Brett Swain |Staff writerOrganization skills are something every student and professor has to have in order to succeed in academia. The COVID–19 pandemic has caused everyone to transition to online classes. Students and professors have had to learn and teach in a different platform that they might of not have been used to. Learning and teaching from home may have been easy for some, but others have struggled.Pamela Hayward, a professor in the Department of Communication, says it has been a challenge for faculty, especially those who had not taught virtually before this spring.“I have taught a class in a hybrid style a few times before, but this spring was my first time going fully online with a course," she said. "I found it challenging because I know there is a lot written about best practices for online instruction and I have attended a few training sessions over the years. What made our transition difficult is that we needed to work with the face-to-face class we had already started and convert it to an online course.”Hayward, who us teaching Health Communication online this summer, said the transition was difficult because of the classes were face-to-face. She stated that she live-streamed to give her students a feeling of normalcy and to maintain interaction the best way possible under these conditions.Find out more of Dr. Hayward’s experience here: Professor Pamela Hayward on virtual instruction.Kassandra Owen, junior art major, said her major does not necessarily lend itself to virtual learning.“It was pretty tough, especially being an art major," she said. "With most of our stuff being in studio and then losing that access brought a new challenge to our assignments. It helped me be (stricter) on getting my assignments done and made me more accountable.”Owen adds that she wouldn’t recommend that art majors take online art classes, but that it did teach her valuable lessons.Tamaria Alexander, senior communication major, shared her thoughts over the online transition.
“I was a little apprehensive transitioning to a fully online curriculum for the remainder of this semester," Alexander said. "I really enjoy face-to-face instruction and began to feel cheated or even robbed out of my learning experience. I was worried about the virtual calls, and how class time would be affected. The whole concept of the transition gave me a lot of anxiety. There were a lot of unknowns and many things were up in the air.”When Augusta University was suspended for two weeks, students and professors had no idea what to do. It was a unique time where everyone was in the same boat. Hayward also mentioned these concerns.“To be honest, as much as I was concerned about moving online, I found that my students and I actually had fun with it most class periods because we all kept a sense of humor about the situation," Hayward said. "I also know I was able to up my technology game by teaching myself, learning from colleagues, and also learning from my students. My students have everything to do with why this all worked out despite some challenges and frustrations.”Alexander also mentioned some tips to better be organized with online classes.“My tips to become better organized is to set a routine," she said. "Establishing a routine, to me, is the best way to stay organized: waking up the same time every day, eating, working out, going to class, doing homework. During the quarantine, I ensured to schedule out parts of my day for school and removed myself from high trafficked areas if possible (like the living room or kitchen). Be sure to keep a steady pace, sometimes we overwhelm ourselves by doing too much at one time. I find the best way to deal with big tasks is to divide it up into smaller tasks. That way you are doing two things: chipping away at achieving your goal and giving yourself a boost by completing a task.”Jerry Oliver Jr., the program supervisor at the Academic Success Center, gives five tips to students: (1) Set a schedule; (2) organize your space; (3) don’t wait to the last minute; (4) don’t hesitate to ask for help, and (5) dig deeper into the material.Candis Bond, director of the AU Writing Center, said setting goals is crucial.“Think of productivity in terms of goals, lists and blocks of time. At the start of summer, set your big, long-term goals,” Bond said.Bond also mentions to reflect on the work after its done.“Reflecting is a form of meta-cognition, and it can help you develop a personalized writing style or work process that makes the most of the time and skills and quirks you have," she said. "In other words, increasing your self-awareness so you can improve your process each time you tackle a new task.”Communication senior Josh Epps made a video for staying on task with online classes. In the video, Josh suggested that students maintain a schedule. He also suggested that students download an app called Pulse. Pulse is an app that allows students to connect to D2L and have notifications when a professor post on it. He also suggested a checklist. The checklist is for students to keep themselves accountable."For better or for worse, this season is another chapter in your story," Epps says in the video. "Even when it doesn't feel fair, we still have the opportunity to make beautiful new memories, a need to be well, and an opportunity to connect with others. Make the most of this chapter and remember, a new one is starting soon. We're just waiting on the turn of a page."To see the entirety of Epps's video, click the link here:Tips to Improve Quality of Life During Quarantine by Josh Epps. Contact Brett Swain at bswain@augusta.edu.