Starting her junior year this fall, Cora Mankevich said that she had concerns with her in-person classes as it’s hard to hear people with their masks on and get stuff done with social distancing guidelines.
Mankevich said that as a biology major, she often participates in labs. While she hasn’t had many this semester, she said that last semester all of her labs were canceled.
Mankevich said that although she wasn’t able to have that hands-on experience these past few semesters, she thinks that the precautions are good. “If you’re not wearing a mask, you’re kicked out of class,” she said.
While students were completely remote at the end of last semester, this semester they have the option to take classes in-person, remotely via Zoom or asynchronously via the web.
Sophomore Kristina Hogue said that she’s taking a mix of both online and in-person classes. She said that she’s taking Spanish 3 with Associate Professor of Spanish Robin Bower and thinks that she does a good job utilizing screen share and the emojis on Zoom.
Hogue said that professors can better enhance students’ learning experiences by learning how to utilize Zoom.
English Instructor Kristin Oberg said that she has become more tech-savvy than in years past.
Oberg said that she provides her students with the option to stay at home and Zoom rather than come to class in-person. While some students utilize the classroom, she said that other students — she calls them her “live studio audience” – prefer to use Zoom.
Oberg said that her students are afraid to speak in class as their facemasks act as a deterrent. She said that she utilizes discussion boards to encourage participation for those who don’t speak in class.
Similarly, Assistant Professor of Biology Sarah Nilson is developing new ways to teach her students through asynchronous learning.
Nilson said that she continues to teach her labs in-person but with fewer students. She said that she teaches Biology 110, a study of the fundamental concepts of biology. For Biology 110, half of her students stay at home while the other half attends her class in-person; the following class period, students swap roles.
Nilson said that she also utilizes Zoom for her Science 60N class, an appreciation of art and the natural world through the exploration of flora, fauna, geology and water systems. Nilson said she teaches half of that class in-person and the other half on Zoom.
Nilson said that she was concerned with how students were going to participate this semester as the masks make it hard to hear one another in-person and students don’t turn on their cameras on Zoom.
To encourage participation, Nilson said that she assigns videos and discussion boards for students to complete asynchronously before class each week.