May 2020
Partner Product
Digi-Key Academic Program -
Helping Universities Deliver Quality Education to Students Dispersed Across the Nation
Dear Colleagues,
University coursework fundamentally changed due to “shelter-at-home” directives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of students suddenly found themselves taking distance learning classes from home and thousands of instructors suddenly found themselves virtualizing existing coursework. Depending on how the pandemic plays itself out, some educators are not sure if in-person classes will resume in Fall. The ability to deliver quality educational content to students dispersed across the nation (and the world) becomes a unique challenge to instructors. An interesting situation emerged as physical location becomes secondary; a UCLA student may be studying alongside siblings enrolled in Columbia University as they shelter at home in Denver Colorado.
The Digi-Key Academic Program has been busy in the past few months adapting to the ever-changing situation. We held a variety of engineering themed webinars for student organizations across the country to keep students engaged. We are also taking the lead in identifying best practices and methodologies in implementing online coursework and virtualization of lab hardware. You can expect to see lots of activities from us on this topic soon.
As shutdowns began, many instructors took the most direct approach to virtualize existing lab-based coursework. Individual lab sessions became e-learning modules, and some instructors dropped the necessity of working with hardware entirely and instead focused on simulation work. On the other hand, some lab managers busied themselves with packing and shipping hardware kits to enrolled students. In some cases, student project teams bought hardware directly from electronic suppliers and distributors.
One can assume (and hope) that business as usual returns in Fall, it is possible students will continue distance learning from home after summer vacation. The fluidity of the COVID-19 situation forces university administrators to formulate greatly divergent plans. This dichotomy presents a potential logistical nightmare for the lab manager and thankfully Digi-Key is here to help!
The Digi-Key Academic Program can work with university labs to craft custom solutions taking contingency planning into consideration. We can help simplify the process to supply students with hardware should the need to stay at home in Fall arises. Contact us and we can work on a solution for your curriculum.
We are also proud to announce two newly launched initiatives:
Our Digi-Key@Home site serves as a one-stop-shop for Makers, educators, and students during the lockdown period. Visitors to Digi-Key@Home will find example projects, educational video content, online coursework, hardware product highlights, and links to useful software tools. For students enrolling in project-based courses this Fall, the Maker.io based example projects repository serves as a useful source of information and inspiration.
In keeping the spirit of innovation alive during lockdown, the Digi-Key Academic Program launched Operation: Design-A-Mask for students to design the next generation of protective facemask. We are encouraging students to integrate electronics components and smart technologies to the existing facemask form factor.
Submission is easy, just sketch the concept and type up one paragraph to describe the product!
The COVID-19 crisis is accelerating change in many parts of society. Universities must contend with divergent scenarios as they adapt to a new way of operating for the foreseeable future with distance learning now a reality. The Digi-Key Academic Program is here to help university engineering departments and labs with this transition. We also are focused on delivering meaningful content to Makers and Academics alike. Not resting on our laurels, we will be announcing exciting new developments and virtualized content for educators across the nation. These are interesting times indeed and Digi-Key is here with you, every step of the way!
Best Regards,
Y.C. Wang
Director, Global Academic Program
yc.wang@digikey.com