嘿嘿视频

Faculty Move Courses Online

Across 嘿嘿视频, experts share knowledge to redevelop course plans for spring quarter.

嘿嘿视频 students will take spring quarter classes remotely.

When spring quarter starts at 嘿嘿视频 today (March 30), students will log in rather than arrive on campus. Their syllabi will have new sections devoted to virtual office hours, online etiquette and how exams will be proctored remotely. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, classes at many institutions across the globe have moved online, creating an unprecedented situation for everyone. At 嘿嘿视频, Chancellor Gary S. May announced on March 15 that spring instruction would go online, giving faculty members about two weeks to redevelop their course plans. 

Support snapped into action. Academic Technology Services and the Center for Educational Effectiveness continue to provide resources for faculty and collaborated on the website to offer online assistance. 

The library also has . 

Professors are refreshing their skills with such platforms as , and . They are developing more distinct opinions about synchronous versus asynchronous teaching. (Synchronous happens in real time, often with conversations and feedback, while asynchronous allows students to work on their own time, often with prerecorded lectures.) 

Those with expertise in online learning have also been sharing their knowledge to help others get up to speed. 

Walter Leal, a distinguished professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, for how to lecture with Zoom. Distinguished professor of entomology James Carey shared . 

Robert Blake, distinguished professor of Spanish and director of 嘿嘿视频 Language Center, led a for the languages program faculty just before spring break. He is also the author of Brave New Digital Classroom (Georgetown University Press), now in its third edition. 

鈥淭hey were keen listeners,鈥 said Blake of the webinar participants. 鈥淓verybody is ready to have a shot at it. This is the reality we live in now.鈥 

嘿嘿视频 students will take spring quarter classes remotely.
嘿嘿视频 students will take spring quarter classes remotely. (Getty Images)

Making plans

Even before the chancellor鈥檚 message about spring quarter, Assistant Professor Katerina Ziotopoulou, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, polled her incoming students. Spring quarter she is teaching ECI 171 鈥淪oil Mechanics鈥 and ECI 115 鈥淐omputer Methods for Civil Engineers,鈥 and she wanted to get a sense of the basics: Does everyone have internet access? Do they all have laptops? 

鈥淚t really helped me,鈥 Ziotopoulou said. 鈥淎nd it brought me into communication with the students.鈥 

Over spring break, she also hosted a Zoom meeting for any student who wanted to meet her, ask questions or simply try out the platform. 

When her classes start, she will be implementing a mix of strategies. Students will watch recorded lectures and then take quizzes. They will meet in smaller breakout sessions via Zoom with TAs and Ziotopoulou on a rotating basis. She will also maintain a Slack channel for questions and chatting. To stand in for the lab experience, students will watch videos and learn more about data processing. 

鈥淚 decided early on to not view it as replacing labs, because I don鈥檛 think you can replace those things that involve human interaction, but we鈥檙e trying to shift focus a little bit,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e are going to be getting our feet wet in new territory.鈥 

Mark Verbitsky, an assistant professor of teaching in political science, is adopting a similar plan for his spring classes, POL 113 鈥淎merican Political Thought鈥 and POL 151, a constitutional law class focusing on the First Amendment. 

鈥淚鈥檓 really focusing on trying to build and maintain a sense of community in the classroom,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ecause I think students are going to be feeling especially isolated this quarter so I want to encourage them to be talking with and working with each other.鈥

Creative solutions

When this pandemic began to impact academics last quarter, it became clear that ENG3 鈥淚ntroduction to Engineering Design鈥 would need a new way for students to present their design showcase remotely. 

鈥淚ntroduction to Engineering Design鈥 spring 2019 showcase, held in the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center. Last quarter, the event was moved online.
鈥淚ntroduction to Engineering Design鈥 spring 2019 showcase, held in the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center. Last quarter, the event was moved online. (courtesy photo)

The final event 鈥 showing how they would solve real-world design problems 鈥 is the culmination of the entire quarter and 25 percent of students鈥 grades, said the course鈥檚 instructor, Jennifer Mullin, an assistant professor of teaching in biological and agricultural engineering. 

Usually set up on campus, the showcase brings together the class of about 200 students and more than 60 evaluators. This time around, it would all have to move online 鈥 and quickly. 

Mullin, external relations specialist Molly Bechtel and IT staff put together a website that grouped each team鈥檚 work and a rubric for evaluators to score the projects online. The judges could also write comments. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge advantage having already done the online showcase,鈥 said Mullin, who will teach the course again spring quarter. 鈥淚 think our strategy now is to try to build out communication aspects.鈥 

Planned performances are facing similar challenges. She had already cast spring鈥檚 , and Margaret Laurena Kemp, co-director and associate professor of theatre and dance, wanted the show to go on. 

The production will be made collectively using mobile phones and iPads with its all-female cast and creative team in seclusion. The film will be projected on the sides of buildings on the 嘿嘿视频 campus May 14-16, with additional dates in the U.K. and New Zealand to be announced. 

鈥淭he entire team is excited about the project,鈥 said Kemp. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting to see how a 2,000-year-old play can help us to work through the challenges of today.鈥

Meeting the challenge

No matter how professors choose to tackle remote learning, Blake encouraged embracing technology and recognizing the many options available. 

鈥淚 call it making salad, because you have all kinds of ingredients, but there鈥檚 not necessarily one good way to make a salad,鈥 said Blake. 鈥淭he different ingredients all add something to the overall taste. I try to emphasize that there are a lot of tools out there, but when you couple them, they can be quite powerful.鈥 

Student watches lecture on computer.
Asynchronous learning allows students to work on their own time, often with prerecorded lectures. (Getty Images)

Communication and flexibility are also key. 

Verbitsky recently shared some of his suggestions in , reminding fellow instructors that students will appreciate ramped up communication. 

鈥淚 do encourage faculty to also keep in mind that students didn鈥檛 sign up for online classes either,鈥 Verbitsky said in an interview. 鈥淭hose who normally sign up for online classes have some sense of what they鈥檙e getting into and they probably have sufficient technology to participate, whereas here all students are being forced into this as well.鈥 

Students are vital to the success of spring quarter, said Janine Wilson, M.A. 鈥00, Ph.D. 鈥04, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Economics. 

As chair of the department鈥檚 undergraduate studies, she also helps with course design and curriculum. Wilson, whose research is on teaching innovation and technology, has been helping her department prepare for the quarter. 

鈥淚 am overwhelmingly impressed by how it鈥檚 going; it鈥檚 evolving at a rate that it needs to for us to be ready,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 important to note that students are going to need to engage in a way that they haven鈥檛 engaged before. They鈥檙e going to have to put in more, click the button, show up. That is the part that鈥檚 going to be critical.鈥

Primary Category

Tags