Posted on Friday, April 03, 2020
When Dr. Christi Hu, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, started looking for a good platform for online education, she found one in a most unusual place.
“We are using Discord, which has been used in the gaming community for a while,” she said. “Gamers use it to coordinate and communicate with each other.”
Dr. Stephanie Thomas, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science, said the format is working out well.
“It's typically used in the gaming community to live-stream game play and to have group discussions among gamers,” she said. “Christi, several students and myself were already using Discord before our transition online, so it seemed like a good way to utilize a free platform that many of us already knew.”
Dr. Thomas explained the program allows for different “rooms” to be set up for various uses.
“We have classrooms for each of our classes where we livestream the courses and share information with our students,” she said. “We have our own offices so students can pop in with questions, and we’ve held our advising sessions there.”
Dr. Hu said they have been able replicate class interaction online as much as possible.
“For class, we can live stream our computer screens to show Power Point presentations, videos or even applications that allow for writing on the screen,” she said. “Stephanie uses her tablet to write out statistical math problems during class. Students can use their laptop cameras for face-to-face communication.”
They also have a professors-only chat and voice channel.
“This has helped us communicate constantly and make sure we aren’t dropping anything important,” Dr. Hu said. “Additionally, it’s helped with our personal socialization. We often chitchat between classes, and I very much miss that. With this program, we can keep in contact much easier.”
Melanie Prater ’20 is conducting weekly tutoring sessions through the platform.
“We also meet in study groups,” she said. “And I can still talk to my classmates, even though we can’t see each other face to face.”
Supporting student social needs is one of the most important aspects of the platform, Dr. Thomas said.
“Part of the college environment is interacting with other students, having meaningful conversations, getting help or simply venting to someone who understands,” she said. “Some of our classes are difficult, and attempting to understand them in isolation can be very daunting. A system like Discord is literally made for connecting people.”
The professors have set up general chats, a “lighten-the-mood” chat that features a lot of funny memes and a social channel for trivia and movie nights.
“They are working hard to keep us all together as a community,” Melanie said. “Events like this have made this transition much easier by keeping everyone in contact and having fun together.”
Vocal students from the studios of Dr. Toni Anderson and Dr. Andrea Mueller Jarmon made LC history by claiming 12 finalist spots at the 2020 Southeastern Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing student auditions. The event was initially scheduled to be March 19-21 at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro but was hosted online because of the COVID-19 crisis. Students from colleges across Georgia, Alabama and Florida competed in the event. Being named a finalist qualifies singers to enter the YouTube round of the NATS National Student Auditions. Winners were Freshmen Men (Musical Theatre) – Jared McGregor, second place, and Charles Dean, finalist; Sophomore Men (Musical Theatre) – Dean Kivotidis, third place, and Colby Bell, finalist; Sophomore Women (Musical Theatre) –Lauren Hicks, semi-finalist; Junior Women (musical theatre) – Jaylynn Mangual, third place; Junior Men (Musical Theatre) – Landon Bell, second place, and Kyle Hildebrand, third place; Senior Women (Musical Theatre) – Abigail Young, first place, and Laine Fletcher, semi-finalist; Freshmen Women (Classical) –Stephanie Nix, finalist; Sophomore Men (Classical) –Dean Kivotidis, first place; and Junior Men (Classical) – Kyle Hildebrand, third place.
In partnership with the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an app and website have been released that guides Americans through a series of questions about their health and exposure to determine if they should seek care for COVID-19 symptoms. The tool provides CDC recommendations on next steps including guidance on social distancing and self-isolating, how to closely monitor symptoms, recommendations on testing and when to contact a medical provider.
Stay informed on the college’s response to COVID-19 on our website. It includes a list of all public announcements, as well as other resources for more information.
Sophomore Makala Red led the women’s tennis team this spring. Red had a 3-1 record playing at #5 and #6 singles. Red and #3 doubles partner Hannah Miller won their final spring match against Transylvania.
What's your new normal? Show us your workspace, share some advice or some humor. Tell us more at newnormal@lagrange.edu.
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Category: Academics, Faculty, College
Keywords: online education psychological science Discord
