By John DeSpagna
Campus News
We are currently experiencing a situation that is disruptive to all of higher education. This has now necessitated a transition from face to face instruction to remote instruction. This is new to all of us and we need to work together so you, our students, can experience the best possible learning experience to have a successful semester.
If you have enrolled in an online or hybrid class, the transition will be a little smoother. For students and faculty members, there will be a little bit of a learning curve over the short term. In order to make the transition to remote learning, there are a number of points to address.
The first point I can offer is to check your emails from your colleges and professors every day. Your college and your professors are going to use email to communicate with you. Your professors need to get the class content, assignments, projects, etc., to you and this is the easiest way to do so. Remote instruction is going to vary by professor as this is something new and we are trying to make it work effectively. There will be trial and error here to make it work.
Your time management skills need to be at their best. Being enrolled is a traditional face to face class helps you keep up with the class and your class work. As we transition to remote instruction, you will need to do work on your own. Set aside time each day to do your readings, homework and other class work. You need to be disciplined and focused to meet the deadlines for your assignments.
As you are going to be working more independently this semester, ask your professors questions. We are here to help you be successful. Send emails to your professors about your assignments and other class work.
Many of your colleges also have Learning Centers that can provide you with extra help. At Nassau Community College where I teach, we have this extra help in many departments such as English, Math, Reading, Accounting and Business and many others. Contact your professors about the availability of these resources. They may be available via email or Zoom.
As professors look to continue instruction, we may be experiencing an increased usage of Zoom. Zoom allows for a video, audio or both to take place with your professor or maybe the entire class. You may want to spend some time becoming more familiar with Zoom. Look at this as an opportunity to improve your skills with this resource.
Your college also will have some type of way to deliver training for online classes. Take a look at your Distance Education training videos that are available for students. This will make it easier for you to understand how to work with the online resources that may be used for remote instruction. Your college may be using Blackboard or another platform to deliver the content and it is a good idea to become more familiar with the platform. Professors can bring content to the course through Blackboard on the course menu with a course syllabus, course outline, weekly emails through announcements, web links, grade centers, course calendars and help desk numbers.
All of the major publishers such as McGraw-Hill, Pearson and Cengage have online resources. When I teach my online and hybrid classes, I use some of the resources they have available to enhance the course. Your professors may have you go into a publisher’s content area to enrich the course. This may include resources such as PowerPoints, learning modules, assessments, videos, exercises, end of chapter questions and quizzes. Look for the publishers content to be used more this semester.
We are working through a situation that presents a challenge to all of us. To successfully complete the semester, professors and students are going to have to work together and show some flexibility. Utilizing different methods of instruction during this learning curve to remote instruction will be necessary for all of us to complete the semester. Let’s work together on this.
John DeSpagna is Chair of the Accounting and Business Administration Department at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y.
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