Spring 2022 -- Moving Online?

[downer]

You can also open the windows wide to make sure the room is freezing cold. That will definitely drive away the remaining students.

[OneMoreYear]

You can also open the windows wide to make sure the room is freezing cold. That will definitely drive away the remaining students.

You get to teach in rooms with windows? I'm teaching in a basement. 
I wasn't actually sure any of the students would find me, given the room location. I predicted 0 students attending in-person and was surprised by the one intrepid soul who arrived (on time!).  It's going to be a wild semester for all.

[aside]

You can also open the windows wide to make sure the room is freezing cold. That will definitely drive away the remaining students.

About that ... in my ancient building the windows are painted shut to prevent opening them and thereby upsetting the HVAC system.

[downer]

I think we have already agreed that a sharp chisel and a mallet are your friends in these cases. http://thefora.org/index.php?topic=2537.0

[Anon1787]

My university is also going online (Zoom--no asynchronous allowed) for the first 2 weeks of the semester. Enrollments are down, especially for the large lecture sections (what a surprise!).

It's been 2 years and nothing has been done to improve ventilation in the classrooms. Students are only required to wear (useless) cloth masks.

[kiana]

I wonder if you could just teach online from the classroom and have anyone who shows up login to zoom and use headphones? Then it's technically "flex" but you're not trying to manage two modalities at once.

Hearing things through both headphones and in person does not work well, especially as there is usually a slight delay.

I was meaning the headphones for breakout rooms if you (hypothetically) had more than one student show up.

[Istiblennius]

I'm on a slippery slope in my class - I started the term with a hybrid - half of the class material/work handled in an in person discussion section and half of the material covered in asynchronous remote work. Understandably a portion of the class each week has needed to zoom in to the in person discussion section and I've been able to make that work, but yesterday I started getting the requests to record zoom because not only were they isolating but they just didn't feel up to logging in. Recording isn't really going to be meaningful in a class without tests that is project based and relies on weekly discussion and small group work for the synchronous portion.

It is interesting to see how quickly a portion of my students, who were adamant that they wanted in person instruction in real time, are moving to wanting everything remote, asynchronous, and recorded without interaction when push comes to shove. And of course every time I adapt to manage the multiple permutations of in person, on zoom, recording there is a new request. I drew the line at recording the discussion section since it wouldn't add anything pedagogically, but I'd rather just be entirely on zoom than managing this constantly shifting mix of in person and remote students.

[lightning]

We started the winter/spring semester, mostly online asynchronous or Zoom. There are some intrepid souls who are teaching the few in-person courses, but in-person students are implicitly allowed to Zoom in from their dorm or apartment. Students can say COVID COVID COVID, and they are allowed to Zoom in, over faculty objections.

The students are loving this, as long as they get to enjoy all the amenities of being a college student (living away from home on their parents' expense, food court, athletic facilities, on-campus coffee shops, Greek life, etc).

Public lectures, concerts, and other events are canceled.

The sports (D1) are allowed to go on, with full attendance, and I am not surprised at all about that.

The admins really should stop saying they are cancelling stuff for the health and safety of the university community, because that's a bunch of bull. If they canceled the sports, too, and shut down all the communal student hangout spaces, then I will believe that they are sincere about their expressions of health and safety.

[hester]

Do you think your schools will extend the first two (2) weeks online for another month or so?

Thanks

[the_geneticist]

Do you think your schools will extend the first two (2) weeks online for another month or so?

Thanks

Mine already did.  Original plan was "100% back to in person!", then "1st 2 weeks online", now it's "it's 4 weeks online".
I think the admin wants students to move back to campus (and pay for their housing, dining, parking, etc.) even if their classes are online.  Students are NOT amused by this uncertainty.

[Anon1787]

Do you think your schools will extend the first two (2) weeks online for another month or so?

My state started being hit by the Omicron wave a bit later than other states so I wouldn't be surprised if universities here extend online for another couple of weeks.

My question is: What happens if a large portion of students refuse to attend class when we shift back to in person? Hyflex cannot be required at my university because many of the classrooms are not outfitted for it (a blessing in disguise).

[kiana]

My question is: What happens if a large portion of students refuse to attend class when we shift back to in person? Hyflex cannot be required at my university because many of the classrooms are not outfitted for it (a blessing in disguise).

I think discipline matters here.

Where I am (in math) if you want to try to teach yourself at home, submit the homework online, and just show up at exams, good luck because you'll need it, but I won't stop you from trying. I'm not gonna try to stream the lecture to you, though.

[Anon1787]

Where I am (in math) if you want to try to teach yourself at home, submit the homework online, and just show up at exams, good luck because you'll need it, but I won't stop you from trying. I'm not gonna try to stream the lecture to you, though.

Adminicritter: "That's not being a student-centered instructor!"

[hester]

How about being " An instructor centric student" and showing up to lectures "?

[the_geneticist]

Do you think your schools will extend the first two (2) weeks online for another month or so?

My state started being hit by the Omicron wave a bit later than other states so I wouldn't be surprised if universities here extend online for another couple of weeks.

My question is: What happens if a large portion of students refuse to attend class when we shift back to in person? Hyflex cannot be required at my university because many of the classrooms are not outfitted for it (a blessing in disguise).

I have the feeling I'll be letting folks know the answer to that conundrum in about 2 weeks.