Instead of waiting for the dust to clear and new buildings to rise, the Instructional Technology Services (ITS) department at Texas A&M University-San Antonio kicked off a new program by removing conventional classroom barriers and give professors new opportunities with the Classroom on Wheels (CoW) program.
This fleet of three mobile carts allows professors to turn a basic classroom into a computer lab, accommodating 30 students.
With only two dedicated computer labs on campus and a growing student population, the ITS department wanted to provide a fresh alternative for professors.
“We saw the need to do something that was a little more mobile, but also just provide classrooms with computers in them,” said Shawn Stevens, Director of Infrastructure.
Stevens, who oversees the development of the CoW program, confirmed this is a soft launch and believes it will be widely used in the future. Growth of the program is dependent on the overall use and implementation of the CoWs in classrooms.
In February, six professors churned out 15 requests, according to Johnny Guevara, assistant manager of Auxiliary Services.
“We’ve needed CoWs for a long time. We have very few computer labs and what we have are used as classrooms. This means that it’s very difficult to offer students an occasional class meeting to work on major projects,” said Dr. Vicky Elias, a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Even if I say, ‘If you have a laptop, bring it to our next class,’ some students simply don’t have a computer they can bring easily. The CoWs solve this problem.”
According to the ITS Twitter, the department will continue to expand computer access for students on campus. They recently added eight new computers in the library.
The program is still in its infancy but the ITS department is working to improve the system. In order to get a CoW, there is a three-day delay so the sooner they are booked, the better. Faculty must contact Johnny Guevara, assistant manager of Auxiliary Services, directly via email at spacerequest@tamusa.edu.
However, the request system will change by next fall by using the university’s event management system.
“I am currently working on training for the Office of the Registrar to add the COWs on EMS, so any courses they know will be using them during the Fall, can be automatically added to those courses via EMS,” Guevara said.
Fall 2016 held some major changes for A&M-San Antonio. After five years, the Brooks City Base Campus lease ended, relocating offices and classrooms to Main Campus and the university transitioned from a two-year college to a four-year college bringing attendance to an all-time high.
Dubbed after iconic cows, “Annabelle”, “Bessie” and “Clarabelle” aim to relieve the burden as they ease their way into 2017.
