Difficulties, Opportunities Moving Classes Online
2020-03-25
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1As schools close because of the coronavirus outbreak, educators in specialized subjects are dealing with the difficulty of moving their classes online.
2College classes in the sciences and arts often use laboratory work, performances or even travel to teach students important lessons.
3Some of these classes require special equipment or the ability to gather in a group.
4For example, what does an engineering lab course look like online?
5How does a musical group practice?
6VOA Learning English spoke to educators across the United States recently.
7Some described the difficulty of moving classes online in economic or technical terms.
8Tom Luer is a music professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
9He noted that his school has many students who do not have some kinds of technology or special equipment at their homes.
10Lectures, reading assignments and class discussions are not too difficult to deal with, Luer explained.
11But, some kinds of lessons and performances are more difficult to do.
12Other educators were less concerned about technical problems and were more concerned about the overall goals for their classes.
13Aaron Sakulich is an engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts.
14He was going to lead a group of students on a project-based class in Armenia.
15The students, each working with local non-profit organizations, were going to help develop solutions to problems facing their partners in Armenia.
16The students had spent months preparing for the project.
17The trip was canceled. But the project-based class is continuing online.
18For now, Sakulich has worked hard to find possible US-based partners to work with.
19He hopes students can still do interviews and research using apps such as Zoom.
20"My primary concern has been how to keep the students motivated," Sakulich said.
21Barbara Oakley is a professor of engineering at Oakland University and Coursera's Inaugural Innovation Instructor.
22Oakley believes that the main goal for teachers is to transfer their skills.
23In other words, teachers used to working in a class will have to test their teaching skills in a new way.
24Oakley strongly supports online education.
25But, she said that high-level, specialized kinds of study, such as lab work in engineering, is not easy to move online.
26She was quick to add that there is no simple answer for how to teach specialized subjects.
27Although there are many problems, educators also see opportunities or bright spots in the sudden move to online education.
28Luer, at Cal Poly Pomona, looks forward to trying new teaching methods.
29He wants to use different computer applications to work with his music students.
30For example, one app, Acapella, lets musicians in different places record different parts of a piece of music.
31Then, the app helps students put the different parts together, to create a single music track.
32Even if students do not have computers or special recording equipment, they can still record simple sound files on their phones.
33Oakley noted the importance of creativity in the move to online education.
34In the field of engineering, she said, some of the best lab-based courses that she has seen teach important scientific ideas rather than specific lab work.
35"Instead of perhaps going into some of the nuances of that particular lab, they will go into the nuances of what good science actually involves. And if you are doing good research, what does that involve? How can good research become bad research? And how can you avoid that? These are very important topics, but they are often not covered in lab courses."
36Matt Otto has been involved in online education for more than 10 years.
37Otto is a music professor at the University of Kansas.
38He believes that schools and educators will be able to find a way forward within a month or so.
39"Most teachers are problem solvers - that's what teaching is," he said.
40Otto said that online education cannot always recreate the exact social environment of a college campus.
41He noted, however, that he has seen many online students have great success.
42"People who think it's not a good method of teaching," he said, "maybe haven't done it. Because I've seen the outcomes."
43One student, Xose Miguelez, studied online with Otto over a period of six years.
44"One of my other students [Miguelez] from Spain went from being a hobbyist to being not only a professional, but he's got a position in a university and got the jazz album of the year in Spain this last year, in 2019."
45Otto said that he has seen other students succeed while studying online.
46"I think that is a testament to how effective online teaching is," he said.
47I'm John Russell.
1As schools close because of the coronavirus outbreak, educators in specialized subjects are dealing with the difficulty of moving their classes online. 2College classes in the sciences and arts often use laboratory work, performances or even travel to teach students important lessons. 3Some of these classes require special equipment or the ability to gather in a group. For example, what does an engineering lab course look like online? How does a musical group practice? 4Challenges 5VOA Learning English spoke to educators across the United States recently. Some described the difficulty of moving classes online in economic or technical terms. 6Tom Luer is a music professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He noted that his school has many students who do not have some kinds of technology or special equipment at their homes. 7Lectures, reading assignments and class discussions are not too difficult to deal with, Luer explained. But, some kinds of lessons and performances are more difficult to do. 8Other educators were less concerned about technical problems and were more concerned about the overall goals for their classes. 9Aaron Sakulich is an engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts. He was going to lead a group of students on a project-based class in Armenia. 10The students, each working with local non-profit organizations, were going to help develop solutions to problems facing their partners in Armenia. The students had spent months preparing for the project. 11The trip was canceled. But the project-based class is continuing online. 12For now, Sakulich has worked hard to find possible US-based partners to work with. He hopes students can still do interviews and research using apps such as Zoom. 13"My primary concern has been how to keep the students motivated," Sakulich said. 14Barbara Oakley is a professor of engineering at Oakland University and Coursera's Inaugural Innovation Instructor. 15Oakley believes that the main goal for teachers is to transfer their skills. In other words, teachers used to working in a class will have to test their teaching skills in a new way. 16Oakley strongly supports online education. But, she said that high-level, specialized kinds of study, such as lab work in engineering, is not easy to move online. She was quick to add that there is no simple answer for how to teach specialized subjects. 17Opportunities 18Although there are many problems, educators also see opportunities or bright spots in the sudden move to online education. 19Luer, at Cal Poly Pomona, looks forward to trying new teaching methods. 20He wants to use different computer applications to work with his music students. For example, one app, Acapella, lets musicians in different places record different parts of a piece of music. Then, the app helps students put the different parts together, to create a single music track. 21Even if students do not have computers or special recording equipment, they can still record simple sound files on their phones. 22Oakley noted the importance of creativity in the move to online education. 23In the field of engineering, she said, some of the best lab-based courses that she has seen teach important scientific ideas rather than specific lab work. 24"Instead of perhaps going into some of the nuances of that particular lab, they will go into the nuances of what good science actually involves. And if you are doing good research, what does that involve? How can good research become bad research? And how can you avoid that? These are very important topics, but they are often not covered in lab courses." 25Moving forward 26Matt Otto has been involved in online education for more than 10 years. 27Otto is a music professor at the University of Kansas. He believes that schools and educators will be able to find a way forward within a month or so. "Most teachers are problem solvers - that's what teaching is," he said. 28Otto said that online education cannot always recreate the exact social environment of a college campus. He noted, however, that he has seen many online students have great success. 29"People who think it's not a good method of teaching," he said, "maybe haven't done it. Because I've seen the outcomes." 30One student, Xose Miguelez, studied online with Otto over a period of six years. 31"One of my other students [Miguelez] from Spain went from being a hobbyist to being not only a professional, but he's got a position in a university and got the jazz album of the year in Spain this last year, in 2019." 32Otto said that he has seen other students succeed while studying online. "I think that is a testament to how effective online teaching is," he said. 33I'm John Russell. 34John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 35We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section 36______________________________________________ 37Words in This Story 38practice - v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it 39lecture - n. a talk or speech given to a group of people to teach them about a particular subject 40motivate - v. to give (someone) a reason for doing something 41opportunity - n. a chance to do something 42track - n. : a song on a record, CD, etc. 43nuance - n. a very small difference in color, tone, meaning, etc. 44outcome - n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process 45hobbyist - n. an activity that a person does for pleasure when not working 46effective - adj. producing a result that is wanted : having an intended effect