Supporting the Rapid Adaptation to Remote Teaching Modality: Software and Hardware Edition

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Colorado Boulder teaching activities shifted rapidly to a remote and HyFlex model. Neither campus technology infrastructure nor the bulk of instructors were prepared for this extremely rapid change in teaching models. In response to the impacts on campus operations in the Spring 2020 semester, and subsequent plans to begin the Fall 2020 semester by teaching in a mixed environment, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) developed 23 rapid-response projects and collaborative activities. This presentation highlights those projects relating to personal computing software and hardware resources for instructors. This includes developing new software delivery strategies, adapting software licensing to fit rapidly evolving instructional needs, and providing computers and peripherals to instructors outside the normal range of provisioning. All these were done in response to COVID-19 impacts on campus operations and the subsequent plan to begin the Fall 2020 semester by teaching in a mix of traditional on-premise, newly remote, and highly-flexible environments.