OW students have no choice but to adapt to the college’s shift to remote learning to finish the spring semester. Yet many students feel their workload just got a bit harder. For instance, Tandra Young, a childhood special education major, said the online classes are not for her, “This has been the worst transition for me and many other people that I know from school. I have never liked online classes, I can’t focus, I’d much rather be in class.” Young said that she is fearing for her GPA; she is taking a math class, and online does not work for her because the best way to retain information and be motivated is by taking a face to face course.
Ryan McMillen, a history professor, has been teaching online and in-person classes for quite some time. He said online format is not the easiest transition to make for students who prefer in-person classes and want more class interaction. McMillen understands what those students are facing, and he is committed to support and guide them in any way possible through the semester.
On a different level, everyone from OW is affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. For the students, they are confronted with various challenges dealing with the new transition. “I can manage easily and I’m very adaptable and flexible to the transition, [online classes] haven’t been hard so far,” said media and communication major Ishari Bishop. Though, Bishop is still experiencing other challenges such as being worried every time someone steps out of her home or when her mom goes to stock up on groceries she said, “The virus itself is more challenging to me than the transition to online schooling.”
In addition, McMillen said his students are dealing with different experiences with the transition and the coronavirus epidemic; some of his students are first responders, who work in the field of health care during this tough time, and other students have lost multiple relatives or have sick relatives. In terms of making his students comfortable, McMillen told his students that the most important thing right now is to be aware of what is going in the world and in their lives right now.
Professor McMillen is doing his best to be there for his students and get them through their courses by not trying to make the work seem punitive but rather something enjoyable. He said, “This is the time for me to help you [students] through the course and not necessarily stand there and worry about due dates…this is a totally extraordinary situation and I try to be there for the students as something fun to do each week.”
Ozgur Akgun, OWTV multimedia manager and a lecturer in the American Studies/Media and Communications Department, said even if professors are trying to adapt their courses to online learning, their students are missing an important component of video and TV production, which is collaborating together while using actual video and TV studio equipment. To make sure students are not losing important material for those classes, Akgun said SUNY Old Westbury college will be offering additional workshops the fall to help students gain more experience at the TV studio.
Moving to the online environment, students, as well as professors, are facing various challenges. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, all of New York’s four-year public universities and community colleges have shifted most in-person classes online, and nearly all of the state’s K-12 school districts have closed. And many parents overnight have become homeschool teachers. Professor Akgun, who is also a parent like many other professors, is trying to not only adapt to online classes and be there for his students in the middle of these new circumstances, he said, but also to assist his young daughter with her education. Despite all challenges, Akgun said, “We are trying our best to focus on the positive sides of this unfortunate situation.”
