The transition to full online classes has not been an easy one. Many teachers were not prepared for the unexpected change and therefore, had a hard time adapting to the new normal.

Dr. Leslie Jones, professor of Biology, stated that the new way of teaching takes more time.

“I spend all day on the computer,” Dr. Jones said. “First, it was writing these new lessons, then explaining them and working with my TAs who do grading for one class.”

Even though online classes are time consuming, Dr. Jones enjoys thinking of ways to create good learning experiences. She also enjoys the fact that she does not have to be cognizant of her facial expressions when responding to students.

“The other thing I like is when someone says something really ridiculous in an email, I do not have to keep a straight face like I would if they said it directly to me,” Dr. Jones said. “Do they really think we believe those excuses when we have heard them all so many times?”

All in all, she misses seeing students’ faces as well as interacting with them.

“I enjoy lecturing and their faces indicate whether or not they understand,” Dr. Jones said. “I would rather speak to people than write all of these emails.”

Professors are not the only staff and faculty members dealing with this change. Advisors have faced a couple of challenges as well now that advising is fully online.

Elaina Walker, academic advisor for the college of Humanities and Social Sciences, stated that her transition to online advising was decent.

“I was prepared in the sense that I had a working model for how I advise students who are in two of my online programs,” Walker said. “However, I was not prepared for the high volume of emails. I am still trying to work through the backlog of emails.”

While the teachers and students are still adjusting to online classes, we all can’t help but wonder if online classes will become the new normal.

Written by Breannia Stillwell, Staff Writer. Photo Courtesy of  pexels. 

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