“The future is fluid. Each act, each decision and each development creates new possibilities and eliminates others. The future is ours to direct. ” – Jacque Fresco

MENU

Pulling Distance Learning Tools Into In-Person Classes

This post was orginally published on https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/09/21/using-online-methods-developed-during-covid-improve-person-classes-opinion

Anita Cheng describes some specific ways college instructors can use online methods developed during the pandemic to enhance classroom teaching and learning.

 My calendar has a note on March 19, 2020, that says, “CUNY online model.” On that day, the City University of New York, the largest urban university in the country, with over 250,000 students and 50,000 teachers, canceled all in-person classes and instituted remote learning.

Now, we embark on academic year 2022–23 and a seeming return to normal. Yet we are not the same coming back—there are students who had to finish college online, those who had to start college online and those who have experienced college only online. If last year’s kindergarteners remember their remote year, those memories will be part of the graduating Class of 2039. Faculty members also are not the same, even those of us who teach in art and media fields. The “online model” may have changed our teaching forever—and for the better.

 

Why Hold On to Online Learning Tools?

Digital and online tools saved our semesters, giving us a way to continue teaching, albeit with some negative social, institutional and individual effects and traumatic associations. And we now have a chance to develop the remote learning tools we used online for the in-seat learning environment.

Returning to the classroom gave me a feeling of renewed purpose and also improvisation. We may find opportunities to put together our recent, hard-won teaching experiences with the computer-assisted tools we already have and improve upon what visionary educators Cathy N. Davidson and Shelly Eversley call “active, engaged, student-centered learning.” During the fall 2021 semester, I participated in their Andrew W. Mellon Foundation–funded initiative, “Transformative Learning in the Humanities,” at CUNY. The group discussions showed how creative, personal and practical the solutions for online teaching had to be for each professor and discipline. That started my thinking about how in the semesters ahead we can continue to incorporate our online methods to improve in-person classes.

Discussion boards, surveys and chats have been available since the 1980s, but they can now become our best in-class allies. Those different tools help me teach different learners in ways I may not have reached them all before. For example, discussion boards are asynchronous, so they are good for students who prefer to answer in their own time. In contrast, chat, which is in real time, is better for students to express instant reactions to class activities and to ask questions before they forget them. Surveys are useful because they can be set up to collect individual, anonymous or group opinions.

Together, these three tools give teachers a new flexibility. The online tools can make it easier to offer validation for students’ knowledge and efforts, encourage their engagement, and help them develop skills to collaborate effectively. However, they will not serve every situation. It is up to each teacher to find their own balance of available tools so that it works for them.

 

Copyright 2022 Fluid Education | All Rights Reserved.

agustina olivero

Marketing Specialist

Ms. Olivero implements and tracks marketing programs such as email, social media, or digital campaigns, and events. She manages CRM and Marketing Automation Software 

Ms. Olivero conducts market research, analyzes trends and develops marketing materials.

Agustina tumminello

Operations Manager 

Ms. Tumminello oversees operational activities at every level of our organization. She strategizes process improvements to ensure everyone completes their tasks on schedule.

alejandra pellegrini

Executive Assitant

Ms. Pellegrini assists Chad Williamson, provides administrative assistance and mantains records, She acts as the point of contact among executives, employees, clients and other external partners.

 

alexa flores

Client Relationship Specialist
Alexa Flores is the Client Relations Specialist at Fluid Education. She is responsible for engaging prospective and existing corporate and organizational partners and ensuring partnership success.

Prior to coming to Fluid Education, Ms. Flores was a successful collegiate softball athlete and 2-time All-American.

victoria migliore

Director of Operations
Ms. Migliore is a proven leader in HR, Training and Recruiting. She oversees the day to day operations and management of personnel at Fluid Education.

Ms. Migliore develops, implements, and monitors day-to-day operational systems and processes.

Sean-reed mcgee

Chief Operating Officer

Sean-Reed McGee has 25+ years of marketing and leadership expertise in the higher education industry. He has worked in the educational marketing arena with  multi-platform companies that reached 400,000+ prospective college students and their families monthly; providing information from hundreds of higher-ed institutions.

chad williamson

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Chad Williamson is an expert in business development within the education industry. Mr. Williamson has more than 18 years of experience creating strategic alliances between corporations, organizations and higher education institutions resulting in long term success that benefits all parties. As one of the pioneers in educational business development, Mr. Williamson has been responsible for creating and/or enhancing the business pipeline channels of some of the largest education institutions in the nation.

Mr. Williamson is the founder of a small start-up, ESP Inc., that he built and led to over a million dollars in revenue within just a few years. Most recently Mr. Williamson was the Business Development Officer at Arizona State University EdPlus, where he created its business development division and led EdPlus to approximately $10 million per year in revenue in less than 2 years. Mr. Williamson worked closely with the leadership at The Rise Fund over a period of 14 months to help facilitate its partnership with ASU that led to the forming of InStride.

Business Administration

Low cost tuition of $375 per credit

Being a good manager requires more than just a will to lead. Excellent communication skills, fluency with technology, and insight into an organization’s financial and strategic underpinnings are all part of a successful manager’s toolkit.

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program helps prepare working adults in the public, private, and military sectors for mid- to high-level management positions.

Degree Concentrations Available:
Cyber Security Management
Financial Services Management
Human Resource Management
Leadership Studies
Procurement and Contract Management
Supply Chain Management