adsii1970

Life on the university campus:
(Fall semester, 2020: COVID-19, and new problems with traditional lecture courses)

Ah, yes, it's that time again where I share you what it is like to teach in higher education - I currently teach at both a local community (2-year) college and a traditional university (has programs from the Associates through the Master's level). I've been teaching at this level since 2004. But this semester already seems to be lining up the challenges for the campuses where I teach. Here is some advice for those of you entering into college life:

If you've registered for an Internet-based course, your computer equipment is NOT my (or your professor's) concern:

This may sound mean but it isn't meant to be. We are now into the third week on the campuses where I work. And just this week, I had a student registered in an Internet-based course who was wondering where he could pick up his new computer. See, on the syllabus, I have the minimum system requirements needed to run BlackBoard, the system used by both of the places where I work. He was under the impression that just like the public school he attended in high school, the university would provide him a free computer. No, not happening. Not here.

The first week of class I had a student contact me asking for help in what kind of smartphone she would need for the class. Um, no smartphones and Internet-based courses are NEVER a good match. BlackBoard's app sucks big time. If you are taking a quiz and your phone rings, congratulations, the app will submit your quiz for you - regardless of if you've completed it or not. In fact, anything that generates a notification will trigger the app to submit a quiz. So, as I told her, a smartphone should only be used as a last resort for an Internet-based course.

Just like with students, faculty members are rarely given new technology. We also have to buy our own - even if we only use it for work. Sure, they issue a computer for us to keep on campus. But by the time they install it, it's already a dinosaur and barely operating.

COVID-19 issues (a few general musings):

Both campuses I work on have a policy that if you do not wear a mask, you don't get to be on campus and in a classroom. Sure, yes. I have health factors which it has been strongly recommended for me not to wear a mask. But I do so anyway because the academic needs of the students who need an actual person-to-person class is of equal importance. Sure, masks increase the level of migraines I get; I have them daily. And I have been diagnosed with chronic hemiplegic migraines. Luckily for me, I am only in the classroom for about an hour and a half Monday through Thursday. If I can do this, then it is the least students can do to wear a mask in the building for the duration of the course. 

For both my Internet-based courses and my traditional lecture courses, I give students my cell phone number. But I ask students to only call my phone without a scheduled appointment when emergencies occur. Just this week, I had a student who didn't have an emergency, but kept calling me while I was assisting another student over the phone. Rather than leaving a message, after four attempts to contact me, immediately called the dean of student affairs to let her know "I was not answering her phone calls." So, as the dean and I talked later, she discovered the student didn't bother to read the syllabus where I tell students to leave a voice mail if it is an emergency and I will call them back. If it isn't an emergency, then they can email me ad schedule a time for a conference telephone or video-conference. What was this student's emergency? She ordered the wrong book and wanted to know the hours to the campus' bookstore.

The COVID-19 crisis, and I do use that term loosely, has brought out the best and worst of university campus life. There are a lot of improvisations happening to solve the many problems COVID-19 has created. While Internet-based classes have largely been unchanged, students who prefer traditional lecture format courses have had a difficult time adjusting to the changes.

COVID-19: New problems with traditional lecture courses:

The mask mandate on campuses needs to be rethought because the way it is now is impractical. To "reduce" the confusion, one of the campuses where I teach adopted a 100% masks when you're out of your car. The other campus says you only have to wear your mask when you cannot keep at least 6" (2m) between you and the next person OR when you are indoors. The public water fountains are now closed and the main door to restrooms are pinned open to prevent spread of the virus from touching the door in the event someone didn't wash their hands first.

We now have a "sanitation kit" in each classroom. Students are asked to take one of the disinfectant wipes and clean the desk area before they sit down and then again, before they leave. I'm expected to similarly clean the instructor area of the classroom, too. This effectively removes ten minutes of lecture time from each course. One of the rooms I teach in (my Tuesday/Thursday course) can only hold 10 students - so ten come on Tuesday and the other ten come on Thursday. Already I am seeing the fallacy of this plan and am trying new strategies to compensate for the loss of lecture time.

Students have been asked to leave the campus over refusing to wear masks in the classroom or inside the buildings. Excuses I have heard from some of the ones asked to leave include not wanting to mess up makeup, not wanting to mess up hair, can't stand smelling their own bad breath, and other assorted reasons. The rules are the rules - and just like with anything else in life, you are free to either follow them or not. And whichever you choose, you accept the consequences for that choice.

I've had students tell me they need more time to complete assignments because of COVID-19. There are also students who are having to complete the assignments as they would in an Internet-based course because of being in a home where someone has been quarantined. But as I have told students, the theme for this semester is flexibility. Both faculty, administrators, staff, and students must be flexible and willing to work with each other. Demanding the faculty bend over backwards to help you, yet not being willing to extend the same courtesy to the faculty is simply demonstrating poor understanding and judgment.

I offer podcasts of lectures, available through download or streaming through Blackboard. Not every professor does this. So, don't compare what Professor X does to what Professor Y doesn't do. Each one of us are different in our abilities and comfort zones. We each approach issues differently. Why don't I use a video recording? Because I do not want to have to get waivers from students in the class since they can be identified by sight. But with audio only, I do not have to worry about waivers. It's not worth the drama. But again, Professor Y may have no problems having students sign a waiver.

Well that's all for this rant, er, installment.