MamaSprout Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I find myself on a committee at my university to help the school stay engaged with the students. The primary question initially is "What do our students need from us beyond providing online course content." We know this is a huge life shift for them and want to be there for the students. So for those of you who have kids back home, what could their schools do that help them feel more connected? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 DD is an Overseas American so she has many of the same issues the "International Students" have. Her Waiver Request was approved yesterday. She can stay in her dorm at "Carolina" (UNC-CH) and we are thankful to God for that. Her roommate is an International Student and we have our fingers crossed that her Waiver Request will also be approved. Providing Online Course content is IMO the easier part of what the schools can do to help their students, especially those students who might have enormous issues trying to return to their home country, and then, if they do that, return to the USA. For example, we live in Colombia and they are going to prohibit all International flights, beginning I believe on the 23rd of March. I just received an email from our "Flag" airline (Avianca) that they will be cancellng all International flights, for about 5 weeks, and also cutting way back on Domestic flights. That may be typical of what is or will happen, in many other countries. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I am trying to figure this out with my own college students. At first, it was "how do I get content to them for two weeks in the easiest way possible for them so that we can continue the semester". That has quickly switched. One of the issues I am trying to address is how do they stay connected but not overwhelm them. They may need to be using Zoom for one class, logging into the university LMS for another class, using another software for something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) IMO, having a central webpage for ALL information concerning the campus and classes in general. It should be updated daily. I also think classes should be allowed to be streamlined for the rest of the semester. As stated in another thread, so many Canvas quizzes and just one more thing to do is not helping students. I've told my students that the Canvas announcement will serve as the main place for information regarding my course (the professor of record is doing that). We've already found students not reading them carefully and instead just shoot off an email to the professor for questions that are answered in her response if they had read well enough. I'm considering doing a short video announcement as I think it's easier for some students to process the information that way. My son just wants to know his mid-term grades. They're giving students to option to take a grade of "credit" and be done if they have a C or above and he'd go that route with most of them. But they extended the due date for professors to post mid-term grades, so now everyone is in a waiting game. I also think universities need to give their students time and opportunity and PERMISSION to chill. I know some students that don't normally experience anxiety are on edge and coursework is the last thing on their minds. I'm stressed as I'm now moving home a month early while trying to TA, write a thesis, and practice safe distancing. It's all a bit much right now. Thankfully, our scheduled spring break is next week and I'll get moved home and have time to chill for a few days anyway. Edited March 20, 2020 by elegantlion 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Clear communication, but not too much. My students (as we faculty) are buried under a barrage of emails from every level of administration, giving daily COVID updates and changes to operations, status reports and whatnot, and every.single.email is too darned looooong. Virtual In-person interaction. Flexibility. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 7 minutes ago, elegantlion said: I'm considering doing a short video announcement as I think it's easier for some students to process the information that way. I have been teaching an online class (before the pandemic), and I have a brief intro video for each class that contains important announcements. The number of students who actually watch that was very small, and I abandoned it and am going to written announcement cause they aren't watching the darned video 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 9 minutes ago, elegantlion said: I also think universities need to give their students time and opportunity and PERMISSION to chill. I know some students that don't normally experience anxiety are on edge and coursework is the last thing on their minds. I was on a Zoom help session with my students yesterday, and several students mentioned how they appreciate having a structure and being held accountable for assignments. The therapists' advice is to keep as closely as possible to familiar routines. So, while I am all for flexibility and accommodating special circumstances, I believe it is important that we provide structure and stability to the students so that there is a constant reliable thing in their lives that stays as stable as possible. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 16 minutes ago, regentrude said: I have been teaching an online class (before the pandemic), and I have a brief intro video for each class that contains important announcements. The number of students who actually watch that was very small, and I abandoned it and am going to written announcement cause they aren't watching the darned video Well, there is that too. 13 minutes ago, regentrude said: I was on a Zoom help session with my students yesterday, and several students mentioned how they appreciate having a structure and being held accountable for assignments. The therapists' advice is to keep as closely as possible to familiar routines. So, while I am all for flexibility and accommodating special circumstances, I believe it is important that we provide structure and stability to the students so that there is a constant reliable thing in their lives that stays as stable as possible. That is absolutely true and a point I had not considered. I, for one, would like permission to just forget everything for a few days. I've also had a few students who want all the answers now when they don't seem to realize we're all troubleshooting problems as they arise. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 For some students though that is hard- students in a college that is at a different time zone will have a hard time doing synchronous class. I think a lot of grace should be extended during this time and lots of faculty should be flexible. Internet access has been overwhelmed and not as reliable. I was on a zoom call today- Saturday and it kept breaking up because of the overload. Some teachers have their classes packed of things to do and it’s just busy work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 In watching my 3 students, they would appreciate a consistent location to find information. Some instructors use email, others use Blackboard or that school’s equivalent, one even communicated important info via that class’ WhatsApp group. It particularly hard at the commencement mid-semester of an online class to figure it out. Secondly, though Zoom sessions or similar may seem the easiest way to continue online a lecture- or discussion-based class, be conscious of your class makeup. The previously scheduled time may not work for those who returned home in vastly different time zones. DD1 had 3:00 am Zoom class due to being 6 time zones behind the rest of the class. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 I’d like the universities to lighten up. I’m not saying drop rigor, but cut back on unnecessary assignments, make things a little easier. Don’t worry as much about getting everything in. These kids are traumatized worrying about their grandparents, their parents, the elders in their community, their future. They really only have so much non-primal brain to work with right now. Having taught in the university, I know the pressure to get in everything for the pre-req, but I question how much they will retain anyway, they’ll have some serious review to do in the fall in any case. Be kind to them right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 This is part of an email that I received from my alma mater: A Financial Emergency Fund has been established to assist students adversely impacted by process changes and campus closures related to the unprecedented coronavirus (COVID-19). Contributions to the fund will go to students who need resources for remote learning, food, housing, transportation, basic needs, or who are facing other unforeseen personal difficulties. The ULM Financial Aid office will work confidentially with students to make awards. Your support goes directly to students in need. Gifts can be made at Financial Emergency Fund I don't know how many universities have such a fund in place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Staggered deadlines. School resumed online this week, and I am not exaggerating that my dd has about 50 things due by Sunday night, the 29th. Also, one platform would be good. Pick one. They already use Blackboard and Connect. This weekend, my dd had to download and install Zoom, WebEx (required IT assistance to do that), Jump, and make a Facebook account to join a private group. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 DD's school seems to be going all asynchronous. Which, as she says, pretty much means "teach yourself the content from the book, submit assignments online". She's kind of frustrated with the lack of instruction. And concerned about her GPA. She's also really feeling the social isolation, and "do the work on your own, submit online" doesn't help with that any. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easypeasy Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Communication. DD1s school has been negligently bad about sending out appropriate notifications. Confusion runs rampant. Students still on campus. Access to food available, then shut down, then available but only in specific areas... but ZERO emails or notifications of any of this. The RAs abandoned ship (understandably) and the students left on campus have broken in to certain areas to get access to the gym, the pool, food, etc. Truly mind-boggling. We are convinced they don't want to "force" students off campus because they will then have to refund $$. Utter chaos. DD2s school-next-year has been outstanding. Calm, well-thought-out emails and Facebook notices. Reasonable expectations regarding dorm / move-out situation. They put out financial refund information over a week ago to let the students who had room/board know what will happen with that. Many emails direct from the President or the Dean of the Department. Truly outstanding. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, perkybunch said: Staggered deadlines. School resumed online this week, and I am not exaggerating that my dd has about 50 things due by Sunday night, the 29th. See, that's the one thing every teacher is being told right now by the experts: make all deadlines uniform at the end of the week so that students don't miss info about deadlines with this chaos. I guess damned if you do, damned if you don't ETA: Sunday night deadlines don't prevent the student from pacing herself and submitting assignments throughout the week. If the profs don't open the submissions early and require all to happen in a narrow time window on Sunday, then she should ask for that to be changed. But if the assignments are open all week, she can simply space them out as she desires. Edited March 24, 2020 by regentrude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, easypeasy said: We are convinced they don't want to "force" students off campus because they will then have to refund $$. Utter chaos. That is very likely what's going on. We got an email asking what we could cut out of our budgets before they announced the date students needed to be off of campus. Our school is healthy due to years of reality checks and good choices by administration, but there may be a number of small no-name (i.e. not Ivy) schools that have been running in the red for a long time. Edited March 24, 2020 by MamaSprout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Yes, consistency. They are frustrated that some professors are doing a good job of figuring out how to keep the instruction going, and in some cases, there is almost nothing for them to do. Mine are a junior and a senior graduating in December, and they are pretty frustrated. My older one is writing a paper for a class that was largely discussion-based, and then they are going to share and respond to each other's papers in a discussion board. That's a good approach IMHO. The faculty senate at their college is supposedly discussing going to pass/fail for semester grades today. I've taught online for over a decade and teach as an online-only 3/4-time professor at a large community college. They give us standardized course shells, and then we customize, answer questions, and grade. I was really hoping that engagement wouldn't go down even though they are used to how I do things by now. And nothing really has changed. In my class that ends this week, everyone turned in their homework from last week. In my other two sections, I would say that 90% of the homework came in, which is normal for my classes. Most of the people who didn't turn in their work have been "gone" since February anyway. It will be interesting to see what they do with the summer. IMHO this isn't going to end quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.