Educational Technology in the Age of Post Covid Era

Brad Shook, Vice President, Technology and Analytics, University of Texas - Permian Basin

Brad Shook, Vice President, Technology and Analytics, University of Texas - Permian Basin

Brad Shook is an experienced Vice President for Information Technology with a demonstrated history of working in Higher Education and hospital & health care industry. He is skilled in Budgeting, Operations Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Databases, Wireless, Infrastructure, Disaster Recovery, IT Service Management, and Staff Development. Brad Shook has a strong information technology professional with a Masters focused in Business Administration from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

How has the education technology space evolved through the years?

In the last two years, education technology has likely evolved quicker than in the previous ten years, and this change was a necessity, not an option. Due to the pandemic, everyone was forced to work remotely, and as a result, we were compelled to adopt a number of existing technologies. So, from a technological aspect, the pandemic has helped propel newer technologies to the forefront and make them more accessible, available, and utilized by our various stakeholders. For example, prior to the pandemic, people did not want to participate in Teams meetings. They desired an in-person meeting. If we attempted to include a webinar component, we did not receive much cooperation or desire to do so, but now it is a preference. As using these technologies has made it much easier for us to hop from meeting to meeting, as we no longer have to spend five to ten minutes walking from building to building. Additionally, it is simpler to cooperate and share documents and ideas digitally as opposed to printing them out and passing them around the room.

What are some of your recent project initiatives?

There are various recent projects that we have worked on along with our students. Some of them are Brass Escape Room. This was built for a Low Brass final exam. It involved students receiving clues, clicking on the solution, and then being served a quiz question and the next clue. The final clue opened up a Teams session with the instructor, and they played their instruments live. This used the Insta360 OneX camera. The second is Library (face to face demo). This was built for a live lecture given by the creator of the low brass escape room. There are no clues, the attendees were guided where to click during the presentation. This is included here because it shows the image quality of the Insta360 Pro2 camera. Third is Bank

“In the last two years, education technology has likely evolved quicker than in the previous ten years, and this change was a necessity, not an option”

This was an interactive 360 video prototype using the Insta360 OneX mounted on top of a hat to give a mobile 1st person experience to the viewer. This was designed for people who have social anxiety. This allows them to understand what they may need to do in the bank, who the staff are, etc.

How do you envision the future of the space?

In the coming years, we will see an increase in the number of teachers incorporating newer technologies, such as escape rooms, 360-degree videos, augmented reality, and other technologies that are now easier to use and more accessible.

What would be your piece of advice for budding professionals in the field today?

Mentors should seek out mentees and be unafraid to try new things. It's crucial that we develop excellent student worker programs and development programs for our students, teaching them how to be professionals, how to work in a technological environment, and how to acquire skills in various fields. Therefore, when they enter the industry, they'll be able to provide needed resources.