By Chelsea Zhao
Classes for fall semester are scheduled to be back to normal, but some professors have opted for virtual learning.
As Dominican students managed to finish half a semester of unintended online classes during quarantine, fall semester classes are expected to be back to be in-person, with close observations on the CDC and Illinois government guidance.
“Of course, we will work within the State of Illinois’ framework, taking all the necessary precautions, and guided by the Center for Disease Control,” said Jeffrey Carlson, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “But even with this as our hope and intent for fall, we do need to plan for other scenarios, and so we will be working with faculty to prepare to have more online and hybrid courses in the fall, as this may be necessary”.
According to a video released on Dominican University’s Vimeo, President Donna Carroll note strong fall enrollment and a dedication to return to in-person classes.
“As for the future, let me just say with cautious optimism, that Dominican University fully expects to be open for face to face classes in the fall,” Carroll said in the video. “We are actually already ramping up to reopen and fall registration numbers are strong, so I know that you too are anxious to get back to campus”.
Isabelle Schindler, an out-of-state junior, believes in-person classes are better for concentrating in course works.
“I personally struggle with online classes due to internet connection, lack of focus, and the fact that to make up for lost time, professors assigned more work,” Schindler said. “For me, in-person classes are more effective for the students and professors”.
Schindler elaborated on the importance of having a stable internet connection and access to space for quality virtual class time.
“Personally, I think there are more challenges to online because of the medium itself,” Schindler said. “You need decent internet connection, a laptop to do all your work, and a spot in your house where you can actually focus and get stuff done. With in-person classes a common theme was always getting to class on time if there’s traffic”.
Some faculty are moving their classes online due to health conditions. Graphic Design professor William (Bill) Kerr, explains his reasons for moving his fall classes online in a Zoom interview.
“My situation is similar to other faculty,” Kerr said. “I have some health conditions that make exposure really dangerous and same with some of my family members. And I think one of the things that’s easy to forget is how complicated people’s lives are. When I look at my students, I am very aware that the risks aren’t just to them, it’s to their extended family, if they are living at home, or to others in the dorm. Faculty have very similar situation. It was just a straight-forward health decision”.
Kerr said he expected some challenges of online classes, such as not seeing people’s body language and technological difficulties. Even though it is possible to accomplish, he said it will be harder to cater to different needs of students online.
“I want to really try my best to figure out what you are doing well and how to do that better, and what you are struggling with and work on improving that. That’s harder in a video,” Kerr said.
Kerr had requested his classes to be online before the spring semester is over. He said the uncertainty of the situation was one of his consideration.
“Because that way [requesting to teach online early], you don’t feel like you are the victim,” Kerr said. “Actually, I can plan, I can be more prepared. And I think it’s better for the students, it’s better for my sanity, and the administration was wonderfully supportive of my request”.
Kerr had worked as an online coordinator for the adult literacy program at the University of Tennessee and said his teaching experience there in the early 1990s helped him. He set up a state-wide chat group and organized online discussion emails before accessing internet became a norm.
“I kind of think back to that and think that, I don’t want to approach this as just oh, I got to find a way to take the classes I already had and make them work online, but rather, what are the opportunities to make parts of it better,” Kerr said.
Four classes Kerr will be teaching in Fall 2020-2021 semester has strong enrollment. Three of the classes, Typography and two sessions of Intro to Design Applications, are already full.
As a Graphic Design professor, Kerr mentions how his vocation inspires him to approach the change in a positive mindset and balance the difficulties with potential benefits of online teaching.
“I am always a positive person, you know, I think art and design is inherently positive,” Kerr said. “We are making things that’s inherently positive vocation. And as a designer, I am looking at this as a huge design problem, how can I design a better experience for my students next semester? Not a perfect one, I am not interested in perfect, I just want to be very honest about the pros and the cons, look at what I do well, look at what I struggle with, and work with that”.
