JAMES MEAD
Web Editor
In the 48 hours since SUNY Fredonia announced its shift to distance learning for the spring semester, massive changes have been developing in how classes function.
At the center of it all is OnCourse, the campus’s learning management system and Fredonia’s version of an open-source system called Moodle.
Faculty have been instructed to communicate with students no later than March 23 about their intent to continue instruction through it, and all classes that are able to proceed online are expected to now run primarily through OnCourse.
With the sudden dependence on it, the school has prioritized verifying the system’s stability and providing education to faculty who want more experience using it.
Lisa Melohusky, the Online Learning Coordinator, manages OnCourse — including training the faculty, troubleshooting, reviewing new online courses and helping to set up online programs.
However, in light of this switch, her first task has been establishing open sessions for faculty and staff to visit for any assistance needed.
Melohusky said, “[In response to the switch to digital learning] we stopped everything except for online training…so we are all support right now.”
Forming an impromptu staff to help organize the training, faculty and staff across departments volunteered as instructors.
The goal of the open sessions (which occurred last Thursday and Friday) was not only to provide assistance, but also to discover what approaches faculty wanted to take for adapting their courses.
“Most of the individuals who have come have looked at their syllabus and decided what is the most critical piece,” Melohusky said. “So we’re listening to them to find out what tools they think they need, and obviously helping them at that point, but that’s how we develop the next set of training schedules.”
The next set of training schedules, anticipated to occur from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20, will help faculty gain experience using specific tools.
[UPDATE 3:51 p.m., 3/16/2020: According to a recent Google Doc which lists the digital instruction training schedule, starting Tuesday, March 17 all faculty training sessions will be held virtually using Collaborate Ultra.]
One such tool that many faculty are anticipated to rely on for their courses is Collaborate Ultra.
Despite Collaborate Ultra only recently coming into attention for many on campus, Melohusky says that SUNY Fredonia has had it for roughly 10 years (also under its previous name, Illuminate Live).
Students may have already seen their professors begin testing this feature, which allows instructors and students to interact in real-time through computer web-cams.
According to Blackboard, the company that owns Collaborate Ultra, the tool also “lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact.”
Another tool that faculty are anticipated to use is Panopto.
Panopto is a video content management software that allows educators to not only live-stream, but also to record videos for students to view on demand, similarly to YouTube, but integrated with OnCourse.
According to Melohusky, “Some [faculty] are looking at making five to seven minute videos, to intro different topics.”
Course use of Panopto should not introduce any learning curves for students.
Faculty may use it for video creation and organization, but students will likely just see the video content available through OnCourse similarly to any other resource.
Overall, the school is trying to limit the number of new tools which students are introduced to, in order to minimize their adjustment to distance learning.
“[That] it is not an extra burden on the student, that is our top goal,” said Melohusky.
Some departments, such as world languages and cultures, have already requested scheduled meetings with the Office of Online Learning to discuss their unique needs.
“I’d like to give them a solution that they can use for all of their students, especially their majors,” Melohusky continued, “so it’s the same tool over and over again.”
Ultimately, however, how faculty choose to implement distance learning appears to be largely at their own discretion.
“You may see an increase in the use of Google Tools,” said Melohusky, “So Google Drive, Google Hangouts, maybe Google Classroom, but they’re all things that are built into your Google Suite already.”
For courses that choose to include those programs, the programs are still expected to be integrated into OnCourse, likely through the use of redirection links.
“Our goal is to keep everyone in OnCourse,” said Melohusky.
One question that students may have on their mind is the status of OnCourse gradebooks.
Because OnCourse is becoming such an integral part of the school’s plans for remote learning, it is likely also becoming a more integral part of students’ feedback on their class performance.
However, according to a cabinet meeting with Interim President Dennis Hefner, (prior to Governor Cuomo’s announcement about distance learning) 80 percent of professors at Fredonia have been using OnCourse, but only 54 percent have been inputting grades.
Although the Student Association has been preparing to discuss ways to increase the use of OnCourse grades, that process will likely be affected by the current situation.
We have reached out to the Student Association about their plans and will provide updates when we receive more information.
Gradebook workshops for faculty are scheduled for the end of this week, and more updates will be coming as to whether the school plans to prioritize their usage this semester.
For specific information as to how your department will be handling the switch to distance learning, we encourage you to visit the “Students: Guidelines for Instruction” page on SUNY Fredonia’s website. Professors will be reaching out regarding individual classes.
The ITS Service Center is expected to assist with all technical student questions regarding OnCourse. They can be reached at (716) 673-3407 or ITS.ServiceCenter@fredonia.edu.
[UPDATE 3:55 p.m., 3/16/2020: ITS has posted this Google Doc with general information about available services for faculty and students.]