Up-To-The-Minute Faculty Insights & Advice
Amid a health crisis that is testing the world’s capacity to care for the sick and protect billions lies an education system dedicated to nurturing minds, preserving continuity and championing for progress. With 19 million higher education students in the U.S., the need to mobilize and react fluidly has been swift with a laser sharp focus on helping students stay connected, engaged and on track to meet all necessary milestones on the road to finishing the spring semester steadily and strong.
With only days in to the new normal, we wanted to get a read on how Adelphi’s professors across various disciplines are faring in the race to migrate learning online. For some, this represents a fairly simple and seamless process; for others, its a huge shift with a significant learning curve and a need for extra support from administration, colleagues and IT resources. In any case what is instantly evident is the current wave of change will have both short term and ongoing implications, undoubtedly impacting the face of higher education instruction for future generations to come.
Reem Khamis-Dakwar believes that, “Like other universities, the current unprecedented situation demands we act and work together with the administration to assure continuity of learning for our students this semester. To get that done, communication between all is key.” As Adelphi Union President, she is “hearing from so many faculty who, in spite of the hardships related to this swift shift, whether due to limited experience with online teaching, having their children homeschooled, or having a needs to take care of elderly in their family, they are steadfast in their determination to carry out a curriculum that aligns with goals and expectations.” To that end every faculty member who requires support “should align themselves with anyone who can and is willing to help, like a colleague in their department or the Faculty Center for Professional Excellence in our university so that they can serve our students with confidence.”
With, in most cases, days to convert their curriculum from the physical classroom to a virtual one, educators, regardless of experience and confidence, are having to dive into unchartered digital formats.
Fortunately for Asya Blue, an Adjunct Professor in Adelphi’s Art & Art History Department, she was well prepared for the sudden redirection. “I love utilizing technology in my professional work and teaching. I completed my entire master’s degree coursework through an online program and understand how an online classroom can result in substantial and productive work. Because I run my business from home I already work remotely with most of my clients and as a result am very comfortable communicating electronically as well as using various online tools to facilitate this type of communication.”
Similarly, Assistant Professor Melissa Randazzo of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, has created a hybrid format for learning in her courses with some sessions conducted online and some in-person. “I started to learn more about online teaching when I began working at Adelphi. I was looking for ways to incorporate more project-based learning during class time to help students get more hands-on practice with clinical cases,” she explains.
The obvious stresses of the current climate aside, it is safe to surmise that the majority of educators in these earliest days, are experiencing a hybrid of apprehension, nerves and even mitigated excitement being at the forefront of significant change. Probably no other majors more than those in the health and sciences disciplines where labs, practicals and clinicals are predominately live experiences. Stefni Bogard, Clinical Assistant Professor at Adelphi’s College of Nursing & Public Health, helps to break it down, from those classes that transition effortlessly to those that will require dramatic rethinking and creativity.
At one end, Clinical Assistant Professor Stefni Bogard of the College Of Nursing & Public Health explains, there are classes like Health Assessment. “That program is almost fully online and now in the process of going completely online. Students can continue to do the work they have been doing. It was set up that way from the beginning.” The transition will also be easy for her graduate students who are all experienced with online courses as they make up the majority of their class-based learning.
Conversely, she goes on to explain, “My biggest challenge is Diagnosis & Management of The Adult Across The Lifespan which is entirely face-to-face. I have to meet with students once per week and every other week give in-class quizzes. There are also exams. I haven’t done exams online in that class but I know it can be done.” Administration is advising the department to use Zoom going forward which Professor Bogard admits to not having prior experience with but is trying to figure it out. “My goal is to keep it a synchronous class so everyone logs in at the same time and I conduct a live class. The University has done a tremendous job supporting faculty. They are very innovative and they have been running constant classes online and in-person.”
For those looking to their colleagues for peer-verified recommendations as they carefully consider which platforms to use and roll out to their students, Professor Randazzo has this to offer. “I like Google Meet for synchronous online discussions. We used it to do a data processing tutorial in the EEG Lab Methods class. You are able to both share your screen and also interact with participants. I have also had great success with using Voice Thread for students to record powerpoint presentations.”
Adds Professor Blue, “I think Zoom will be great to continue to “meet” with students face to face. Sometimes Moodle is a little challenging to navigate but I’m sure I’ll figure things out if needed. And I’m going to try to get a handle on Panopto, which I think can be useful but I haven’t explored it yet.
Information, training, and tools are available on the Continuity of Instruction page and the link can be found on the Adelphi ECampus page. For those who could benefit from an abbreviated cheat sheet of the most widely used platforms:
Google Meet is a popular video conferencing app that enables up to 30 users to participate in a high definition video meeting. Those without Google can join using the meeting url link.
Voice Thread allows instructors and/or students to create, share, and comment on images, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, videos, audio files, documents, and PDFs, using microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file uploads. It can be used on just about any mobile device and requires only an updated version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that can be used from any device for video conferencing meetings, audio conferencing, webinars, meeting recordings, and live chat. For increased engagement, there are additional capabilities for video breakout rooms, multi-sharing, polling, and group chats.
Panopto - Is widely used by universities (it was created at Carnegie Mellon) for lecture capture and video management. Additionally, enables faculty to record and share flipped classroom videos from anywhere, using any laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
There seems to be endless resources, many of which are discipline-specific and highly innovative. Professor Bogard has already been “inundated with e-mails from companies who have online programs with virtual patients as an alternative.”
Says Professor Bogard, “Getting up to speed and initiating and using Zoom is where my focus is at the moment. I feel confident in the lecture piece of it. I am more concerned with seeing everyone and keeping them engaged.” To that end she has asked her students in applicable courses to utilize the camera on their devices so she can see them all and is happy to have this spring break week to plan and acclimate. A valid and significant concern she has that one can be sure is shared by many of her colleagues, “having technical issues and having the resources to help me work through them when I am live teaching.” This is something the university will have to actively address as part of the transition.
Professor Sarah Eltabib, Senior Lecturer, General Studies and Chair of the Faculty Senate, agrees that “Zoom is great especially for those who use a active learning pedagogy.” But asserts that, “We need to also focus less on contact hours during these crisis days and focus more on course objectives and the quality of information that we’re delivering. Think of other ways to reach your students.” With creativity and engagement essential at this time, she suggests keeping it unexpected and upbeat utilizing things like “podcasts with fun and random shout outs to students.” Adding to that she recommends, “Do you follow up forums that don’t have to be done during the class time” and emphasizes that “the real issue that we have to consider is that this is an issue of social equity. We are not the students, only professors. The student is not the only one in their home. There are many players involved here. We need to give different options to students. We can’t just do one specific activity all the time. This is an exciting time for education. Our pedagogy skills are going to be tested; not for anyone else, but really for us. I consider this time a time of professional development for myself, and opportunity to help others as a community members where excel.”
With technology savvy a trademark of the current generation of college students, how have the stresses of a pandemic and social distancing impacted their attitudes and adjustment to the new learning formats facing them? “It’s a little tricky right now since the timing coincided with spring break,” says Professor Blue. “Some students have been very communicative and responding to my emails and some I just haven’t heard from at all. I think I’ll have a better handle on their reactions once we get started after spring break. Right now everyone is just figuring things out especially since there are stresses from everyday life as well.”
As for how the current adaptations will play into the future of learning, the outlook is mostly positive, with many professors believing this moment in time will be a transformative one. “I hope more instructors will come to value online instruction. I feel like I am a better instructor because I am learning to master teaching in multiple modalities,” shares Professor Randazzo. “I think there is a misconception that teaching online is a cop-out. If you do it right, you can do it well, and utilize the flexibility of the online format to focus more only project-based learning and practical applications of content,” she concludes.
Professor Blue agrees and adds, “I would say don’t be afraid to experiment and to change things up as needed. I always tell my students, ‘don’t worry to try things with the computer, you’re not going to break it. The worst that can happen is that it won’t do what you want it to do.’ Technology is a huge part of our lives whether we are teaching online or not and some of these tools that we will be using now are actually helpful for our “regular” instruction too. So this isn’t just specific to the current situation, I think this will enhance our teaching moving forward as well.”
While much of the change will likely lead to long-term adaptations and modifications in how technology is utilized at the classroom level, Professor Khamis-Dakawar asserts that such a dramatic shift will require a more measured evaluation when we are on more even footing. “Once this is over, we need to reflect and ponder on the slippages between the swift shift to online learning whether it is in regards to missed opportunities of group learning moments that cannot be achieved online and learning experiences that cannot be fully simulated. Add to that the vital learning experiences that come from research and community engagement activities now hindered by the current crisis. It’s going to have a tremendous impact on our students from all social backgrounds that they cannot be physically together to connect, explore, learn and build a new vision for who we are and who we can be as a society.” She recognizes and commends with intense admiration the unprecedented strides being made day by day with an eye on transitioning seamlessly when classes resume Monday, March 23rd. ”Hats off to all Adelphi faculty!” she exclaimed.