On March 23, Millikin University started back up after taking an extended spring break due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
The faculty took the extra week break to devise plans for an all online instruction plan for students.
Millikin has always pushed their emphasis on performance learning, and this fact has made the transition head scratching as many professors and adjuncts try to create lesson plans with the same impact that can be completed from home.
“Switching to online is challenging enough but what makes it extremely more challenging is the larger context in which we are doing this,” said Dr. Nancy Curtin, Communication Professor and department head of the Communication department at Millikin.
Curtin said one of the hardest parts of the switch is thinking about her students’ physical, psychological, and emotional health during these uncertain times.
Despite the hardships that have come, there can always be some good takeaways.
According to Curtin, there are some benefits to the switch: it pushes faculty to think of new and creative ways to deliver information, it has helped with community building as faculty have been sharing ideas, tips and tricks through a facebook page, and Millikin has been wanting to offer more online classes.
This incident forced the faculty to learn quickly and Curtin can envision more online classes to be offered now, especially in winter and summer sessions.
Faculty at Millikin have been encouraged to use a video conferencing service called Zoom to help connect with students and help with the online instruction as well as using Moodle, an open-source learning platform, to let students access assignments.
The switch to all online learning wasn’t what any professor at Millikin wanted but they have taken the steps to turn an issue into an opportunity. Millikin University will continue to use all online learning through the remainder of the semester.
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