The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of a mid-wark of the semester. From the uncertainty of the impact COVID-19 would have on spring break, to the movement of remote learning prior to break, and extended after break, to then the notification to move out of the dorms and finish the semester online. Now, students are told that their move out time has been deferred until a later date due to NY states PAUSE executive order.

 As students, there is a readjustment period, for many of us, it’s emptying the dorm rooms and adjusting to life back at home. Whether it’s finding a place to study, or fighting over the wifi with your working parents and online schooling sibling, it’s a new balance that has to be attained. 

The resources readily available have been shifted onto online platforms and the usage of academic resources such as blackboard and zoom have become more prevalent. 

Not only does the switch to remote learning impact the students, but administrators, instructors and professors have all had to readjust their own tactics. 

Many hands-on experiential learning courses, such as Anatomy and Physiology labs or Film courses have to be completely reworked because of the lack of access to materials that is typically utilized in the class. Some instructors may have spent hours typing all their notes up, or decided to pre-record multiple lectures and others may have been in charge of leading their whole departmental shift onto this online platform. 

Then there’s always those who have barely ever touched the new sources of technology and spent their own spring break trying to understand how to make use of the academic source of blackboard. 

Although online courses are becoming more popular, it’s important to acknowledge that many professors have never taught online and many courses have not been designed to be taught online. 

Specifically, certain classes had assignments and projects that can no longer be obtained in the remote learning format, resulting in complete changes to the syllabus of many courses. 

A spring break may have been scheduled for last week, but many professors and administrators spent their break uploading resources needed to help their students and colleagues succeed.

Away from the academics, these are the same professors that are at home with their families, like many of us are with our own. They may have children to attend, or other family to take care of.    

So as much as a learning curve this may be for all of the students and the difficulties remote learning may present. Professors and University faculty have spent a tremendous amount of time, effort and patience with us during this time, so it’s important as students that we show the same amount to them.