Digital21
Making Higher Education
More Equitable
In the UTRGV College of Sciences, we understand the importance of making diversity, equity, and inclusion a core part of our Mission. This is why the College of Sciences (CoS) has embarked on a new initiative titled “Digital21”, making access to a quality higher education more equitable for students in the college.
Digital21 began in summer 2020 as a 3-year technology initiative that provides participating faculty with iPad equipment to conduct instruction. A subset of students from these participating faculty also receive iPad equipment for the semester. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, having access to an iPad and writing utensils has proven to be an effective means of instruction, learning, and collaboration for both faculty and students. Students use the iPad equipment to take lecture notes, to participate actively in recitation labs and provide written feedback. Faculty have provided just-in-time feedback to students as they meet virtually and solve problems.
Digital21-Fall 2021 and Beyond
Prior to the Digital21 project, instruction for classes that had a mix of students from various campuses resulted in some students attending class physically with the instructor while students in the opposite campus met through video conference, thus producing an inequitable environment in which to learn.
Digital21 was envisioned with the goal of providing a more equitable teaching experience and facilitating classroom collaboration for classes with a mix of students from both the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses by offering virtual instruction to all. In this case the instructor and all students will meet virtually using the iPad equipment to collaborate simultaneously, participate in discussions, and solve problems. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a platform to initiate virtual instruction for all students and faculty across the university and thus to gain experience in this new modality of learning and instruction. We plan to return to our original plan in fall 2021 or as soon as possible and create a more equitable environment for all students. In this setting, selected classes that have a combination of students from both campuses with have virtual instruction and iPad equipment. Instructors will be encouraged to provide collaborative activities for students, who can then share their individual/group work with the class via the iPad equipment and the videoconference medium.
Participating classes will be upper-level courses or graduate courses with a mix of students from the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. The Digital21 program will run for three years, beginning summer 2020 thru the end of spring 2023. Surveys and other assessment instruments will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the digital approach. Upon the successfulness of the Digital21 program, we plan to expand it to cover all courses that cannot be offered in a face-to-face modality in a single campus.
Support for Participating Faculty
Training and Professional Development workshops
Training and professional development (PD) workshops for the faculty have been on-going since summer 2020. Participating presenters have been Apple representatives thru Apple Professional Learning virtual conferences and Dr. Art Brownlow, UTRGV Faculty Fellow for Academic Innovation and 2015 Apple Distinguished Educator, along with the current Digital21 faculty who have presented talks regarding their experiences in the use of the iPad for instruction and student engagement .
Blackboard Digital21 Course
Additionally, to support participating faculty, a digital platform in Blackboard was created for faculty to share their experiences with the Digital21 program. Videos of faculty presentations on their use of the iPad in classroom instruction and student engagement were recorded for faculty use. Resources on the use of the iPad are also included.
Resources for Faculty and Students
We offer a list of resources to assist you in getting started with the iPad in learning and instruction.
Additional Information
To learn more about the Digital21 project or to obtain additional information, please contact
- Dr. Cristina Villalobos
- Associate Dean, Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness
- College of Sciences
- cristina.villalobos@utrgv.edu
- (956)-665-2705