A Tough Transition to Online Learning During COVID-19: Lessons Learned

Session Description

Abrupt transitions to online learning during COVID-19 amplified challenges central to online and in-person learning. We offer perspectives from a faculty member and a recent graduate who were required to rapidly shift to online learning.

FACULTY PERSPECTIVE:

Faculty and TAs abruptly transitioned to online learning during COVID-19 without adequate training. IT support was overwhelmed. Funds were not offered to procure home equipment and internet service. Routine instructional demands did not cease.
Lessons learned from faculty experiences:

  • Set-up all courses for seamless conversion to online learning.
  • Train all faculty for online instruction.
  • Fund faculty’s home-based equipment and internet access.
  • Provide IT support to acquire and set-up a faculty member’s home office.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE:

Vulnerable students were left behind during COVID-19. Some were embarrassed for their environments to be visible online or anxious to converse with strangers through a screen. Many could not afford equipment or internet access. They could not read assigned “hard copy” content on-campus. Students whose learning styles and anxiety did not promote public participation were disadvantaged in classes that required participation (e.g., asynchronous discussions; Zoom) to assess performance. Students with disabilities and neurological disorders experienced increased struggles with engagement and structure.
Lessons learned from student experiences:

  • Minimize class participation to grade students. This can disadvantage “quiet students” and those with disabilities.
  • Provide flexibility and accommodations for students in remote settings.
  • Inform students how their course would be converted to online learning if on-campus learning ceased and communicate any changes in the course structure.
  • Avail equipment and access for online learning to students with low resources.
  • Provide content online and in multiple formats.

Presenter(s)

Sarah Liez
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Sarah Liez is a recent graduate from the University of Pittsburgh Class of 2023. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science along with a Bachelor of Arts in Public and Professional Writing. Liez is a contributing student author of two chapters in the publication “Diversity in Higher Education Remote Learning: A Practical Guide.” While working on her degrees, Liez wrote for the Opinions Desk of the Pitt News, publishing a variety of pieces on gender and social issues. Since graduating, Liez has been working as a Communications Assistant for the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center, a Development Intern for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and recently began work as a Communications Intern for FracTracker Alliance. Her passion lies in environmental communication and journalism, and she will be pursuing a Master of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Toronto this fall.

Ellen R. Cohn, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA, and
University of Maryland Global Campus, USA

Ellen R. Cohn PhD, CCC- SLP, ASHA Fellow, a part-time instructor for the Department of Communication and Rhetoric, University of Pittsburgh, was a Provost’s Office Seminar Diversity Fellow. She previously served as Professor, Communication Science and Disorders, and Associate Dean for Instructional Development, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and as Interim Director, Undergraduate Program in Rehabilitation. Cohn is a co-author of books on the topics of: diversity in higher education; communication as culture; telerehabilitation, communication science and disorders (a casebook), videofluoroscopy and cleft palate speech; Tele-AAC; and Assistive and Augmentative Communication. She co-authored two programs at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Law: Certificate Program in Disability Law, and the first MSL with a Concentration in Disability Law. Cohn has served as the founding Editor of the peer-reviewed International Journal of Telerehabilitation for over a decade. She received the 2019 Editor’s award, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Perspectives Journal, for her article on tele-ethics. Cohn is a frequent invited presenter on telehealth.