It has long-since been a challenge to deliver a similar experience to our online students, as we do for our on-campus students. Connection is well documented as a critical element of student retention, and student wellbeing (Tanis, 2020). When COVID-19 brutally cut away our opportunities for on-campus delivery this year, it was wonderful to see my colleagues nimbly adjust to online delivery modes. It was nevertheless challenging to learn of the impacts of this on students, particularly those who had moved to the area for an on-campus university experience. Some silver linings, however, emerged within and from the online platforms. With students disappointed to miss some key opportunities for face-to-face interaction, it was an important opportunity for us as educators, to rise to the challenge of somehow providing as close an experience as possible, while students remained at their home desks (Bryson & Andres, 2020; Goldberg, 2020). This presentation will explain some of the key learnings from this transition to online learning for students studying in the environmental and agricultural context, including challenges, opportunities, the unexpected delights and connections emerging.
Bryson, J. R., & Andres, L. (2020). Covid-19 and rapid adoption and improvisation of online teaching: Curating resources for extensive versus intensive online learning experiences. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 1-16.
Goldberg, J. R. (2020). Identifying alternate resources and adjusting expectations for senior design projects during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Biomedical Engineering Education, 1-6.
Tanis, C. J. (2020). The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning. Research in Learning Technology, 28.