The CISD board of trustees approved a purchase of webcams not to exceed $1.1 million for remote learning in the fall during a special meeting on Thursday, June 25.
Parents and teachers were emailed a survey before the meeting on how they wanted instruction delivered in the fall. According to the draft guidelines, proposals included regular in-person instruction, virtual instruction and a hybrid model between the two options.
Regardless of which plan the district proceeds with in the fall, CISD Superintendent Dr. David Faltys says instructors need to be ready to deliver remote instruction for those who may need it.
“We don’t know if 1% of people will keep their kids home or 10-20%,” Dr. Faltys says. “If we’re having regular school, we’ll be required to provide remote instruction for kids. It’s just where we are.”
To accommodate this, CISD Executive Director for Technology Randy Stuart put together a proposal to purchase AVer 520 conference cameras and install them in 669 spaces across the district's 11 campuses. Randy says all cameras will come equipped with lapel microphones that would allow for two-way communication between the students and their teachers.
“The really important thing is that the students can hear the teacher well at home,” Randy says to the board. “The webcams will show a general shot of the classroom, and they’ll hear the teacher through the wireless microphones that are attached.”
The district is currently considering between synchronous and asynchronous instruction, or requiring students and teachers to be present on video conferencing at the same time or not. Even if asynchronous instruction is delivered in the fall, Randy says these cameras will still be useful for educators.
“They still have to record their lessons,” Randy says to the board. “I’m here to focus on instruction, not on how to set up my webcam and lighting. A nice quality lens is going to provide such better lighting and image resolution for instruction.”
The board unanimously approved the installation. Randy says that it would take 50 days to install the equipment and will be available on campuses in time for the fall.