Computer Graphics World

July-Aug-Sept 2021

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j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 1 c g w 4 5 by offering the lab to the students, no mat- ter where they were located." Academy of Art ended up using Teradici soware, just as other visual effects studios did, which allows students to log in from home and access the power and soware of the school's machines as if they were physically there. "This has already been a huge benefit for our students. It has been hugely successful, and the students love it," Tate says. Later, the school brought in Leo stream's connection broker for virtual desktop infrastructures to manage the dis- tribution of the machines to students. While the nation enters the summer months with renewed hope, the so-called Delta variant is becoming a new hurdle in the fight against COVID. Whatever the situation is come fall, Tate does not foresee Academy of Art going back to the pre-pan- demic "normalcy." "But that's OK because we were able to make improvements in our degree programs to better prepare students for their future careers," she says. "We are functioning on a higher level than before, with more flexibil- ity to serve our students domestically and internationally, online, or on-site." The university is open, and has been open throughout the pandemic. And, students now have 24-hour remote access to the lab without wait times. This means they can work safely from home at any time, a huge improvement from when there were limited hours in the lab on-site. Also, the school is starting to phase in a few on-site classes this fall, although most of the classes will still be taught online, or virtually online through Zoom. "While I don't have a crystal ball, we expect to have many more students on-site in spring of '22 as long as it is safe for them to return on-site if they feel comfortable doing so," Tate adds. "Again, our remote lab is a game-changer. The ability to offer our rLAB to students gives them the resources to create better work, no matter where they are. The rLAB will help unify our students and give them all access to the same resources," she says. Continuing to Move Forward into the Future Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) particularly was uniquely positioned at the start of 2020. With a successful eLearning program already in place, the university was able to pivot quickly and transition many of the tools and platforms students and staff were already using. In addition to utilizing video communication platforms like Zoom, SCAD also implemented SCADnow, a teaching methodology that included asyn- chronous learning opportunities, streamed classes, and access to online community spaces where students can engage with professors and one another. "Students all over the world have faced unprecedented challenges throughout the pandemic, so it was reassuring for them to see how quickly we were able to adopt such a comprehensive and engaging virtual learning environment," says Dan Bartlett, as- sociate dean, SCAD School of Digital Media. This also meant that the SCAD School of Digital Media was able to continue to offer both the core curriculum for each of its programs and continue special projects such a VR for Good, a collaborative project in which students developed and produced immersive, interactive VR respite experienc- es for hospice patients. Overall, SCAD only had to make minor adjustments to the curriculum, especially in response to having to close specialist tech- nical facilities, such as its high-performance computing labs, motion-capture, and greenscreen studios. Thanks to its ability to provide access to soware, rendering, and computing power via SCAD's V-Lab, stu- dents were able to maintain access to the digital resources needed to complete their work, says Bartlett. This platform meant that capstone projects and thesis films were able to stay in production, with students continuing to collaborate remotely – in many cases from opposite sides of the world. In addition to supporting students by adjusting the curriculum and their access to resources, SCAD also pivoted many of its industry events to run virtually. SCAD AnimationFest ran online in fall 2020, with its biggest lineup and highest attendance to Students attend a virtual class at Savannah College of Art and Design. SCAD offers its VR for Good, a special collaborative project.

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