Posted on Friday, March 20, 2020
Faculty members have been in class this week to prepare to move all of their teaching online. Courses resumed Thursday after a break because of COVID-19.
Dr. Jon Ernstberger, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, partnered with Amber Spratlin, Electronic Resource Librarian at Lewis Library, to walk faculty through the college’s learning management system, Connect.
“We’ve been using Connect for five years in our previous online classes,” said Dr. Ernstberger. “It is simple to use and easy to navigate for both students and professors.”
He assured those who haven’t worked with the program before that they will love it.
“Connect is your friend,” he said. “It is very secure and all information is backed up several times a day.”
Dr. Ernstberger went on to demonstrate how to set up a “shell” (course content) and how to use all the instructional tools available through the program..
Spratlin reminded everyone about resources offered at the library.
“We will have the chat function where you or your students can ask questions,” she said. “We can also point you in the right direction for online help and advice.”
After going through the nuts and bolts of the program, Dr. Ernstberger offered his own reassurances.
“We are all in this together during these extraordinary circumstances,” he said. “A lot of these students will be learning how to navigate this system, just like you. I urge you to be lenient with deadlines and treat each other with kindness.”
Other tips included:
Use all resources available. If you see that someone has built something applicable to your course, don’t be afraid to use it. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel.
Take colleagues up on their offers of help.
Have realistic expectations for you and your students.
Make your courses simple, clear, clean and easily understood.
If students express they may have internet accessibility issues, contact them to make alternative arrangements.
And most importantly, take care of yourselves as well as you take care of your students.
“Our faculty has really stepped up to this challenge and is working together to make this move to all online courses,” Dr. Ernstberger said. “The professors are finding creative solutions for sharing course materials and how they'll work with our students.”
For more information or questions, contact Dr. Erstberger at jernstberger@lagrange.edu or Spratlin at aspratlin@lagrange.edu.
Women’s lacrosse head coach Katie Vautier is using all her resources to bring a successful and sustainable program to LaGrange College. Vautier’s outstanding playing career at York College and multiple experiences as an assistant coach make her the ideal person to be leading the Panthers.
Though the remainder of the Spring sports schedule was canceled, LC teams had their share of accomplishments:
The baseball team won 11 of its final 12 games, including a win over nationally ranked Emory.
Men’s lacrosse had its inaugural season, and freshman Tareyon Delgado tied for sixth in the USA South conference with 19 goals.
Freshman Abbey Gardner batted .390 with two home runs and 10 RBIs, while also posting a 4-0 record pitching.
The golf team won the Callaway Intercollegiate Invitational, with junior Sam Rogers winning the individual title.
The latest information on college’s response to COVID-19 can be found at lagrange.edu/virus. The site also features links to helpful resources.
They might be practicing alone or in an ensemble, preparing for a musical theater production or singing in the Chamber Choir; Music students at LaGrange are given the instruction and the encouragement to turn dreams into careers.
LaGrange College moving to online courses - LaGrange Daily News, March 16, 2020
Category: College
Keywords: online-learning
