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Chances are, some or all of your education is now happening online. Now let us help you get on the ball.
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a surge in online education, students have had to adapt quickly from traditional classrooms to new ways of learning. We’ll answer some of the more common questions students have about distance learning and give some tips to students learning online.
An online classroom is one in which at least a portion of the learning takes place asynchronously (without real-time interaction) through learning management system technology. Online learning can be fully asynchronous, blended asynchronous (meetings happen in a physical or virtual space) or blended synchronous (mostly virtual, but some instruction is provided through technology).
Remote learning is different than online learning. It is 100% synchronous (students and instructors taking part in the learning process at the same time) and usually occurs due to emergency circumstances that make it difficult for classes to gather in person.
Online classes have students learn through weekly instructions that are entered into a learning management system by the teacher. Instructions include readings, interactive activities between the students and their classmates, as well as assignments, student assessments and due dates.
Though students often learn on their own time, “Online courses should not be lonely experiences,” says Angela Velez-Solic, PhD, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation at Rush University. “Quality online learning is interactive and engaging with a very involved faculty member. There are due dates, which means deadline and participation expectations.”
Online education is vastly different than traditional education. In traditional education, students might be able to attend a class and perform well despite little interaction with the teacher or other students. That is not the case with online education.
Teachers who are trained to teach online classes are taught that lectures shouldn’t be the focus. Instead, online education teachers rely heavily on student involvement that results from carefully designed learning modules. If lectures are given, they are generally broken up into shorter sessions.
“It’s like comparing soccer and baseball,” Velez-Solic says of the comparison between an online and a traditional classroom. “They’re both sports and they have rules and scores, but that’s about as far as the similarities go.”
Not only can online learning be just as effective as a traditional classroom, research shows it can actually be more effective. Many people assume online courses essentially teach themselves, with teachers serving only to grade the student and provide feedback. In high quality online courses, though, all students have a voice and participate, which leads to an enriching learning experience.
With some of the top online programs in the country, Rush University was already in a good position to adapt and guide students in traditional programs when online learning became more necessary and widespread. The University quickly developed a self-paced e-learning guide to help students with the transition.
Students can also turn to the Center for Academic Excellence for learning support and the Center for Clinical Wellness for mental health resources as they navigate the shift to online learning.
At Rush Medical College, students receive a weekly logistics email and video to keep them informed about schedules, technology issues and what to expect that week. They provide students many ways to provide feedback — from surveys to open forums — on what is and isn’t working in their experience as an online learner.
“We always make sure to ask students for their feedback,” says Princess Currence, DSW, MSW, director of curriculum and education at Rush Medical College, who managed the college’s conversion to online learning when the COVID-19 pandemic began. “Then we make sure to act on their feedback. We’re always adjusting how we structure our activities so that they help students to be able to not just consume information but also analyze, implement and problem solve to the best of their ability.”