MARCH/APRIL 2022 BCBUSINESS 45 BCBUSINESS.CA
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B.C.'S POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS
KEEP THE BEST OF DIGITAL EDUCATION–
SIMULATIONS, VR AND ROBOTS
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b y D E E H O N
p o r t r a i t b y A D A M B L A S B E R G
2022
EDUCATION
GUIDE
Jessica Swinney started studying toward
her new career in September 2020, the first autumn of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Her school, BCIT, was like most institutions
in the province—scrambling to deliver courses safely amid an
unprecedented public health crisis.
Most college and university students switched to online classes
and virtual meet-ups instead of attending lectures and tutorials.
But Swinney is learning to become an X-ray technologist, or radiog-
rapher, through
BCIT's two-year medical radiography diploma pro-
gram. Studying remotely can't teach her what she needs.
Diagnostic imaging is a hands-on, face-to-face career. Health-care
workers can't give someone a CT scan over Zoom. They work closely
with patients and operate computerized machinery, which means
students like Swinney must learn to do so, too. So with masks and
other safety protocols in place, she and her classmates studied via
a blended delivery, combining both online and in-person learning.
BONING UP
Preparing to be an X-ray tech-
nologist, BCIT student Jessica
Swinney needs to learn in
person as well as online