It's time to end the consensual hallucination of fall in-person classes

[kaysixteen]

B12 is supposed to do what, exactly?

[polly_mer]

B12 is supposed to do what, exactly?

Vitamin deficiencies are generally bad.  However, there's nothing magical about B12 related to covid, but knowing one's own diet may lead to supplementing specific vitamins for other reasons.

[apl68]

B12 is supposed to do what, exactly?

Vitamin deficiencies are generally bad.  However, there's nothing magical about B12 related to covid, but knowing one's own diet may lead to supplementing specific vitamins for other reasons.

I don't think she thinks it will prevent COVID-19.  But she is a big believer in getting plenty of it for overall health.  I think somebody in the family may have had a B-12 deficiency at some time in the past.

[mamselle]

It's one of the ones that, because it's water-soluble (hence more easily excreted) is less likely to be bad in large quanitites.

But megadoses of B12 have been inconclusively suggested as a possible cause of some skin and kidney problems, so it may not be innocuous.

However, a "true believer" (a la Eric Hoffer) will discount those issues, so there may be no grounds for discussion as far as they're concerned.

Que sera, sera.

M.

[apl68]

It's one of the ones that, because it's water-soluble (hence more easily excreted) is less likely to be bad in large quanitites.

But megadoses of B12 have been inconclusively suggested as a possible cause of some skin and kidney problems, so it may not be innocuous.

However, a "true believer" (a la Eric Hoffer) will discount those issues, so there may be no grounds for discussion as far as they're concerned.

Que sera, sera.

M.

She got the B-12 from their reputable family doctor, whom I am guessing would not load them up with dangerous quantities.  Personally I've always taken the view that vitamin supplements are mainly just a way to have expensive urine.

[mamselle]

Exactly.

I think I was in 7th grade when "The Great Vitamin Hoax" came out.

I've been a skeptic ever since.

(HA, the tiny keyboard on my phone made that 'aseptic' at first....how punnny. A phone with a sense of humor.)

M.

[TreadingLife]

A staff member here whose daughter attends a residential college about three hours from here is getting her onto campus this weekend.  Wishing them well.  The mother has been making plans for medical contingencies, including laying in a supply of B-12.  She thinks very highly of B-12.

Not to muddy the peaceful placebo waters, but doesn't Vitamin D have more of a link to COVID in terms of conferring possible benefits?

[apl68]

Staff member's daughter is now back at college and has her nose to the grindstone.  I quoted to her somebody's comment about campuses this year being like a "cross between a monastery and a minimum-security prison," and she seemed to think that a fair description of her daughter's campus.  Daughter says she doesn't have time to do much besides attend class and study, since they're trying to cram everything in by Thanksgiving.  The college probably considers the lack of free time to try doing...well, much of anything that might spread germs...a feature, not a bug.

[spork]

Story on SUNY-Oneonta. The plan was, uh, not a very good one.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/nyregion/new-york-suny-oneonta-coronavirus.html

[spork]

This should probably go into a thread called "It's time to end the administrative hallucination of hy-flex teaching" but I'll put it here instead:

Now that the semester has started, word is filtering out that the teach-simultaneously-to-in-person-and-remote-students concept is not working nearly as well as administrators assumed. Given the technology that was hurriedly stuffed into classroom, lack of training, and limited pedagogical expertise, faculty members are finding that It's impossible to juggle both modalities. Some students who are starting the semester as remote might be dropping any course that is being taught on campus because the experience is so bad. I bet parents will be sending demands for refunds to the president and provost in 3, 2, 1 . . . 

[Sun_Worshiper]

This should probably go into a thread called "It's time to end the administrative hallucination of hy-flex teaching" but I'll put it here instead:

Now that the semester has started, word is filtering out that the teach-simultaneously-to-in-person-and-remote-students concept is not working nearly as well as administrators assumed. Given the technology that was hurriedly stuffed into classroom, lack of training, and limited pedagogical expertise, faculty members are finding that It's impossible to juggle both modalities. Some students who are starting the semester as remote might be dropping any course that is being taught on campus because the experience is so bad. I bet parents will be sending demands for refunds to the president and provost in 3, 2, 1 . . .

I'm getting the hang of teaching in the classroom with most students on Zoom, and when the technology works well I think I'm able to offer a solid class to the students at home who are engaged.  However, the technology doesn't always work (my "smart" monitor stopped working mid-class yesterday) and many students at home are disengaged.  Overall I wouldn't say this has been a failure, but it has some serious flaws and is not working as well as traditional in-person learning or (imo) as well as synchronous online learning. 

[Aster]

Hy-Flex... if it isn't already, it will go down on the historical list of great educational fiascos.

[Puget]

Hy-Flex... if it isn't already, it will go down on the historical list of great educational fiascos.

It really should have been obvious what a terrible idea that was from the start. Heck, it doesn't even work very well in smallish meetings to have some people in the room and some on screen. There was no way in hell I was going to do that this year-- I'm teaching hybrid, but with separate discussion sections for in person and zoom, and all lectures asynchronous online. I think hardly anyone is using the fancy "connected classrooms" stuff the university hastily bought and installed this summer.

[mamselle]

Interesting test case at NEU: most agree the students should be disciplined, the differences are in how much:

   https://www.boston.com/news/education/2020/09/10/northeastern-students-react-to-suspension-tuition/amp

M.

[tuxthepenguin]

Hy-Flex... if it isn't already, it will go down on the historical list of great educational fiascos.

It really should have been obvious what a terrible idea that was from the start. Heck, it doesn't even work very well in smallish meetings to have some people in the room and some on screen. There was no way in hell I was going to do that this year-- I'm teaching hybrid, but with separate discussion sections for in person and zoom, and all lectures asynchronous online. I think hardly anyone is using the fancy "connected classrooms" stuff the university hastily bought and installed this summer.

With current technology, I agree. I had the option to teach Hy-Flex, but I just couldn't figure out how to mix multiple formats into one at the same time. I dismissed it as a design for classes where the professor lectures and students listen. There are probably classes like that - just not mine.