I admit it. I want remote "virtual" university to continue for another year.

[Parasaurolophus]

Right, Canada. The Conservatives sold off our domestic vaccine maker decades ago, and our primary supplier at the moment is thec US, which has restricted exports.
But also, we're slated to return in-person in the fall, and I seriously doubt I'll have had both doses of the vaccine by then, and my students may not have even had one yet. And with a hatchling at home and a partner with an auto-immune disease, I don't much like the sound of that.

I assume you aren't in the US?

[mleok]

I like the ability to prerecord my lectures, but the cheating that comes with administering exams remotely is a real issue. Trying to accommodate a hybrid class would definitely be the worst of both worlds, so at least in the Fall, I will probably continue to teach remotely.

[spork]

[. . .]

I admit it. If the admins said we are doing virtual university for 2021–2022, I would only pretend to be disappointed.

My wife and I were completely online for 2020-21 because of an immune system disorder that theoretically put me at high risk. I loved it. No commute. No expectation that I attend stupid campus events. Meetings at convenient times and far more efficient. Meanwhile faculty still teaching on campus were required to use the terrible "dual modality" system that produced an inferior environment for both in-person and remote students, with dwindling rates of attendance in physical classrooms as semesters progressed.

Faculty have been told that instruction will revert to "normal" for the fall semester, but I am building asynchronous online and field observation components into my undergraduate courses as substitutes for meeting in the classroom. Over the previous year, I have demonstrated to my own satisfaction that the total time students spend in the classroom doesn't correlate closely to learning in my courses, given how they perform on assessments. And since there is a good chance of quarantines, lockdowns, and suspensions of classes in the fall, it's smart to plan accordingly. I have been telling colleagues to do the same, but I'm mostly being ignored, just like I was mostly ignored in the summer of 2020.

[sinenomine]

I'm of two minds on this. I'm comfortable with teaching both on ground and online and get solid evaluations in both modalities. I love not having a commute, not sharing a public bathroom, not being subjected to lousy institutional food at meetings, wearing sweatpants and slippers, and being able to step out into my patio for breaks. But I also miss the hallway conversations with colleagues, seeing students, and having access to the library. I'm hoping that my school will be less demanding about people being on site a lot of the time since we've shown how well some meetings can be carried out remotely.

[Caracal]

And given that there is a good chance of quarantines, lockdowns, and suspensions of classes in the fall, it's smart to plan accordingly.

Probably a bad idea to try to make predictions. I'd say that's possible, but probably relatively unlikely, at least on a widespread scale. Covid isn't likely to go away, but it is likely to become a lot more manageable without resorting to the extreme measures we've gotten used to over the last year.

The good news is I don't really have to do any additional planning for courses switching online. Already have done all of that...

[marshwiggle]

And given that there is a good chance of quarantines, lockdowns, and suspensions of classes in the fall, it's smart to plan accordingly.

Probably a bad idea to try to make predictions. I'd say that's possible, but probably relatively unlikely, at least on a widespread scale. Covid isn't likely to go away, but it is likely to become a lot more manageable without resorting to the extreme measures we've gotten used to over the last year.

But for labs, it's totally unrealistic to plan for in-person with some sort of contingency plan. Logistically, you have to pick one and stick with it. I'm glad my institution is allowing remote labs for the fall.

[Caracal]

And given that there is a good chance of quarantines, lockdowns, and suspensions of classes in the fall, it's smart to plan accordingly.

Probably a bad idea to try to make predictions. I'd say that's possible, but probably relatively unlikely, at least on a widespread scale. Covid isn't likely to go away, but it is likely to become a lot more manageable without resorting to the extreme measures we've gotten used to over the last year.

But for labs, it's totally unrealistic to plan for in-person with some sort of contingency plan. Logistically, you have to pick one and stick with it. I'm glad my institution is allowing remote labs for the fall.

Sure, that seems reasonable.

[Wahoo Redux]

Something seems to have changed in my job after this last year.

Next semester I have 3 online classes and 2 in-person classes.  This is a bit amazing.  I will still have contact with other humans, be able to hide out in my office and sip espresso, but avoid the long days and constant commuting back and forth to let the dogs out or retrieve that whatever I left at home.  If I get everything online before the semester my prep time will be cut by a third, and I am adding considerable online teaching to the CV.

Virus variants still make me nervous, however...my wife and I each have an elder with health problems who depends on us.  We gotta stay healthy.

[jerseyjay]

For spring 2020, I found the break from routine nice. I did all my teaching asynchronously, given the fact that all of my students' lives were disrupted in a number of ways. I live about 45 minutes away from work, and I certainly did not miss not having to commute. I took long walks for several hours each morning, read a bunch of books, watched several Netflix series, and wrote two articles. I don't think I would want to go back to that time since there was a sense of impending doom. The fact that it was impossible to go ten minutes without hearing an ambulance, that all the nearby hospitals had COVID tents in front of them, and the disease was raging did not help my mental state, and to be honest, the lack of a routine probably did not help either.

For fall 2020, all my classes were synchronous, but the students seemed to make the most of it. My young daughter liked to have me teaching in the living room, and told me that she wanted to be a college teacher. She also enjoyed making cameo appearances in my evening classes. I wrote another article.

This semester, spring 2021, seems to be like walking though mud. I am sick of Zoom, my students are sick of Zoom, my daughter is sick of Zoom. Personal life is weighing heavier at the same time the actual danger of getting ill seems to have become more remote. I miss going to campus (I have been going to my office about once a week just to grade papers and work.) I miss my commuting routine, including stopping at a cafe and reading. I miss my colleagues, even the annoying ones. And I have run out of research materials at hand, so the article I am working on requires resources--some of them at a library 20 minutes from my house that is closed. I am actually sort of dreading summer vacation (and not just because I won't be getting paid). I must admit that it was nice flying to visit relatives across the country in the middle of the semester and being able to continue my teaching without missing a beat. (Since they live three time zones away, it was nice to be able to finish all my classes by 9am).

I am looking forward to forgetting my Zoom password and going back to the classroom in September.

[mahagonny]

If you've got one of the real jobs (full time and benefitted) you shouldn't be complaining about going back on campus. 

[Golazo]

This semester, spring 2021, seems to be like walking though mud. I am sick of Zoom, my students are sick of Zoom, my daughter is sick of Zoom. Personal life is weighing heavier at the same time the actual danger of getting ill seems to have become more remote.

This. I mean, I will be happy to keep doing worthless meetings on Zoom if I can. But I am tired of teaching on Zoom and my students really need some personal contact in their lives. The amount of students with mental health challenges has been more than I've ever seen.

[kiana]

This semester, spring 2021, seems to be like walking though mud. I am sick of Zoom, my students are sick of Zoom, my daughter is sick of Zoom. Personal life is weighing heavier at the same time the actual danger of getting ill seems to have become more remote.

This. I mean, I will be happy to keep doing worthless meetings on Zoom if I can. But I am tired of teaching on Zoom and my students really need some personal contact in their lives. The amount of students with mental health challenges has been more than I've ever seen.

I have never, ever had success rates this low, or cheating rates this high. I think that the lack of connection is exacerbating both. And people who were doing WELL just fricking disappeared.

[ciao_yall]

This semester, spring 2021, seems to be like walking though mud. I am sick of Zoom, my students are sick of Zoom, my daughter is sick of Zoom. Personal life is weighing heavier at the same time the actual danger of getting ill seems to have become more remote.

This. I mean, I will be happy to keep doing worthless meetings on Zoom if I can. But I am tired of teaching on Zoom and my students really need some personal contact in their lives. The amount of students with mental health challenges has been more than I've ever seen.

I have never, ever had success rates this low, or cheating rates this high. I think that the lack of connection is exacerbating both. And people who were doing WELL just fricking disappeared.

Ditto.

Our data shows that students who would do well anyway seem fine. But all the others are struggling and dropping their classes. It's ghastly.

[mahagonny]

Several years ago on the old forum the switch to remote classes was usually considered the death knell of legitimated higher ed. The slippery slope to MOOCS etc.

[kiana]

We had remote classes for quite some time pre-pandemic, but they weren't for everyone -- no developmental classes (was tried but the success rates were too dreadful), students always had a f2f option, and students with GPA under a certain point weren't allowed to enroll in online courses without a petition. Success rates were still lower but were generally ok. Testing (at least in math) was done in a f2f proctored setting.