Episode 12 - Life Sciences, Health, and Wellness

[00:00:06] Speaker A: Welcome to Kendall speaks. I am Dr. Brian Stewart, Kendall, campus president. Today we have a very special couple of guests with us, our chair of Life Science, Dr. Alex Vieiro, and one of our amazing faculty members who you're going to get to hear about Dr. Maria Sindon, professor of life science, health and wellness. Welcome. [00:00:26] Speaker B: Thank you very much. [00:00:27] Speaker A: Yeah, we're so excited to have you both here today. You both have such a big impact here at the Kendall campus. Let's start. And we'll start with you, Doctor. Talk a little bit about your background and your path here at Miami Dade College. [00:00:38] Speaker B: Good afternoon to everyone. Thank you for the kind invitation. My name is Dr. Maria Sendon, but everyone here on campus call me Marian. [00:00:45] Speaker A: Marian. [00:00:46] Speaker B: Marian, yes. And I teach anatomy and physiology here on campus. I've been teaching at Kendall campus for 20 years. When we began to develop neuroscience and learning, I began very interested in how neuroscience and all the research is changing and then enters the innovative technologies and everything that we are doing. Then with the stitches grant, I got the opportunity to get training with. Now, the terminology, because this is growing, that much is called xr and what I use, that is hololensis, is part of mixed reality because even though you are in a virtual reality, also you are in person and you interact with each other. It's like a collaboration. And then I'm teaching anatomy and physiology in the lab using holograms and. [00:01:35] Speaker A: Very good. Tell us about your academic background, where did you go to college and that kind of thing. [00:01:39] Speaker B: Yes, I was born in Venezuela. My parents are from Spain. That is the reason I think I understand our students very well because I tell people that I feel that I am from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean because a family from Venezuela, then parents from Spain after the civil war, then I went to college in Venezuela. I got an MD degree there and here I got graduate courses in physiology and education. Education always was a passion for me. Always I want to do it. When I was in first grade, they asked me, what do you want to do? And I say, I want to be a teacher. Then this is what I'm doing here. I've been focusing a lot in the research with the students and also in service learning and now in podcasts with my classes as well. [00:02:22] Speaker A: Well, my sources tell me that you're one of our most popular faculty on campus. And so we're excited to have you here. I may want to pick your brain on what you do to be so popular as we go, but welcome and we're glad to have you. Next, our chair. This is I believe our first return guest. You are our first return guest in our podcast. [00:02:39] Speaker C: I'm honored. [00:02:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So tell us a little bit about yourself and your role here at Miami Dade College. [00:02:44] Speaker C: Well, to give you a little bit about my background, I got my bachelor's in biology at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. I'm originally from New Jersey, but I went to college in Alabama, which was a complete culture shock. And after I graduated from college, I went to graduate school at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, and I was really interested in biology and doing research, and I spent a lot of time in the lab, and I really enjoyed the lab. But when I started working, I worked in industry doing cancer research for many years. It wasn't really fulfilling until I started working at a college. And at that point, I really found my true call because teaching is really the most interesting thing you can do because you really get to interact with people, you get to make a difference in their lives, and you get to tell them, impart on them your knowledge, your love for the discipline and everything that you do. And at that point, that's when I continued with and completed my doctoral degree at New Jersey Medical School. And after spending many years at that college, I spent about 12 years at that college. That's when I saw the opportunity to come to Miami Dade, and I couldn't resist. You know, Miami Dade is known around the country as a very special place that's really, truly unique. And I just felt honored to be able to come to Miami Dade and be part of that unique place. You know, I mean, I have some faculty that are awesome, and it's just this place never has a dull moment. [00:04:13] Speaker A: Very, very true. Give a little overview from a chair perspective of the Life Science department, and then we'll hear about it from a faculty perspective. [00:04:21] Speaker C: Well, in the Life Science department, our biggest degree for our students is the Associate in Arts degree. And we have many, many students going for Associate in Arts in Biology. A lot of the students that are pre nursing, Associate in Arts, and pre Nursing. We also have some programs that are probably a little less well known, but I always mention them, like our bachelor's in biology. So you can theoretically come here to the Kendall campus and do four years, graduate with your bachelor's in biology, and apply to medical school or dental school or pharmacy school. So you have a lot of different opportunities. And we also have other niche programs. I would call them, like the landscape technology program. And in that program, we have a lot of students that come in and for people that really not everybody really likes to work in an office. Some people like working outside, and that's a great opportunity. We have many, many of our students that work at local places like Miami Dade County. They work for the park department because, you know, as you know, at Miami Dade, we have a lot of different parks all over the place, and you need people that are trained to take care of those parks. We also have people that work at Fairchild Tropical Garden. And our latest group that we beginning to work a lot with is Costa Farms, which is probably one of the biggest employers in Miami Dade County. So for students, don't just think that college is something that you have to be inside of a classroom. We have a lot of different, other alternative opportunities that are available for the students, and they get some jobs that when I find out their salaries, I say, wait a minute, maybe I'm in the wrong field. [00:05:50] Speaker A: No, you're in the right field. Same where you are. [00:05:52] Speaker C: No, no, I'm just saying, you know, when you hear, wow, a student starts out with 70 or 80k in the county, you go, whoa, wait a minute. That's not so bad. [00:06:01] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Makes you feel good that you're giving them a path to. [00:06:04] Speaker C: Well, it's. It's a lot of pathways to the workforce, and there's a lot of. There's a lot of different ways that you can get an education and go into the workforce and have a very fulfilling job. And it doesn't all have to be that you have to be sitting behind a desk doing work. I mean, there's a lot of other opportunities that are available. You just have to be open to these opportunities that are out there for you. [00:06:27] Speaker A: Very good, Very good. Well, let's hear from a faculty perspective and maybe what excites you about life science? [00:06:34] Speaker B: In my case, I think our department, for example, we work, as Dr. Vieira said, with most of the students that they are going to go to allied health. For example, when I teach anatomy and physiology, I have in my syllabus like 101 reasons to take amp and Lovett. One of them is how they have a big umbrella of jobs because I think since the pandemic now, people value a lot the allied health person, not only physicians, but also nursing. In my classes, 90% of the students, they are going to do a nursing degree. And now that has grown incredibly. For example, I have students now doing traveling nursing that they explained to me that they are. They one day in Ohio, another day in California, and they are making almost $400,000. Also, I tell them the big impact they have on patients because the majority of things in the health system you have a lot of contact is with the nurse, with the physician, less than the big impact they make in patients. And I think we are an institution that also we try to give opportunity to everyone. And I tell them, you are going to help a lot of people there around situations that for them is very challenging. For example, patients who have cancer. How important is to be with the nurse that is there with you talking and how that is going to improve your health. And also I think our department is really nice in the college because we have the labs that are hand on. Then we have many students making connections, making friends on campus because they have to be two or three hours on a lab doing something really meaningful that they feel they are super concentrated. I think the intention of the majority of the faculty is that they develop and not only the science background, but also the critical thinking, the problem solving. Because technology is going so fast that that is our main purpose. We want to teach you to think by yourself, to do research. What information is true information and what information is fake information, I think is one of the most important jobs we have in college today. [00:08:45] Speaker A: You know, you hit the nail on the head. A and P is such a gatekeeper course for nursing and health sciences. And I am very interested in your 101 reasons. So email that to me when you have a minute. If you don't mind, I'd like to read that. [00:08:58] Speaker B: And I have a heart with a stethoscope. Everyone is like 101 reasons to take anatomy and physiology and love it. And I say because it's not only nursing, you know, it's all the personnel that is there. It's physician assistant, it's radiologist, clinical lab, sonography students and many students. And I have a students that they are going to do pre med and they want to have like the first approach to anatomy and physiology and be sure that they are going to like it because you have to understand how the human body works normal to understand what is abnormal. Otherwise it's gonna be impossible to diagnose a disease. [00:09:28] Speaker C: So. [00:09:29] Speaker A: Very true. I have stethoscopes hanging on my wall as well. So talk a little bit about the reality and how the glasses have transformed how you teach A and P. I think that'd be really interesting for our audience to hear how your class has evolved with those. [00:09:43] Speaker B: Okay. I think one of the wonderful opportunities that we do have here at Kendall campus is thanks to the stitches grant. My students are using equipment that they use in Ivy leagues universities such as Harvard, with this grant, they decide, or we decide together to immerse students in holograms because they are using a lot of holograms today in hospitals, and we discover and research this together. I can explain because it's a mixed reality, it's augmented reality. But you do have a collaboration. You have glasses that are named Hololensis, but you have the view of the real world. And also you are going to see a hologram inside the glass, but you're going to be able to collaborate. Then this is very immersive because students, they enter with the glasses in the human body, but they are going to be able also to dissect and get pieces of. For example, imagine we say there is a fracture in the femur, and they are going to be able to get the femur out or. Or, for example, a fracture in the rib. And I can request them. Look, with the fracture, I want you to damage the lungs. In that way they can understand, like, oh, my God, the ribs are so close to the lungs. It's extremely immersive. They can do collaboration. I think one of the most important things is that they are collaborating all the time. And I think the second one is that they are completely concentrated on that. They don't have distractions because they are the glasses, us and the room, you know, then they have zero distractions with the glasses, allowed them to concentrate. And it's extremely interactive, and I think interaction is essential in education. [00:11:25] Speaker A: What inspired you to do this with your students? [00:11:28] Speaker B: What inspired me is because in my background, I work in hospitals for three years, and when I was you know, seeing, for example, MRIs, CAT scans, for me was very difficult. Also assisting doctors in operating rooms, like, oh, my God, this is so different from the book. I saw that the hologram is completely real. The person who came from Washington, D.C. to do the training with me then she told me, look, now they are taking central IV lines with the holograms because you can remove layers. I have a discussion board where I request students, you are going to do a research on how they are using holograms in hospitals and in allied health today. All semester changes. They have new things. One of the things they have is now they are preparing the surgery before they enter. And another thing they can show to patients, look, you have here a tumor in the pancreas, and they show with the hologram. Here is where you have the tumor. We are gonna remove it. And students are like, professor, this is so cool. And how they use an ophthalmology in many medical fields, because the Holograms are gonna change completely the medical field because you can avoid mistakes in the hospital, and our bodies are 3D structure, then in paper, it's very difficult to translate. Then imagine the benefits they are having using this. [00:12:54] Speaker A: You mentioned a little bit earlier about student engagement and how that's helped you be in that zone. You think it's helped student engagement, also retention. What are some of the benefits you've seen of using virtual reality so far? [00:13:06] Speaker B: I think the student engagement is because they have to collaborate again, because they can highlight a structure and ask me a question. And also, again, they can say, like, professor, can I remove the liver? Or also they understand the relevance of the course. Because if you understand what are the applications of what you are studying. For example, I have a student that, oh, my God, but I cannot see the pancreas. And I said, look, to see the pancreas, you have to remove the stomach. And he was like, okay, I cannot remove it. And then he said, oh, my God. That is the reason when my uncle has pancreatic cancer, he has the pain on the back and not in the anterior part of the abdomen. And I said, very good reasoning. Did you see that? It's behind all the organs. Then they see relevance, they interact, they collaborate. And I'm very lucky because it's a lab that has 100% of retention. And even I receive emails like, look, can you give me a waiting list there in that lab? And I am like, oh, we have 24 spots because it is a lab. It is impossible. And the idea is to have as much interaction as possible. But the class has been very successful in the four years we've been doing. [00:14:17] Speaker A: That's very good. That's a great discussion. Talk a little bit about other advantages you see in using this environment versus the traditional lab that most of us are used to. [00:14:28] Speaker B: And, you know, I love to receive feedback from students. And that is one of the questions we do in our discussion boards, like, how do you prefer this over paper? Again, one of the first things they say is, this is 3D structures that I can immerse and I able to dissect. And I understand much better how to do the applications. For example, many of them, because it's part of our life that we have relatives or friends that are sick, they say, oh, my God, when I see the kidneys that they were so close to the colon, then I understand why he has a metastasis on the colon. That for me, in a paper is impossible to see it. The favorite organ for all of them is the heart, because you can enter see the valves of the heart and how the heart works and how it connects with the lungs. They are extremely impressed of the amount of arteries and veins because they look like trees inside the lungs. That is impossible because you enter there, you immerse there with the hologram, like in a 3D structure. [00:15:31] Speaker A: You mentioned a couple of examples, like the student with the pancreas. Any other examples from students that you'd like to tell our audience? [00:15:38] Speaker B: Look, for example, I have a student that doing the research, he discovered that in nursing, they have an application called Hollow patient. And also she has. Her grandmother has Alzheimer. And she told me, look, I discover that now they are projecting holograms to patients with Alzheimer to give them instructions like, look, it's 9:00am you have to call your son or you have to take your medication for hypertension. And she was like, extremely, like, wow, that can change the life of many patients that they are becoming to have Alzheimer. Because if you have a hologram that projects into you and gives you some instructions and reminders on what you need to do is extremely powerful, you know, and for them is, again, they understand the relevance of the course. They are not because they are so afraid to STEM classes like science is like. But then they say, oh, my God, I absolutely need this if I want to go to the Allied Health world to transfer to the medical campus. [00:16:38] Speaker A: You know, Dr. Viera, you know, being the chair of a department like this, you've got this great faculty member with all these great ideas. How do you share that with your other faculty who also have great ideas? I know. [00:16:49] Speaker C: Well, we have a lot of different faculty that are working on different projects. But one of the things we do is that we do sit down when we have our department meetings and we do share some of these experiences with each other. I know Dr. Svendon has trained other faculty in this virtual reality world. We have other faculty that are doing other things that they always share with each other. One of the things, as we are following the college thrust, which is to move into AI and how we use AI. We have spent a lot of time on department meetings talking about AI and how AI can be used in education and how that can be used in the different classes and in the different labs, we really are open to using the new technologies in a positive way. I know a lot of people are afraid of AI for some reasons, and they have good reasons. But we want to take that AI and use it in a positive way. And we have a lot of different faculty that are all collaborating on that we all sit at the table and we all share what is going on. We have a lot of different faculty involved in different projects. [00:17:55] Speaker A: Well, I'd love to sit in that one day and maybe sit in the corner and hear some of that and. [00:17:59] Speaker B: Something that I want to add because I know now our campus is very focused on athletics, which I love because I play tennis varsity in college and I have students that are athletes. And for example, when we are in the room and I say, guys, you stay here because it's not part of Anatomy 2. We begin to add all the layers of muscles and they are like, oh my God. And this is a gastronomist. And look how they the deltoid muscle looks and how are you going to move it? It is extremely real and powerful. And again, they see so many real life applications that I think that is the reason students are really engaged with the lab. [00:18:35] Speaker A: You know, a lot of our students come to us, at least with more technology than we did when we went to college, of course, so some of this is probably easier for them than us. But talk about a little some of the other stories that you hear from students, you've mentioned a few along the way. Any other stories that resonate that you hear from students that have, after they've experienced virtual reality with you? [00:18:54] Speaker B: Look, I have a student that again, because we receive many students that are minorities and they come home like, mom, today I was able to see the brain and I dissect the brain with a hologram, like something completely unreal from them. And she was like, because my little sister, when she was a baby, she had meningitis and I was able to see the meninges. And I was explaining my mom how they protect the brain and what is the reason she requires all the antibiotics. And my mother was like, but you were using holograms. What is that? You know? And he was like, mom, I use like a kind of lenses that they look like a computer, but I can see the world and you know, the power for, for example, a Hispanic family, that they are first college generation, that they are using, you know, the same technology that they can use in Stanford. I think it's priceless for them. [00:19:49] Speaker A: That's awesome. My sources tell me that you're doing some research projects with your students and those kind of things. Talk a little bit about that. And then I want to hear from you, sir, what your department's doing, because I know there's a lot of faculty that are doing that. [00:20:02] Speaker B: Yes. And Dr. Viera is going to explain better the formal research with the biology faculty. But for example, in my classes. Because one of the problems that I see with health education is the social media that now is very challenging to differentiate what is fake news and what is not. Then I request students to do our research, for example, for the holograms, how they are using this. And in the lectures for the Neuroscience of happiness. Because now universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, there is a very famous professor called Dr. Laurie Santos. They are proving thanks to functional MRIs how we can or students because we are having a generation that after the pandemic they are struggling with mental health and giving them tips on how research and real data proves how, for example, social connections, human connections, less time in the screen, gratitude to be kind, exercise. They show them how the exercise changes the anatomy of the brain and decrease the reactive part, that is amygdala. Then for me it's also essential that they understand how to find what is real information. And I think AI is going to help us with that. That is one of the things I want to because I know the college is very open that we have to begin to use AI because there is a lot of fake information around there. Maybe foods are good for your brain, but it wasn't. I don't know a person that has no idea then. Now they have so much information that as you say, when I went to college, I joke with them, guys, I'm 50 years old and I was in the library with a backpack, a sandwich and coffee because there is where I have to find my information. And now they have so much information. But unfortunately a lot of fake information around there. Like for example, when we discuss reproductive system, people posting videos in YouTube that they are using the placenta and even eating the placenta without antiseptic techniques. And I said, it's a famous actress, they think that is something beneficial. Then I say, guys, we have to do like a serious research. And they began to discover like, oh my God, no, that has to be, you know, process in a hospital. Then I think this generation is going to require a lot of how they are going to do the research. And I'm sure artificial intelligence is going. Dr. Viera can help because I know my colleagues in biology, they do research that is really nice in the labs. [00:22:33] Speaker C: Yeah, we have a lot of exciting work that different faculty member are doing just to highlight a couple. We have Dr. Catalina aristizable and she's working as part of the Million Orchid project. When you walk around the Kendall campus, take a look at the trees a little more closely. And one of the things you're going to notice that in some of the trees as you're walking around, for example, around building two have orchids right on the. On the tree. You say, wait a minute, that wasn't there before. Well, that's the result of the Million Orchid project in which Dr. Is working with students on establishing native orchids around the campus. So she's working along with Dr. Pino on. They grow the orchids from seed and once they reach a certain stage, then they place them in the trees around the campus to beautify the campus. So one of the things you're going to notice, probably, maybe even this spring, you're going to notice a lot of orchids all over the place. You say, wait a minute, those just didn't just pop there. You know, that's some of our student research. [00:23:35] Speaker A: I appreciate you telling me that. I wasn't aware of that. [00:23:38] Speaker C: Take a look at the trees. When you're walking around building to take a look at the palm trees and you say, wait a minute, what's that? Wait a minute. That wasn't there before. [00:23:48] Speaker B: I was telling my students in the Neuroscience of Happiness project, go and walk around campus because there are many students that they prove that when you walk around nature and we have a campus that has an amazing nature. I'm a very good friend of Dr. Catalina Ristizabal and Dr. Marvellis Pino, and I was working with them, zero idea on how to make orchids to grow. But I was really impressed of what they are doing with the students and how beautiful. Some of our trees are now full of orchids. And that is very beneficial for all of us, not only for students. You are stressed in your office, go take a walk, breathe, and you're going to be much better. [00:24:26] Speaker A: You don't know how accurate that is. There are days I feel that stress and what I do is I walk the campus and it just seeing students and faculty and staff helps stress just come out. [00:24:36] Speaker C: That's really human interaction. I mean, that's one of the things that the pandemic really taught us. And I know it was important for a time for us to be away from other people because we weren't sure about the transmission of the virus and so on. But now we know that we really miss that social connection. And it's really important to be back with people, to sit down and talk to people, to look at their faces, look at the emotions that are in their faces. You know, these are things you can't get on that little square screen. I mean, I have nothing against screens. I spend most of my day looking at the screen. I'm sure you do, Dr. Stewart. You spend a lot of time looking at your screen, too. We have to do some work on the computer, but, you know, we have to get back out. I like going out, talking to my faculty. I walk around the campus, and we have. Let me just highlight one other project. Since I'm already on the microphone, let me steal the microphone and highlight Dr. Teresa Chermansky. And one of the things she's working on is showing the students how to culture bees in our landscape technology facility. As you know, you know, the people don't really realize the importance of bees because without bees, you know, we have no produce, no products for human consumption. And she's been working with students, showing them how to. How to grow bees and the importance of bees inside of agriculture and also in landscaping. Another thing that they're beginning to work on is bats. And I was shocked when I heard that there are certain species of endangered bats that come around the campus, and they're looking into trying to understand whether those bats come in and are surviving in this area. So I was. I didn't even know that. I mean, this is probably something that happens at night, you know, but, you know, during the day, I mean, who really even thinks about bats? So this is some of the projects that I want to highlight from our faculty. [00:26:30] Speaker A: Well, those are great. And, you know, I recently learned we have a fox on campus and we have some coyotes. And so, you know, we're in the middle of a metropolitan area, yet I think our campus having bats and other things, I think that's what we should be doing. You know, we're an education institution, and it's awesome that we have those kind of opportunities. [00:26:47] Speaker B: And let me tell you that Harvard made a study with functional MRIs that again, you can map the brain in real time. They place two groups and students who walk around buildings. Then they do the functional MRI and see what happened with the reactive part of the brain, that is amygdala. And students that they walk around nature, they're in Boston. And the ones that they walk around, they did much better. The reactive part of the brain, that is the amygdala, decreases after they walk. Then I think we have a big advantage for students. Again, if you pay attention to the three. Also, you do some mindfulness. When you really intentionally say, like, okay, I'm going to try to find the trees that have the orchids and try to make detail. You're making some mindfulness without an instructor, then Also, that is very beneficial. And science completely back up your idea that when you are stressed, go out. Like, for example, when I am stressed with my boss, I say go to the bathroom and I go. And what I do is I walk around campus and on the palm trees. [00:27:51] Speaker A: Okay, when I see you walking, I'm going to go look for you. [00:27:54] Speaker C: And you might find me walking too, enjoying our beauty, because we really have a beautiful place. [00:28:00] Speaker A: It's incredible. [00:28:01] Speaker C: And I know Christina has done a fantastic job. I mean, I don't think in the last 20 years I've seen the campus look so good. [00:28:08] Speaker B: Completely agree. I've been here for 20 years, and this is the time that we have with the campus. Incredible. [00:28:13] Speaker A: When we're getting ready to spend some talent and thought on the environmental center. We've had some meetings that you've been a part of, and I've been through there about a half a dozen times. And that's an area we need to reclaim because that's even a whole nother podcast and discussion. So we were talking about the medical campus and how our students end up going there. And I know you both know how virtual reality is a part of nursing now in our simulation hospital. What advice would either of you give to educators who are maybe on the verge of trying virtual reality? And how could we support them in being involved in this? [00:28:47] Speaker C: Well, I mean, there's a lot of different opportunities. One of the things that's probably the easiest right now is to look at virtual existence, virtual reality, and see how you can use that. I'm starting to become a big believer in virtual reality. I feel that in the long run, the way I see it, and I know this is probably kind of crazy, kind of science fiction, I would like to see every student have a virtual assistant. Somebody that will help them with advisement, somebody that will be their tutor, that will be their mentor, and that will be pushing them to succeed in their career. That would be specifically there just to push and help that person. So that's, I mean, I think that things like that are things that educators can begin to try and see how that can be best implemented. I mean, I, I, that's, I mean, it's probably crazy, but it's, it's something that I really believe. [00:29:41] Speaker A: Who knows? We didn't know AI would be here a few years ago. What about from a faculty perspective? What would you say to a faculty who's maybe on the verge of trying? [00:29:49] Speaker B: And I completely understand, because first thing is, change is challenging. You know, it's a human part. Allow yourself to be human is. It's normal to be afraid of change. But that is something we have to deal and give the first step to try another thing is like get the right information. Then maybe we need like more support because think people think that virtual reality is only like virtual thing that doesn't exist. And again this like meta that for example, now they were presenting to us hololensis. What they use is, is like real pictures again. Now it's like I move a patient, for example, a CAT scan. I put the pictures together and I projected in a hologram with a group of experts in a room thinking an architect before you have to like I don't like the door there. And they cross. Now they do with a holographic projection. And you didn't like it? I reset it. That's it. And we put it again. Then also most of us, we are here because we like to teach. And I think for us it's very important that students learn something that is going to be relevant for them. And the future is coming with that. You know, artificial intelligence. And also imagine maybe we're going to have a computer here projecting an email that we want to discuss or a project we want to make. And we begin to collaborate in the room having that hologram that is coming. [00:31:09] Speaker A: You know, A and P is such an important course as we talked about. Much like mathematics, you know, you have to teach things in certain orders. You have to make sure you cover certain content. What are we doing with technology coming on board to make sure we're still covering those important concepts that you know, you have to get our students ready for based on what other profession they're going to be in the future. How do you work with look, for. [00:31:32] Speaker B: Example, what I think is the benefits that technology provide to us. And that is the reason, for example, I like a lot the hybrid world. I am a firmly believe that the students they have to come to campus in some ways. But technology has advantages because what you can do is flip the class and put some content that is easier online and use your class time for having meaningful discussions, case studies where they can do critical thinking and you can help them with the challenging part. Then canvas. That is amazing. I love that we changed. The canvas allows you to have many ways to prepare a student for class time or for hand ons or for the lab. For example, with the holograms they have to come prepared. It's not the first time that they are going to see the heart. Then you know, they do activities online before class where they have to interact with the videos, because now we have many things on Canvas Play, Pass it. You can embed quizzes, questions, and then students can come prepare. And I think that helps a lot. [00:32:34] Speaker A: That's a great answer. You know, I think seven, eight years ago, we talked, maybe even 10, we talked about flipping the classroom and how. Well, we're really flipping the classroom now with virtual reality. And in 10 years ago, we never even thought about this technology. So, you know, this has been a great conversation. I appreciate both of you two here. Before we close, anything else you'd like to tell our audience, anything other topics related to this that might help anybody that's maybe concerned about virtual reality? [00:32:59] Speaker C: I think that one of the ways in which we can really reduce the idea that there's a threat or that this is going to be difficult is to really train people and show them the possibilities. We have a lot of creative faculty members that are using this, and we can tap into some of the things that they're doing and have something like a. Like a show or something that we can highlight some of the best practices that they can share among the faculty. I know we spend a lot of time as a department sharing our best practices when we meet. I know in the last few meetings we've been talking with the different faculty members and highlighting some of the best practices so that people. I mean, I tell my faculty, you guys are superstars, but because what Dr. Sandon does, she needs to share that with other faculty members so that they know the different possibilities. And some of them really find it really extremely. They're much more welcoming and open to it when another faculty member shares that with them. [00:33:59] Speaker A: Any parting comments, Dr. Sedona? [00:34:01] Speaker B: Yes, again, don't be afraid of change. Like, try to give the first step. Because I think what this is going to promote is a lot of collaboration if we use in the correct way. And I think the best is to take the biggest advantage of both worlds, the online world and the real world, like the face to face and what we can do with technology. And I think this virtual realities are going to allow you to have a lot of collaboration and different opinions. Because also there is another thing that the moving the world is like we're gonna have is forget now a doctor taking decisions in a hospital. Now you need a phys, you know, a physicist and mathematician, for example, to use Cyberknife. And then you need a group of people working together. And I think that is what we need to promote here. [00:34:48] Speaker A: Well, I appreciate both of you too. Today we like to end our Kendall Speaks Podcast by turning the microphone around to let you ask me any question you like. So anything you'd like to ask me today, I'm happy to try to answer. [00:34:59] Speaker C: I guess my question would be, what do you think is one of the aspects of technology that really excites you the most from the administration side that you really want to promote to the faculty and to our students? [00:35:12] Speaker A: You know, I think two things. Well, first I have to say that it all starts with faculty. I think all of our jobs is to make sure our faculty have whatever tools they need. But I think there are two things that I see in the future. We're in the process of designing a STEM building that's going to be right next to your building. We even talked yesterday about the first floor of your building and maybe doing some unique things with that. So I'm really excited to get faculty input and administrative input to really create a state of the art connection, a STEM building to the building. I'm really excited about that. I think the second thing that excites me is I think Kendall is known for a lot of things. You mentioned athletics, which I'm very proud of. But I don't think people realize some of the brilliant students and faculty we have. And that's one of the things I really want to try to help shine the light on because I think there's so many great things here and I think Kendyl kind of gets lost for whatever reason. And so those are two of the things I think in the future that I'd like to see modified, if that makes sense. [00:36:11] Speaker C: Well, that's great. Thank you so much. Thank you for your support. We really, we're. I think I can speak for the faculty that we're very happy to have you here and. Go ahead. [00:36:21] Speaker B: Yes, that is true. We are very happy to have you here. And I have a question for you. What is your favorite part about Kendall campus? [00:36:29] Speaker A: Oh, you know, I was at Medical for six and a half years and I love students, but I miss the academic part of the campus. And I love walking the campus and talking to students and faculty and talking academics. I'll always have a special place in my heart for the medical campus and nursing and all that. But my DNA is this campus. And that's my favorite part is what goes on in math and English. A science classroom, because we're really creating those students that make those specialized programs click. So I have to ask you one more question. As a former tennis player, what do you think of pickleball? Are you a pickleball player? Now or be honest. [00:37:08] Speaker B: I'm going to be 100% honest because. [00:37:10] Speaker A: I'm going to be honest back. [00:37:12] Speaker B: I have to try pickleball because it has to have something that people get a lot of attention. Because also for students, you know, for me, it's like, as I play tennis in college, in varsity, then I'm very powerful with forehand and back. And then I see the court like, okay. And how I deal with that. And I teach a lot in building art. [00:37:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:32] Speaker B: And then I see the ball, like how they. But I got to try, you know, because I think is, you know, the big advantage. I see. And that is what I tell my students. You have to see, like, the positive sides on everything is, of course, it's easier to learn to play pickleball. And then that is a reason. And I think it's very good for students, you know, because when you're stressed to hit a racket, any racket, Danny is powerful. [00:37:58] Speaker A: I played college basketball, and one of the things, I shouldn't say this because I know what's going to come in after I said, but I played tennis all the time to stay in shape. So to me, running around playing tennis is a great sport, and going to the pickleball is a different. I don't see. So I just wanted to tennis player like yourself. [00:38:14] Speaker B: For many tennis players, for us, the pickleball is like, but where do we run? How do you run to the net? How do you go there? But I think it's like everything. Like, one day I say, I gotta try it because I'm very impressed how students love it. It's not because I had the misunderstanding that it's only for people who are retired, like 70 years old. And it's all universities. My son is an all in fsu and they are also. All of them are playing pickleball. And I am like, okay, how cool. [00:38:43] Speaker A: Well, sorry to get off track, but having the tennis player had to ask that question. Well, I want to thank Dr. Vieira and Dr. Sedone for being here. This has been a great podcast today. Thank you for being here and we appreciate your time. I want to thank our head writer who makes me look good, Christina Signs, our executive producer, Paul Klein. Yeah. And Alex Bello here in the studio is our producer. So thank everyone and goodbye for now. Sa.