among the first to test out this new technological initiative and be a part of the future of Rutgers education.

For the first few minutes of the 150 student class, students trickled in and it was just another normal lecture class. It was time to start, except we couldn’t. The professor was on Busch and the equipment just wasn’t cooperating. When they got the audio to work the visuals lost their signal. They finally got the projector to work, but the audio had begun to crack. This went on for a good 20 minutes, which was fine because it was only syllabus week and we were all hungover anyway.

However, week two rolled around and we were still facing technical difficulties. Don’t get me wrong, the teaching is very well done and the lectures are strong but it got to a point where I only wanted to go to my classes when my professors were physically present. My saving grace was that everything we needed to know was posted on Sakai and the assignments and textbook components are all done on MindTap. This class is also not rocket science (or expos) so the concepts are pretty straightforward. However, if I wanted such a large online component, I would have just taken an online class. I enjoy being able to interact with my professors during class and get that tuition’s worth of information.

I’m not sure what’s more awkward: asking your question to a screen multiple times because the audio sucks, or having the co-teacher step in to answer your question. It begs the question: why can’t the co-teacher just teach the class then? He’s here every class, he knows all the material, he teaches other classes, so he might as well. Overall, the format doesn’t exactly invite students to ask questions and engage in meaningful discussions. I’m sure Rutgers is just trying to create a better or more efficient classroom experience for students, but it just isn’t being implemented well.