FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2019

Contact: DSU Media Relations

Dakota State University, Madison, SD
Phone: 605-270-3816
Email: mediarelations@dsu.edu

Grad course provides opportunity to see virtual learning in action

Dewey is a hit with teachers

MADISON, S.D., July 2, 2019

– The 12th class member in
Tom Farrell’s CET 751
course, “Technology
Hardware and Networking,”
was Dewey the Robot.

Actually, the class member

was real live student
Heather Rogers, who needed
to take the class from her
home in Vermont to
graduate this year with her
Master of Science in
Educational Technology degree. With the help of Dewey, the telepresence robot, she was able
to take the course remotely.

Dewey was purchased by the College of Education in 2018, for use by students and faculty. The
unit consists of an iPad attached to a remotely-controlled wheeled device. The user controls
Dewey by computer, cell phone, or other device through a wireless internet connection.

“It was definitely a different experience,” Rogers said, not quite the same as being there in
person, “but I do still feel like I’m actually there, and I’ve been involved in everything so far.”

Farrell agrees: “It’s like she was right here with us.”

Rogers has been able to talk with the class, ask questions, and give a presentation. One unit did
include working with some physical hardware, but Rogers “participated by watching and
observing.” She is familiar with a lot of the equipment, so “it wasn’t too big of a challenge.” To
give her a better view, “somebody picked me (Dewey) up to give a bird’s eye view of everything
that we were doing.” Minor glitches have been easy to fix, such as the sound cutting out, a
network issue, or low battery power.

Her classmates have also helped with on- and off-campus field trips, carrying Dewey up stairs
or across streets; they use FaceTime for off-site trips when Dewey isn’t connected to a network,
or give her a verbal report, said Joey Liesinger, technology instructor at Madison High School.
Rogers said her classmates have been “wonderful.”

The opportunity to see virtual learning is also wonderful.

“It’s a great example of how technology can really benefit people,” Rogers said. This real-life
example is “something to bring back to our classrooms to show our students how advancing
technology is really able to help people.”

Jessica Dawson, who teaches math and Algebra I at Huron Middle School, noted that they all
took turns driving Dewey to understand what Rogers was dealing with.

Jenna Grossenburg, a fifth-grade teacher from Aberdeen Public Schools, thought it would be a
good idea at the elementary level, for example, if students were dealing with major illnesses.
Mitch Miller, middle school/high school technology teacher at Flandreau Public School, said if a
student needed to do a presentation by Skype or other distance technology, “I’d be open to
that.”
###

THIS JUNE 2019 photo provided by Dakota State University.

Heather Rogers, on screen, took a DSU graduate class this summer with the help of a telepresence robot,
Dewey. This gave her and her fellow students, who are all teachers, a glimpse of how virtual learning can be
beneficial.

Dakota State University (DSU) is located in Madison, S.D. Founded in 1881, DSU offers undergraduate,
master’s, and doctoral programs through its colleges of arts and sciences, business and information systems,
computer and cyber sciences, and education. DSU has a special focus on the development, application,
implications, and impacts of computing, information technologies and cyber security in all areas of human
endeavor. DSU has received multiple Center of Excellence designations in education, research and regional
resource development from the U.S. National Security Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DSU
is home to the Madison Cyber Labs (MadLabs), a cyber R&D hub with labs and institutes that explore and
advance technology application, workforce development, business expansion, economic growth, and policy
improvement across multiple disciplines and fields. For more information, contact mediarelations@dsu.edu,
605-270-3816, or visit the DSU website at dsu.edu.