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The local university just declared all classes will now be taught online for the next month.
Spring Break is my big worry. What happens when all the idiot children come back from vacation?
There's talk of doing that at the university I work at, which I guess means I'll be working from home for a while. Only two confirmed cases in my state too, but the governor just declared a state of emergency. I haven't seen any hystaria at any shops yet, but I'm sure I will.
i am an adjunct professor ("English") at two different universities in Michigan, where we just had our first two cases confirmed.
one of the universities emailed faculty a while back about beginning to consider how to teach the rest of the semester from home if classes and/or campus had to be closed. we always talk in my classes about what people are doing over spring break, and to my knowledge only one student was going anywhere, and that was to Florida.
i hope everybody is well...
I'm in MI as well (WSU). I'm sure we'll hear later today whether we'll be going virtual. Both cases were fairly close in proximity to the university. Michigan State just announced that they're going all online. If we don't, the media is going to slay us.
yeah, WSU is one of the spots where i teach--i'm sure you have probably seen the newest email, but they extended spring break to March 23--although this is going to be a pain in the ass on the teaching end, A: i'm sure my students will be stoked (despite the reason), and B: i actually think this was a solid way to approach this...we'll see.
keep working for and praying for the best, but be prepared for the worst, right? as long as people keep their heads and remember that we're all trying to stay safe and sane, this is manageable...
I'm wondering what they're going to do moving forward. It seems like this extra week will be for professors to plan how to move their courses online, but I have no idea what will happen for all the hands on classes.
I've got one class this semester which is already online and I'm not going to take next week off. Everyone still has the same amount of work to get done and losing a week is only going to make things harder in the end. I assume it probably feels the same on the teaching end as you've got a certain amount of material you need to cover.
i would say that's exactly what the week is for, which again, i'm feeling, because i've never taught an online course before. actually i've turned them down, because--despite their practicality for people with kids and jobs and all--i got into this mess because of what goes on face-to-face in the classroom. (i'm assuming the week will have to be made up at the end, like last year when we had those closings due to the weather.)
that all being said, a pandemic obviously changes things a bit. the email i just received said there's obviously concern for the significant amount of students who have "limited access to technology off campus."
i hope all is well for you and yours man--stay safe...
Re; bold items. Both colleges I adjunct at have done the same, with the exception of one that's cancelled through the 29th (their spring break doesnt start until the 23rd). One class I teach could absolutely be taught online, the only thing I worry about is students having access to tech they need (mainly photoshop). The other one is focused on creating a more serious photographic body of work and the tldr of that is; most of my students shoot film and don't have scanners/darkrooms at home so at the moment my dept head is trying to figure out a few solutions but it's pretty up in the air at this point.
It just sucks overall. On the plus side I'm going to save a ton on gas as my commute to both schools is kind of lengthy. Hope everyone fares well over the coming weeks no matter what line of work you're in.
amen to both of these.
if you read above, i adjunct at two different universities too--this semester, one an "Intermediate College Writing" course (ENG 3010) and one a literature course, "Encountering Modernity." i just had to send the first emails to the classes since the extensions on spring break and the switch to online classes for the rest of the semester--also to encourage them to stay focused and let the routine and normality of the work keep them positive in all of this.
the composition class is a bit more of a pain to switch to online teaching, but better suited to it--the lit class is easier (discussion boards and all), but the lit classes are especially fun in person, so it sucks. we're reading Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" next, and i was going to show
Apocalypse Now in class, which i was really looking forward to...not sure how to make that work in a way it won't cost them.
i guess resilience is the key in a lot of ways right now...
Can we keep this to information and limit the fights? This is getting serious by the day. Here in DC nothing major so far besides the confirmed cases and that one priest who touched a lot of hands. If DC gets bad idk what will happen here in NOVA.
best advice in here thus far--we're all in here as part of a community right? everyone is just trying to stay safe and sane, and remembering that is key...