Moving from in-class instruction to online is the best response Camosun College possibly could have given to the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety and well-being of those who walk Camosun’s campuses are more important than ever before. Naysayers will argue that moving from in-class instruction is going to hurt student learning, and that students will not get the best education they require. But this is no ordinary time. There is a worldwide crisis. No one is immune. If that means closing classrooms and going to online instruction, so be it.
Camosun College is a mini global community, where each program is like a different country. The students are the citizens. The COVID-19 virus does not discriminate between borders. If Camosun didn’t execute these changes when it did, it wouldn’t be “if” COVID-19 comes to Camosun, it would be “when.” It’s better to be safe than sorry. Although a major disruption, the move to online instruction is the best thing the college could have done. I don’t want to worry about my classmates or myself encountering this virus.
I must admit I am concerned about how online classes would affect my hands-on learning, especially in my Digital Production, Writing and Design class. The class requires students to work in groups and to produce videos. Students sign out camera kits, audio equipment, and tripods to help them create their work. Not having access to the devices makes it difficult to do any group project. But I am wrong to think I need the equipment to learn. Ingenuity is what makes things happen.
Fortunately, we have a lot of ingenious instructors at Camosun. Look at the college’s Facebook page: there is a photo of a Carpentry teacher applying online teaching to first-year students. There are other instructors working with the college’s IT support to make the course requirements available to students off campus.
But what about the students who depended on using the computers at school to do the course work? How do they access online learning? The college library has an answer to that question: they are lending out laptops for students to use to finish their course work.
And what about how the college prepares us to be responsible by showing up to class? How are we to do that if our instruction is only online? How does this affect my attendance? Yes, school is like a business. The students are the employees. Like any work environment, there is a contract between the school and the student to show up to class. College prepares us by making us responsible for ourselves and our instructors. But is that reality? Not everyone will be working in an office behind a desk or on a job site.
The truth of the matter is that there is no one, right way to learn.
As I write this, I feel as if I am a character in a science fiction movie. As more and more Canadians are affected by this virus, it’s prudent that everyone is self-isolating and practicing social distancing. By moving instruction online, the college did the right thing: it forced us to stay home.