Moving College Online Brings New Challenges to Provide Quality Education
by Josiah Navarro
(OMAHA, Neb.)- On March 13, 2020, the University of Nebraska at Omaha joined over 100 colleges across the United States in moving all courses to an online format due to the spread of COVID-19.
“I keep telling my friends and my family all the time it’s like, I feel like we’re living in a post-apocalyptic world,” says junior communications major Jacob Thimjon.
Such a move is unprecedented, and Thimjon says this change does not come without its difficulties.
“The bummer part about going online totally, you kind of just don’t have that access when you can just walk in and still say like, oh, can you help me with this?” says Thimjon.
While the transition to online classes was expected, keeping the same level of quality education can prove difficult for certain classes that depend on in-person activities.
University of Nebraska at Omaha professor Dr. Chris Allen expresses these concerns.
“How do you teach ceramics online? How do you teach painting techniques online? How do you teach acting and movement online?” says Dr. Allen.
Many classes have utilized video conferencing programs and online discussions to communicate with students, but according to a 2018 Sage Journals study, almost 20 percent of college students have trouble accessing the necessary technology.
Dr. Allen also adds that a strong part of the learning process is the social atmosphere of being around other students and peers.
“They’re used to coming to class, to chatting with your classmates, to comparing notes, to grouping notes or you know, whatever you do,” says Dr. Allen.
With these unprecedented events forcing colleges to go fully online, Dr. Allen believes this will impact the way colleges conduct their classes even after this crisis is over, perhaps adapting even further to an online format.
“The push is going to be even stronger after all of this,” says Allen.
