When students and faculty resume classes on Mar. 30 after an extended spring break, instruction will be completely online due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns.
Faculty and students were made aware that classes would possibly be moving to online platforms at the University of Wyoming on Mar. 12 in an announcement made by acting President Neil Theobald. In the update, it was announced that spring break would be extended by one week for professors to shift their classes to an online format, should it be necessary. It was later decided classes would continue only online.
“[The decision] was overdue, if anything. It wasn’t a surprise. Even in January, I was telling the class we would likely be online,” said David Fay, a microbiology professor at UW.
Feelings about the all-online announcement from professors seem to follow a similar trend.
“We felt it was inevitable. We knew that many other schools were moving towards [online platforms.] It was just a matter of time,” said Kent Drummond, a professor from the English Department.
Drummond’s classrooms mostly revolve around whole-class discussion, and his plan is to use Zoom and “conversational and interactional” emailing to help combat social isolation.
While the tone from professors appears cautiously optimistic, the Faculty Senate Chair Kenneth Chestek, said it was the right choice.
“Nobody really likes it, but it is the right decision to go online. There’s going to be some disruption; we just have to accept that there are certain things we can’t do.”
Chestek, who also teaches in the College of Law, notes that there are going to be a lot of adjustments for faculty to make.
Fay, Dean and Chestek all agree there are going to have to be some adjustments to classes, especially class load. Grading, Fay said, will have to involve a bit more “forgiveness and flexibility.” Some classes could likely drop at least one assignment to give students extra time to get used to an online format. Drummond suggested that in this time, professors remain reasonable with what is possible.
However, there are benefits that come from all professors transitioning to online classes, the professors said. Chestek said the adaptation is going to force a lot of faculty to think outside of what they would normally do in their classrooms. It could even be better in some ways, Fay said.
In a sense, Chestek said there is no better way to put it than how he recalls one of the Trustee’s puts it at their bi-monthly meeting: “We’re trying to build this airplane while we’re flying it.”
