Many universities offer campus experiences to students for at least part of their education. Students can choose from hybrid or blended programs that offer a combination of online and in-person learning. Students should be able to switch between formats during high infection rates. This will make these programs more effective.
It is important to plan how the online components will work if campuses have to close suddenly.
To get their feedback, I asked them to evaluate their online educational experiences. Although most are English majors they are diverse in many ways: first-generation college students, not first-generation, single parents, people of color, people of different religions, foreign (one of my students hails from Germany), others with learning disabilities, veterans, and those with learning disabilities.
There are certain categories I have missed. However, all are digital natives, the generation that is addicted to their smartphones and screens. There is no presumption of bias or unfamiliarity regarding the digital world.
Ironically, students reiterated Plato’s critique of writing over the face-to-face discussion. Socrates said that if you ask an inanimate object (in this instance, a piece or painting), a question, you won’t get an answer. It will keep telling you the same thing for as long as you wait. Ask a video, a question, or listen to a podcast and it won’t respond.
It won’t allow you to engage it in dialog, and Socrates said that dialogue — challenging ideas, arguing, and counterargument — is where true education occurs.
In every response, this key point is reiterated: Students missed human interaction. This is the key difference.
This is crucial because it makes me and others more attentive when I am in the same room with the teacher. It’s easier to understand what they’re saying when you can see their body language.