adjustment in online class essay

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 21 December 2020

Transitioning to the “new normal” of learning in unpredictable times: pedagogical practices and learning performance in fully online flipped classrooms

• Khe Foon Hew   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4149-533X 1 ,
• Chengyuan Jia 1 ,
• Donn Emmanuel Gonda 1 &
• Shurui Bai 1  

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education volume  17 , Article number:  57 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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The COVID-19 outbreak has compelled many universities to immediately switch to the online delivery of lessons. Many instructors, however, have found developing effective online lessons in a very short period of time very stressful and difficult. This study describes how we successfully addressed this crisis by transforming two conventional flipped classes into fully online flipped classes with the help of a cloud-based video conferencing app. As in a conventional flipped course, in a fully online flipped course students are encouraged to complete online pre-class work. But unlike in the conventional flipped approach, students do not subsequently meet face-to-face in physical classrooms, but rather online. This study examines the effect of fully online flipped classrooms on student learning performance in two stages. In Stage One, we explain how we drew on the 5E framework to design two conventional flipped classes. The 5E framework consists of five phases—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. In Stage Two, we describe how we transformed the two conventional flipped classes into fully online flipped classes. Quantitative analyses of students’ final course marks reveal that the participants in the fully online flipped classes performed as effectively as participants in the conventional flipped learning classes. Our qualitative analyses of student and staff reflection data identify seven good practices for videoconferencing - assisted online flipped classrooms.

Introduction

“It’s now painfully clear that schools ought to have had more robust disaster-preparedness plans in place in the event of interruptions in their campus operations. But because many schools did not have such plans in place…online learning is about to get a bad reputation at many campuses, I suspect.” Michael Horn, cited in Lederman ( 2020 ), ‘Inside Higher Ed’.

In early January 2020, scientists identified a new infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to schools and universities. According to UNESCO, as of April 10, 2020, more than 188 countries had implemented nationwide school and university closures, impacting over 91% of the world’s student population (UNESCO n.d.).

During these school closures, all face-to-face lessons were cancelled, compelling many institutions, including our own university, to immediately transition from face-to-face in-person learning to completely online lessons. The abrupt switch to fully online learning has been particularly stressful for many instructors and students who prefer in-person instruction. Online learning is often stigmatized as a weaker option that provides a lower quality education than in-person face-to-face learning (Hodges et al. 2020 ). Indeed, such negative attitudes to fully online learning were revealed by a large EDUCAUSE survey (Pomerantz and Brooks 2017 ). The survey of 11,141 faculty members from 131 U.S. institutions found that only 9% of faculty prefer to teach a fully online course. In other words, a whopping 91% of faculty do not wish to teach in a completely online environment. Students’ opinions of fully online courses are not much better; a recent student survey by EDUCAUSE of more than 40,000 students across 118 American universities revealed that as many as 70% of the respondents mostly or completely prefer face-to-face learning environments (Gierdowski 2019 ).

Clearly, many faculty members and students do not see the value of fully online learning, despite the fact that online learning has been around for many decades. During the current health crisis, many instructors have had to improvise quick online learning solutions (Hodges et al. 2020 ). For example, in our own university, there are anecdotal reports of a myriad of emergency online methods. Some instructors, for example, merely uploaded their PowerPoint slides or papers onto a learning management system such as Moodle and asked students to read them on their own. Any questions were asked asynchronously on the Moodle forum. Other instructors recorded their own lectures (usually at least one hour long) and asked students to asynchronously watch the video lectures and then ask individual questions later. Still others talked for more than two hours via synchronous video platforms watched by students in their own homes. Although these online methods may be an efficient method of delivering content, they are not particularly effective in promoting active learning and interest (Bates and Galloway 2012 ). As one student remarked, “Sitting in front of my computer to watch a 2-h live lecture without any active learning activities such as group work is pretty boring!” Indeed, without any active learning activities such as peer interaction, a fully online course will feel more like an interactive book than a classroom (Sutterlin 2018 ).

Well-planned active online learning lessons are markedly different from the emergency online teaching offered in response to a crisis (Hodges et al. 2020 ). One promising strategy for promoting online active learning is the fully online flipped classroom pedagogical approach, hereafter referred to as the online flipped classroom approach. An online flipped classroom is a variant of the conventional flipped model. A conventional flipped classroom model consists of online learning of basic concepts before class, followed by face-to-face learning activities (Bishop and Verleger 2013 ). The conventional flipped model has become very popular in recent years due to its association with active learning, which emphasizes students’ active learning (Xiu and Thompson 2020 ). Active learning activities such as peer discussions can help students construct better understandings of the subject material (Deslauriers et al. 2019 ). Recent meta-analyses have provided consistent overall support for the superiority of the conventional flipped classroom approach over traditional learning for enhancing student learning (e.g., Låg and Sæle 2019 ; Lo and Hew 2019 ; Shi et al. 2019 ; van Alten et al. 2019 ).

The online flipped classroom is similar to the conventional flipped classroom model in that students are encouraged to prepare for class by completing some pre-class activities (e.g., watching video lectures, completing quizzes). However, unlike the conventional flipped classroom approach, students in online flipped classrooms do not meet face-to-face, but online (Stohr et al. 2020 ). Although the online flipped classroom appears to be gathering momentum in higher education, very few studies have examined its effectiveness (for an exception, see Stohr et al. 2020 , who compared the online flipped classroom format with a conventional non-flipped teaching format). So far, we are not cognizant of any research that evaluated the efficacy of the fully online flipped classroom relative to the conventional flipped classroom. Establishing the effectiveness of online flipped classrooms is important, as practitioners need to know whether this active learning approach can be used during prolonged school closures.

Against this backdrop, this study compares the effects of online flipped classrooms versus conventional flipped classrooms on student learning outcomes. To this end, two conventional flipped classes in the Faculty of Education are transformed into online flipped classrooms. Students in both the online and flipped classes participated in the online pre-class activity asynchronously using a learning management system. However, students in the online flipped classes joined the online in-class learning synchronously using a video conferencing app whereas their counterparts in the conventional flipped classes attended face-to-face classes. The online flipped courses were designed using the 5E conceptual framework and used a cloud-based video conferencing app. We used the Zoom application after careful consideration of many different videoconferencing platforms. Our reasons for doing so are given in the Section of “Stage Two: Transforming conventional flipped classes into online flipped classes”.

The 5E framework consists of five phases—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate (Bybee et al. 2006 ).

Engage—The first phase aims to engage students in the learning process. Methods to engage students usually include using a real-world scenario, or problem, asking students questions that allow them to brainstorm or think critically, and helping them to create connections to their past experiences.

Explore—In the exploration phase, the teacher, who works as a facilitator or coach, gives the students time and opportunity to explore the content and construct their own understanding of the topic at hand.

Explain—This phase starts with students attempting to explain specific aspects of the engagement and exploration experiences. Based on these explanations, the teacher introduces terminology in a direct and explicit manner to facilitate concept building.

Elaborate—In this phase, the teacher provided more detailed information about the subject content through the use of mini lectures and/or whole class discussions. Students are also given the opportunity to apply what they have learned and receive feedback from the teacher and their peers.

Evaluate—Formative assessments (e.g., quizzes) can be used to evaluate students’ mastery of the subject material at the beginning and throughout the 5E phases, and teachers can complete a summative assessment after the elaboration phase (e.g., final exams).

We adopted the 5E framework for the following reasons. First, the 5E framework, which is based on various educational theories and models (e.g., Herbart’s instructional model, Dewey’s instructional model, Atkin-Karplus Learning Cycle) (Bybee et al. 2006 ), provides a sound instructional sequence for designing a course and planning activities. The 5E framework can help instructors organize and integrate both the in-class and out-of-class learning activities (Lo 2017 ).

Second, previous research has shown the positive effect of the 5E framework on student achievement. These positive effects were initially established in science education (e.g., Akar 2005 ; Boddy et al. 2003 ). Recently, the 5E model has yielded positive results when applied to various subject areas and when used to design inquiry- and interaction-based learning activities. Mullins ( 2017 ), for example, found that undergraduate students in a 5E-supported class outperformed their peers in a traditional lecture setting. Hew et al. ( 2018 ) designed two postgraduate courses based on the 5E model in order to foster students’ active learning. Ninety-two percent of the participants agreed that the 5E supported courses were more engaging than traditional classroom instruction.

The rest of this paper is structured as follows. First, we describe our study design and methodology. This is followed by a description of our two stages of research. In Stage One, we explain how we use the 5E framework to design our two conventional flipped classes; In Stage Two, we describe how we transformed the two conventional flipped classes into fully online flipped classes, using a cloud-based video conferencing app. We describe the various pedagogical practices that Zoom videoconferencing can facilitate before and during online flipped classes. In this paper, we use the term “pedagogical practices” to refer to specific activities that are used to structure teaching and learning. This study is guided by the following two questions.

What effect does the change from a conventional flipped classroom format to an online flipped format have on student learning performance?

What are the good practices for videoconferencing - assisted online flipped classrooms, as perceived by students and/or teaching staff?

This study was conducted in a large public Asian university. Four classes were involved: (a) conventional flipped Course 1, (b) conventional flipped Course 2, (c) online flipped Course 1, and (d) online flipped Course 2. Conventional flipped Courses 1 and 2 were the control group. Online flipped Courses 1 and 2 were the experimental group. To avoid any potential instructor confounding bias, the same professor and teaching assistants (TAs) taught the conventional and online flipped formats of each class. Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at the University of Hong Kong and consent forms from all participants in the study were collected.

Data collection and analysis

To reiterate, this study had two purposes: (a) to determine the effect of an online flipped classroom on student learning performance as determined by student final course marks, and (b) to determine good practices for videoconferencing - assisted online flipped classrooms, as perceived by the participants (students and teaching staff). We adopted a mixed methods involving quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a deeper understanding of the research problem (Ivankova et al. 2006 ).

The data collection spanned across two semesters, which corresponded to the aforementioned two stages of the research. The conventional flipped classes were implemented in conventional flipped Courses 1 and 2 during the semester of 2019 Fall before the pandemic (Stage One). Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, all courses were required to be delivered online in our university in the 2020 Spring semester. Therefore, the online flipped classes were conducted in online flipped Courses 1 and 2 during the pandemic in 2020 Spring (Stage Two). Students’ knowledge and skills of the course content were checked at the beginning of the each course. Students final course marks in each course were collected and used as measure of the student learning outcomes at the end of the semester (See Fig.  1 for the research timeline).

Timeline of data collection: 2019 Fall (before the pandemic), 2020 Spring (during the pandemic)

To address the first purpose, we compared the students’ final course marks in the online flipped classrooms and conventional flipped classrooms. Quantitative data from 99 students were collected (see Table 1 ). We used the students’ final course marks to measure performance.

To identify the perceived good practices for videoconferencing - assisted online flipped classrooms, we invited students and the teaching staff to complete a self-reflection exercise based on the following question: “What do you perceive as good practices in a videoconferencing-supported online flipped classroom?” The qualitative data collected from students and instructors were analyzed as follows. The first step was an initial reading of all of the response data to obtain an overall impression. The first author then applied the grounded approach (Strauss and Corbin 1990 ) to the qualitative data to generate relevant codes. Similar codes were organized into themes. In order to increase the consistency of coding, several exemplary quotes that clearly illustrated each constructed theme were identified. We also allowed new themes (if any) to emerge inductively during the coding process. The second author coded the data. There was perfect agreement with the coding. Table 2 summarizes how the data for each research question were collected and analyzed.

Stage one: designing conventional flipped classes using the 5E framework

In this section, we first describe how we use the 5E framework to design our two conventional flipped classes (Course 1: E-Learning Strategies , and Course 2: Engaging Adult Learners ). In the next section, we describe how we transform these two conventional flipped classes into fully online flipped classes. Figure  2 shows the 5E framework that guided our design of the conventional flipped classes. Table 3 shows some of the teaching and learning activities used in each of the 5E phases.

5E framework used to design the two conventional flipped classes

Conventional flipped course 1: E-learning strategies

This course discussed the various e-learning strategies that can be employed to foster six types of learning, including problem-solving, attitude learning, factual learning, concept learning, procedural learning, and principle learning. There were eight sessions in the course. The first seven sessions were flipped—each consisting of an online pre-class learning component and a 3-h face-to-face in-class component. The last session was devoted to students’ presentations. Figure  3 shows an example of how the 5E framework was used in Course 1.

Example of a pre-class activity in Course 1

For instance, in the pre-class phase of Session 2: Instructional Design—Part 1 , we posted a video that posed the question “What do we mean by ‘understand’”. This video engaged students’ curiosity about the importance of writing clear and measurable learning objectives. The instructor in the video highlighted the pitfalls of using vague words such as “know” and “understand” when writing learning objectives. Students then explored and explained their own individual learning objectives using the ABCD model (audience, behavior, condition, degree). Students were able to use a mobile instant messaging (MIM) app such as WeChat to ask questions of their peers or instructor. When a message arrived, a notification appeared on the receiver’s phone screen, encouraging timely feedback and frequent interaction (Rosenfeld et al. 2018 ).

During the face-to-face in-class session, the instructor re-engaged students’ attention by discussing basic instructional design issues such as “How do we write good lesson objectives?” The instructor conducted short debriefing sessions to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of students’ pre-class work. The instructor also facilitated class or small group discussions to build students’ understanding of how to write measurable lesson objectives that help students to achieve specific learning outcomes (e.g., factual learning). These discussions allowed students to elaborate on good lesson objectives practices. To evaluate the students’ understanding, the instructor asked them to work in groups of four on an instructional design scenario (e.g., teaching participants how to deal with angry customers), and then write a learning objective for the lesson in an online forum; their peers then commented on the posted learning objectives (Fig.  4 ).

Example of an in-class activity in Course 1

Conventional flipped course 2: engaging adult learners

This course discussed the key principles of adult learning, as well as strategies used in adult education (e.g., transformational learning theory). There were eight sessions in the course, each session lasted three hours. An example of how the 5E instructional model was used is shown in Fig.  5 .

Example of a pre-class activity in Course 2

For example, in the pre-class session for Session 3: Motivation, we uploaded a four-minute video that briefly described the concepts of reinforcement and punishment. The aim of the video was to engage students’ attention on the focal topic. To help students explore the topic in further, they were asked to respond to the following question: “After watching the video, can you think of other positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers, and punishment methods?” Students posted their opinions ( explained ) on a discussion forum. Students also used the WeChat app to ask questions of their peers or instructor.

During the subsequent face-to-face lesson (Fig.  6 ), the instructor facilitated whole class discussions using relevant questions to elaborate on the topics covered in the pre-class video. An example of a question used was ‘When should we employ positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or punishment?’ Based on the students’ responses, the instructor was able to provide more in-depth explanation of the subject matter, or correct any student misunderstanding. This will help enhance students’ comprehension of the subject content. The instructor also discussed the notion of intrinsic motivation (e.g., the self-determination theory). In addition to elaborating on the content, the instructor also evaluated the students’ understanding by asking students to complete small group discussion activities. An example of a small group discussion activity was ‘Did you have any experience where you did not like learning a subject or doing an activity? How would you motivate yourself in that situation? Please try to use a mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors.’ Upon completion of the small group activity, students from each group presented their views to the whole class. The instructor, as well as the rest of the classmates provided feedback.

Example of an in-class activity in Course 2

Stage two: transforming conventional flipped classes into online flipped classes

The outbreak of COVID-19 inspired us to transform the two conventional flipped classes discussed above into fully online flipped classes. After careful consideration, the Zoom videoconferencing app was used for the synchronized online meetings (see Table 4 ). The whole transformation process took about one week with the bulk of the time was spent on exploring and testing the features of Zoom.

Zoom is a Web videoconferencing service that allows users to communicate online with individuals in real time via computer, tablet, or mobile device. We chose Zoom because of its ease of use (Kim 2017 ; Sutterlin 2018 ), its lower bandwidth requirements (Sutterlin 2018 ), and its ability to record and store sessions without recourse to third-party software (Archibald et al. 2019 ). More importantly, Zoom was chosen because its functions could easily support the implementation of our online flipped classroom. For instance, it allows instructors to easily create breakout rooms for group discussions. It also makes team-teaching possible by allowing more than one host and giving all of the hosts administrative capabilities such as sharing screens and remote control over shared screens (Johnston 2020 ).

To keep our online meetings secure, we activated the “ only authenticated users can join ” option. Specifically, we only allowed participants using our own university’s email domain to join the online meetings. In addition, we enabled the “ waiting room ” feature so that we could screen all of participants in the “ waiting room ” and admit only students officially enrolled in our classes into the online meeting. After all of the participants had entered, we then locked the meeting using the “ Lock the meeting ” feature. Once we had locked a meeting, no new participants could join.

The same learning materials used in the conventional flipped classes were used in the online flipped classes. Table 4 shows some of the teaching and learning activities. Students in the online flipped classes completed pre-class activities that were similar to those used in the conventional flipped classes, but these were not followed by face-to-face meetings, but by online meetings conducted on the Zoom videoconferencing app.

Online flipped course 1: E-learning strategies

Like the conventional flipped course, the online flipped Course 1 consisted of eight sessions. The first seven sessions were flipped—students were encouraged to complete a set of pre-class sessions asynchronously (similar to Fig.  3 ). Students also used the WeChat MIM app to ask questions of their peers or instructors. However, unlike the conventional flipped approach, the “in-class” session for the online flipped students was conducted completely online through Zoom videoconferencing. In the final session (Session 8), the online flipped students also presented their work on Zoom. Each online “in-class” session lasted three hours—similar in duration to the in-class component of the conventional flipped format.

In the online synchronous “in-class” sessions, the instructor started by reminding students to switch on their webcams and to mute their microphones when not speaking. Next, the instructor lead a short class debriefing session to elaborate on the materials covered in the pre-class session. This was similar to the structure of the conventional flipped class format. For example, the instructor might discuss the students’ completed pre-class work and highlight the overall strengths and weaknesses. The main purpose of these short debriefing sessions was to clarify students’ initial doubts or misconceptions. Following the debriefing sessions, the instructor facilitated class discussions that delved deeper into the subject content. To evaluate students’ understanding of the materials, students were asked to work individually or participate in small group discussions on specific questions similar to those used in the conventional flipped classes. Students then presented their work online to the whole class, and received peer and instructor feedback.

To engage the participants, the instructor used a number of features of the Zoom videoconferencing system. For example, the instructor posed questions during the whole class discussion and used the polling feature to rapidly collect and analyze student responses. The polling feature provided a function similar to a clicker or student response system. Based on the poll results, the instructor then addressed students’ misunderstandings. To enable small group discussions, the instructor used the breakout rooms feature of Zoom . Each student was assigned to one of several groups. Each group consisted of four to five students. Other students could not “drop” into other groups, but the instructor could drop into any group and participate in the discussions. When it was time for the small groups to return to the whole class, students would receive a time indicator reminding them that they were rejoining the whole class. Table 5 shows how the specific features of Zoom helped support the online “in-class” teaching and learning activities. Figure  7 illustrates some of the Zoom features used in the course.

Examples of Zoom features used in Course 1

Online flipped course 2: engaging adult learners

Similar to the conventional flipped course, the online flipped course had eight sessions. The pre-class and in-class activities used in the conventional flipped course were also used in the online flipped course (see Fig.  5 for an example of a pre-class activity). Students also used the WeChat MIM app to ask questions of their peers or instructors. The last three sessions were used for students’ online presentations via videoconferencing. Each online “in-class” session lasted three hours—similar in duration to the in-class component of the conventional flipped class. In the online synchronous “in-class” sessions, the instructor reminded students to switch on their webcams and to mute their microphones when not speaking. The instructor used the features of the Zoom videoconferencing system shown in Table 5 and Fig.  7 .

Results and discussion

Conventional flipped versus online flipped course 1: e-learning strategies.

To address Research Question 1, the learning outcomes of students in the conventional flipped Course 1 and the online flipped Course 1 were measured and compared. The main purpose of both courses was to teach students the skills needed to create an e-learning storyboard and to develop a fully online course based on the 5E framework on Moodle. At the beginning of both the conventional flipped and online flipped classes, students were surveyed if they had any experience creating storyboards or fully online courses. None of the students had any such prior experience. Therefore, we assumed that both groups of students had similar levels of prior knowledge/skill. Next, we used both groups of students’ final course marks as a measure of the student learning outcomes. The maximum final marks in the final assessment was 100.

We first checked the normality of the final course marks data. If there were a significant deviation from normality, the Mann–Whitney U would be the most appropriate test for comparing the groups; otherwise, an independent samples t -test would be appropriate. The results showed that the course marks for both the conventional flipped ( W (23) = 0.920, p  = 0.068) and online flipped classes ( W (26) = 0.964, p  = 0.479) were normally distributed, as assessed by the Shapiro–Wilk’s test. There was also homogeneity in the variances for the course marks, as assessed by Levene’s test for equality of variances ( p  = 0.652). In addition, there were no outliers in the data, as assessed by an inspection of the boxplots (Fig.  8 ).

The boxplots of final marks in Course 1 for conventional flipped class and online flipped class

An independent-samples t -test was therefore conducted to determine if there were differences in the final marks of the conventional flipped and online flipped classes. The results suggested that online flipped participants ( M  = 66.00, SD = 11.63) performed as effectively as participants in the conventional flipped learning format ( M  = 65.04, SD = 11.80), t (47) = 0.285, p  = 0.777.

Conventional flipped versus online flipped course 2: engaging adult learners

The main purpose of both the conventional flipped and online flipped Engaging Adult Learners courses was to introduce students to the key characteristics of adult learners, the key principles of adult learning, and strategies for adult education. First, to test if there were any initial differences in students’ prior knowledge of the course content, a short quiz was administered to both groups at the start of the semester. The Mann–Whitney U test found no significant initial differences between the conventional flipped group ( Mdn  = 0) and the online flipped group ( Mdn  = 0.5), U  = 218.5, p  = 0.06.

Next, we used the students’ final course marks as a measure of the student learning outcomes. The final assessment included individual written reflections on course topics and relevant articles, and a group demonstration of an adult-teaching strategy. The maximum final marks for the final assessment was 100. As in the above analysis, we first checked the normality of the final course mark data. The course marks for both the conventional flipped and online flipped classes were normally distributed, as assessed by Shapiro–Wilk’s test: W (25) = 0.963, p  = 0.470 for the conventional flipped course and W (24) = 0.930, p  = 0.096 for the online flipped course. There was also a homogeneity of variances, as assessed by Levene’s test for equality of variances ( p  = 0.304). In addition, there were no outliers in the data, as assessed by an inspection of the boxplots (Fig.  9 ).

The boxplots of final marks in Course 2 for conventional flipped class and online flipped class

We subsequently carried out an independent-samples t-test to examine if there was any significant difference in the final course marks of the conventional flipped and online flipped classes. The results suggested that online flipped learning participants ( M  = 83.25, SD = 4.56) performed as effectively as participants in the conventional flipped learning classes ( M  = 83.40, SD = 5.51), t (47) = 0.104, p  = 0.918.

What are the good practices for videoconferencing-assisted online flipped classrooms, as perceived by students and/or teaching staff?

The analyses of the participants’ comments identified the following seven good practices for videoconferencing-assisted online flipped classrooms.

Remind participants to mute their microphones when not speaking to eliminate undesirable background noise . According to Gazzillo ( 2018 ), muting participants’ microphones allows the speaker to have center stage while eliminating the distraction of audio feedback. As one teaching staff member said, .

It’s a good practice at the beginning to mute all of the participants by selecting the “Mute All” button at the bottom of the participants panel. This will eliminate all background noise (e.g., television sounds, audio feedback). I will then ask the participants to turn their audio back on if they wish to talk

In terms of Zoom functionality, by pressing and holding the “space bar” allows the participants to temporarily switch on their microphone. We also ask the participants to install an AI-enabled application called “Krisp” to minimize the background noise of the participants.

Remind participants before the online “in-class” session begins to switch on their webcams . Webcams show a person’s face to other people on the video call, which can help to increase online social presence among classmates (Conrad and Donaldson 2011 ). Online social presence is positively correlated with student satisfaction and student perceived learning (Richardson et al. 2017 ). The participants also strongly prefer to see a face during instruction as it is perceived as more educational (Kizilcec et al. 2014 ). Students’ facial expressions are also a valuable source of feedback for the instructor to know whether the students could understand the subject matter (Sathik and Jonathan 2013 ). An instructor can use students’ facial expressions to determine whether to speed up, or slow down, or provide further elaborations. Feedback from the teaching staff included the following comments.

It is important to ask students to turn on their cameras. Students will be more focused and interactive and teaching will be better when teachers can see students’ responses.

As an instructor, I do not feel as if I’m talking to a wall when I can see some actual faces. Students also feel they are talking to someone rather than to an empty black screen. But it’s important to inform the students in advance to switch on their webcams so that they can do their hair properly or put on makeup beforehand—this was what some students actually told me!

During teaching, seeing your students' faces will give you another form of feedback. For example, when they look confused or nod their heads, it allows me to fine-tune the delivery of the content. These reactions give me visual feedback on whether I need further explanations or examples to elaborate on the topic.

Feedback from the students included the following comments.

Showing our faces is really helpful as we can see our classmates’ faces and remember them. Also, it makes the class more alive because we can see their expressions. Showing our faces is very helpful! It can make me feel like I’m in a real class! I enjoy the feeling of having a class with my classmates.

Turning on the camera helps us be more attentive in the online class.

To avoid showing any undesirable background objects (e.g., a messy bedroom) during the video meeting, participants can choose to replace their actual background with a virtual background. The participants can easily do this using the Zoom virtual background feature.

Manage the transition to the online flipped classroom approach for students . Not every student will be familiar with the videoconferencing app or the flipped classroom approach. Therefore, to promote student buy-in of this new pedagogical approach, it is important for the staff to directly address two main issues: (a) the structure and activities of the online flipped course, and (b) the functions of the video conferencing app. Feedback from the students included the following comments.

If teachers would like to use some functions in Zoom, they need to first help students get familiar with it. A brief introduction to Zoom at the beginning of the class is helpful.

First, I informed the students that these two courses would have two components: a pre-class session and an online “in-class” session. This helped students understand the flipped approach better. Next, my teaching assistant and I conducted a short introduction to using Zoom online before the class began. This helped students get familiar with the features we would be using in Zoom.

Constant fine-tuning is also a key element in managing the transition to the online flipped classroom. Asking the students what works and what doesn’t have become our practice every after the lesson. These comments allow us to rethink and re-plan for the next online synchronous session.

Feedback from the teaching staff included the following comments.

Having a technical-related orientation session before the actual class starts helps a lot for students who are not familiar with the videoconferencing tool.

Instructors should use dual monitors to simulate, as close as possible, the look and feel of a face-to-face class—one monitor to view all the participants in “gallery view,” and the other to view the presentation material . It is very useful for instructors and teaching assistants to use the dual-monitor display function, which allows the video layout and screen share content to be presented on two separate monitors. One monitor can be used to view the participants (up to 49) in “gallery view,” and the other to display the presentation materials. In the “gallery view,” the instructor can see thumbnail displays of all of the participants in a grid pattern that expands and contracts automatically as participants join and leave the meeting (Zoom Video Communications 2019 ). The use of a dual monitor feature is also useful for PowerPoint presentations and hiding notes from the participants. Feedback from the teaching staff included:

During the preparation for this course, we would like to simulate, as close as possible, the look and feel of a face-to-face class. This thinking brought us to the dual monitor layout for our Zoom sessions. The first monitor is for the teaching assistant; in this case, it acts as a co-host for the Zoom session. The teaching assistant extends the computer screen to a monitor to show the participants’ faces or the “gallery view.” This monitor acts as a “classroom” in the traditional face-to-face class. During the session, this first monitor also serves as a tool for classroom management. This view is where the “chat” and “raise hand” functions can be seen. The second monitor is where the instructor places the presentation materials. This view acts as the projector in the traditional face-to-face class. Occasionally, we added a third screen, which is an iPad to do real-time annotation. This iPad can is a replacement of the conventional “whiteboard” in a face-to-face class.

Activate and evaluate students’ pre-class learning with a short review. At the beginning of the online “in-class” sessions, instructors should use short formative assessment methods (e.g., a quiz) to activate and evaluate students’ understanding of the pre-class activities. The activation of prior learning enhances student learning because it is the foundation for the new material presented in the classroom (Merrill 2002 ). Indeed, recent meta-analyses have suggested that flipped learning is more effective when formative assessments (e.g., quizzes or reviews) are used before and/or during class time (e.g., Hew and Lo 2018 ; Låg and Sæle 2019 ; Lo et al. 2017 ; van Alten et al. 2019 ). Students in this study reported positive benefits of using short formative assessments such as reviews or quizzes. Examples of student feedback include the following comments.

I find the reviews at the beginning of the “in-class” sessions very helpful! It’s good to start from something we are familiar with, and then go to the new materials. The reviewing of pre-class work is great because we can know what points we do not understand well and how we can improve.

The reviews helped me understand the issue more deeply. I could find out what my misunderstandings of the content are.

I find the teachers’ explanation and review of the pre-class work helpful.

Use an MIM app on mobile phones to foster quicker online response times and to communicate with students during their online breakout sessions . Although students can ask questions via discussion forums or email, the asynchronicity of these apps creates a time lag between postings and replies which can discourage students from communicating with each other (Hew et al. 2018 ). In contrast, MIM apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat allow users to engage in quasi synchronous communications on their mobile phones. When communication needs are urgent, many students may only have their phones available. As soon as an MIM message is sent, a notification automatically shows up on the user’s phone screen, which encourages timely response (Hew et al. 2018 ; Rosenfeld et al. 2018 ). In addition, MIM is more popular than voice calls, emails, and even face-to-face communication among young people (Lenhart et al. 2010 ). As of March 2019, more than 41 million mobile instant messages are sent every minute (Clement 2019 ). Student feedback on using MIM in classrooms included the following comments.

I like using MIM such as WeChat because it allows us to communicate with other people immediately.

I enjoy using WeChat to ask questions and get immediate feedback from my classmates and teaching staff.

Use a variety of presentation media as well as a variety of activities to sustain student interest . No matter how interested a learner is in the topic of a presentation or discussion, that interest will wane in the face of monotony (Driscoll 2000 ). Therefore, it is recommended that instructors sustain student interest by varying the use of presentation media. Instructors, for example, can alternate the use of PowerPoint slides with digital handwriting on an iPad. The instructor in this study made the following comments.

I find continual use of PowerPoint slides to be boring. It’s always the same style: a bullet list of information with some animations or pictures. I find it useful to sustain my students’ attention by writing on an iPad.

Comments from the students were also positive.

I find the instructor writing on an iPad helps to focus my attention better than PowerPoint slides.

Writing on the iPad is like writing on a whiteboard in real face-to-face classrooms. It helps me develop a better understanding of the topic.

Digital writing on an iPad can help learners see the progressive development of the subject content (Hulls 2005 ), and follow the instructor’s cognitive process better than pre-prepared PowerPoint presentations (Lee and Lim 2013 ). Writing on an iPad can also enable an instructor to immediately adjust his or her instruction in response to the students’ needs. Using digital writing can significantly improve students’ understanding of conceptual knowledge when compared to PowerPoint-based presentation lectures (Lee and Lim 2013 ).

In addition to varying the presentation media, an instructor should also use different activities, including guest speakers, during the online class session. Feedback from the students included the following comments.

The use of different functions in Zoom, such as breakout rooms for group activities, voting, and raising hands, is useful because they help us to be involved. It helps increase the learner-learner and learner-instructor interaction, which may be lacking in a fully online class.

During the three-hour online class, we had not only the teacher’s explanations, but also had a guest speaker and online group discussions via breakout rooms, which made the class engaging.

In this study, the instructor invited a United Kingdom-based practicing instructional designer as a guest speaker in the two online flipped courses to talk about her experience in developing e-learning courses and engaging adult learners. Guest speakers enhance students’ educational experience by giving them real-world knowledge (Metrejean and Zarzeski 2001 ). Guest speakers can offer students a different point of view, one that students may better understand. Guest speakers can also alleviate the monotony of listening to a single instructor.

Amidst the burgeoning use of online learning during the unpredictable present, this study evaluates the efficacy of a videoconferencing - supported fully online flipped classroom. It compares student outcomes in four higher education classes: conventional flipped Course 1 versus online flipped Course 1, and conventional flipped Course 2 versus online flipped Course 2. Overall, this study makes three contributions to the literature on flipped classrooms. First, it provides a thick description of the development of the conventional flipped classroom approach based on the 5E framework, and the transformation of the conventional flipped classroom into a fully online flipped classroom. A thick description of the development of the flipped classrooms is provided to encourage replication by other researchers and practitioners. Second, our findings reveal that the online flipped classroom approach can be as effective as the conventional flipped classroom. Third, we identify seven good practices for using videoconferencing to support online flipped classrooms. This set of good practices can provide useful guidelines for other instructors who might be interested in implementing an online flipped approach.

One potential limitation of our study is that it was relatively short in duration (8 weeks). However, according to Fraenkel et al. ( 2014 ), some researchers do collect data within a fairly short time. A short-term data collection period enables researchers to collect and analyze data to see if an intervention is workable before committing to a longer study (Creswell 2015 ). We therefore urge future researchers to examine the use of videoconferencing - supported online flipped classrooms over a longer period of time, such as one year or more, to verify the results of this study.

Another interesting area for future work will be examining how instructors can support learners’ self-regulation during online flipped classroom (Cheng et al. 2019 ), as well as what strategies can best motivate students to complete the pre-class work.

Availability of data and materials

The anonymized datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Hew, K.F., Jia, C., Gonda, D.E. et al. Transitioning to the “new normal” of learning in unpredictable times: pedagogical practices and learning performance in fully online flipped classrooms. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 17 , 57 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00234-x

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Student adaptation to college and coping in relation to adjustment during COVID-19: A machine learning approach

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Computer and Information Sciences Department, Fordham University, New York, New York, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, New York, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

• Yijun Zhao, 
• Yi Ding, 
• Hayet Chekired, 

• Published: December 30, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711
• Reader Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for university students, creating uncertainties for their academic careers, social lives, and mental health. Our study utilized a machine learning approach to examine the degree to which students’ college adjustment and coping styles impacted their adjustment to COVID-19 disruptions. More specifically, we developed predictive models to distinguish between well-adjusted and not well-adjusted students in each of five psychological domains: academic adjustment, emotionality adjustment, social support adjustment, general COVID-19 regulations response, and discriminatory impact. The predictive features used for these models are students’ individual characteristics in three psychological domains, i.e., Ways of Coping (WAYS), Adaptation to College (SACQ), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), assessed using established commercial and open-access questionnaires. We based our study on a proprietary survey dataset collected from 517 U.S. students during the initial peak of the pandemic. Our models achieved an average of 0.91 AUC score over the five domains. Using the SHAP method, we further identified the most relevant risk factors associated with each classification task. The findings reveal the relationship of students’ general adaptation to college and coping in relation to their adjustment during COVID-19. Our results could help universities identify systemic and individualized strategies to support their students in coping with stress and to facilitate students’ college adjustment in this era of challenges and uncertainties.

Citation: Zhao Y, Ding Y, Chekired H, Wu Y (2022) Student adaptation to college and coping in relation to adjustment during COVID-19: A machine learning approach. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0279711. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711

Editor: Thiago P. Fernandes, Federal University of Paraiba, BRAZIL

Received: July 30, 2022; Accepted: December 12, 2022; Published: December 30, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Zhao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: Data cannot be shared publicly because of restrictions governed by IRB #1517 from Fordham University. Data are available from Fordham’s Institutional Data Access / Ethics Committee (contact via [email protected] ) with an executed data usage agreement (DUA) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous unprecedented challenges for university students in particular. For example, thousands of U.S. universities suspended their in-person classes and activities, with some institutions announcing that all classes would be held online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester and through the summer session. A large number of university residence halls were closed in response to the suspension of in-person classes, requiring its students to vacate their dorm rooms with only a few days’ notice [ 1 , 2 ]. Because of the uncertainties imposed by the pandemic [ 3 ], students were concerned about the trajectory of their academic careers. Such concerns stemmed from inefficient online learning; suspended fieldwork, internships, and clinical rotations; financial burdens; uncertain living situations; and, for international students, possible changes in visa status [ 4 , 5 ]. As a result, many students faced heightened levels of psychological distress and changes in behavioral patterns, which called for increased engagement in coping strategies. In terms of coping styles, it is believed that individuals’ coping styles and adjustment processes play important roles in their responses to stress and overall well-being [ 6 ], especially during disruptive circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We were interested in examining how college students’ adjustment processes and coping styles impacted their perceived stress and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overarching goal of this study is to investigate how participants’ responses to Ways of Coping (WAYS; [ 6 ]), the Student Adaptation to College (SACQ; [ 7 ]), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; [ 8 ]) predict the level of challenges students encountered during COVID-19. In particular, WAYS is an instrument to explore participants’ cognitive and behavioral patterns in managing stressful events. SACQ is an instrument to evaluate students’ adaptation to the university experience. PSS is an instrument to examine participants’ perceived stress levels. For our study, we administered an extensive survey containing questions measuring WAYS, SACQ, PSS, and five COVID adjustment domains (i.e., academic adjustment, emotionality adjustment, social support adjustment, general COVID-19 regulations response, and discriminatory impact) to U.S. students during the initial peak of the pandemic. Many studies focusing on coping and adjustment among college students have used traditional statistical approaches such as correlation and regression analyses. In recent years, social scientists are increasingly interested in utilizing novel machine learning techniques to accurately predict or detect patterns in real-word phenomena [ 9 ]. Machine learning offers a wide range of alternative models that might provide substantial improvement in accuracy [ 10 ].

In this study, we develop machine learning models to classify well-adjusted and not well-adjusted students in each of the five COVID-19 study domains based on a student’s characteristics in WAYS, SACQ and PSS. We further analyze the most relevant risk factors associated with each classification task. Our findings could help universities to establish systemic and individualized strategies to support their students in coping with stress and adjustments in this era of challenges and uncertainties.

Theory of ways of coping

A person’s cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage stressful events can be described as ways of coping [ 11 , 12 ]. Lazarus and Folkman [ 12 ] proposed a transactional model of stress and coping to explain individuals’ use of conceptualizations and behavioral responses to manage perceived stressors. The model includes three major categories of coping strategies that individuals generally engage in, namely emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, and avoidance-focused coping [ 12 ]. Emotion-focused coping focuses on strategies to control emotional responses whereas problem-focused coping involves active efforts to alter the stressful event. Avoidance-focused coping includes strategies to escape from the situation to avoid the stress [ 6 , 13 , 14 ].

To better explore different coping styles and their psychological aftermath, Folkman and Lazarus [ 6 ] developed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WAYS), which includes a total of eight coping strategies stemming from the three major categories: confrontive coping, distancing, self-controlling, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, planful problem solving, and positive reappraisal. Studies have shown that those who engage in proactive problem-focused coping and positive emotion-focused coping generally perceive less stress during a stressful event whereas those who engage in more reactive emotion-focused coping perceive more stress [ 15 ].

Theory of SACQ

It is believed that students generally experience a series of changes and adjustments during their transitions from high school to college [ 16 ]. This adjustment process is multifaceted and is closely related to students’ overall university experiences [ 17 ]. Areas involved in the adjustment process include emotional well-being, different social expectations, and novel academic requirements [ 16 ]. Research has shown that university success is best measured through a combination of students’ cognitive capacity and academic achievement, and those who experience difficulty with university adjustment may choose to drop out of school [ 16 , 18 , 19 ].

To assess how well students were adapting to their novel university experiences, Baker and Siryk [ 18 ] developed a quantitative measure, later known as the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ; [ 7 ]), and identified four factors closely related to university adjustment: academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, and attachment to the institution. Academic adjustment refers to students’ ability to adhere to the diverse educational demands stemming from university expectations. It is closely related to students’ academic self-efficacy and skills, self-appraisal, motivation to learn, general satisfaction with the academic environment, and educational goals [ 7 , 16 ]. Social adjustment refers to students’ ability to cope with the interpersonal-societal demands of college life. It is closely related to students’ sense of self-confidence in social situations and ability to cope with stressors, and can be used to predict students’ level of persistence in their university experiences. Personal-emotional adjustment refers to students’ psychological and physical well-being during their university adjustment process and examines students’ coping skills, distress level, and emotional reliance on others. It is related to students’ general school performance, ability to cope with stressors, and overall functioning [ 7 ]. Institutional attachment refers to students’ level of commitment to their university and assesses the relationship quality between students and their universities [ 7 ]. Studies have shown that students who report higher attachment to and satisfaction with their institutions tend to perceive better social connection, acceptance, and academic competence; possess more coping strategies; and experience fewer negative psychological states [ 20 ].

Theory of perceived stress

Individuals perceive stress when they interpret the presented situational demands as beyond their own capacity to navigate [ 12 ]. The level of stress perceived is determined by the individual’s personal conceptualization about the general stressfulness of their life, their ability and confidence to cope with the stress, and their current functioning in a given period of time [ 8 , 12 ]. In other words, each individual perceives the same stressor, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, differently based on their personal circumstances and beliefs.

Materials and methods

Demographic questionnaire.

This study utilizes a proprietary survey dataset collected from March to June 2020 during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained from Fordham University for data collection and sharing protocols. Eligible participants were at least 18 years of age and enrolled as undergraduate or graduate/professional students at colleges or universities in the United States. All participants completed the SACQ, PSS, WAYS, and the COVID-19 Adjustment questionnaire. The following sections describe the details of these four questionnaires whose data are used in the current study.

Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ)

The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ; (7]) was administered to evaluate the students’ process of adaptation to the university experience during the first wave of COVID-19. The SACQ is a 67-item self-reported questionnaire with a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from doesn’t apply to me at all to applies very closely to me , and consists of four subscales: Academic Adjustment (α = 0.88), Social Adjustment (α = 0.91), Personal-emotional Adjustment (α = 0.87), and Institutional Attachment (α = 0.90). Participants’ responses were summed and then were converted into T -scores, with higher scores indicating higher levels of adjustment [ 7 , 18 ].

Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; [ 22 ]) was administered to examine participants’ perceived stress levels during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSS is a 10-item self-report questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-scale ranging from never to very often ([ 8 ]; α = 0.87). According to Cohen et al. [ 8 ], higher summed scores indicate higher levels of stress and lower scores indicate lower levels of stress. The questions on the PSS are context free (i.e., questions were not worded to fit specific circumstances and they were generic questions), enabling its usage with any subpopulation group. By focusing on the participants’ current thoughts and feelings, the PSS is intended to explore the participants’ perceptions of the degree of unpredictability, uncontrollability, and overwhelmingness of their life experiences during the past 30 days. In this study, two scores were derived upon analysis, with the total score including all 10 items and the short score including four selected items. The total score was summed with appropriate items scored as indicated by Cohen [ 22 ]. The short score was derived from the four items that showed the highest correlation with the full-scale items examined by Cohen et al. [ 8 ], and it generates general inquiries about the respondents’ experiences of relative current levels of stress.

Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WAYS)

The Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WAYS; [ 6 ]) was used to explore participants’ coping strategies and processes during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. WAYS is a 66-item self-reported questionnaire with a 4-point Likert scale ranging from does not apply or not used to used a great deal ([ 23 ]; α = 0.78). Of note, the WAYS was developed with the specific focus on participants’ actual and/or potential actions in response to a stressful situation rather than their thoughts and feelings about the situation [ 23 – 26 ]. Eight subscales were generated based on factor analyses: Confrontive, Distancing, Seeking Social Support, Accepting Responsibility, Positive Reappraisal, Planful Problem Solving, Escape Avoidance, and Self-Controlling [ 11 ]. In the current study, participants’ responses were accumulated to obtain a score for each subscale, with higher scores suggesting their inclination to use the coping behaviors defined by that subscale when encountering COVID-19-related stressors [ 6 ].

COVID-19 adjustment questionnaire

A self-report questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree was created for the original larger-scale study to measure the effects of COVID-19 on participants and their adjustments [ 27 ]. This questionnaire was adapted from an unpublished instrument created to measure university students’ experiences and mental health during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in China [ 27 ]. Factor analyses on the original questionnaire yielded five subdomains: Academic Adjustment, Emotionality Adjustment, Social Support, General COVID-19 Regulations Response, and Discriminatory Impact Related to COVID-19. The academic adjustment subscale (7-item, α = .85) measured the degree to which participants’ felt prepared and motivated to complete academic work and ability to adjust to remote education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., “I have a virtual-learning supportive atmosphere at home (e.g., computer, wifi, quiet space)). The emotionality subscale (4-items, α = .71) measured participants’ ability to deal with emotional thoughts and behaviors towards COVID-19 related stimuli and experiences (e.g., “I feel like the Coronavirus is far from me.”). The social support subscale (4-items, α = .69) measured participants’ level of satisfaction with received support during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. “I feel supported by my professors and university”). The general regulation reaction subscale (3-items, α = .61) measured participants’ agreement with regulations and restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., “I feel relieved that schools are closed and classes have moved online.” The discriminatory impact adjustment subscale (3-items, α = .78) measured participants’ acknowledgement and impact of racism as related to COVID-19 (e.g., “I am aware of Asians’ experience with discrimination due to the coronavirus.”) Participants were believed to be adjusting more positively during the COVID-19 pandemic if they reported a high score on these subdomains.

Machine learning methods

To build our machine learning models, we first labeled each participant as well-adjusted (class 1) or not well-adjusted (class 0) in each of the five COVID-19 adjustment domains. They serve as the output of our predictive models. To accomplish this, we identified the set of questions Q in the survey pertinent to each domain and computed the average score of answers to these questions. A participant was labeled as a class 1 instance if their total score for Q was above the average. Otherwise, the participant was labeled as a class 0 instance. For example, the academic adjustment domain consisted of seven questions, each with a Likert scale from 1 to 5. Thus, the average score for this domain was 7 x 3 = 21, where 7 was the number of questions and 3 was the middle score of each question. Class 1 instances for this domain were those participants whose total score for the seven questions was above 21. Table 1 presents the distribution of participants for each of our classification tasks.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.t001

The input features of our classification models are the student’s scores in each subscale of the three non-COVID (i.e., WAYS, SACQ, and PSS) domains. Consequently, the total number of features is 14, with 8, 5, and 2 from WAYS, SACQ, and PSS, respectively. Table 2 shows the list of features employed by this study and their brief descriptions.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.t002

We employed seven established machine learning methods and compared their efficacy for our predictive tasks. Of these, logistic regression [ 28 ], support vector machine (SVM; [ 29 ]), decision tree [ 30 ], random forest [ 31 ], neural network [ 32 ], and AdaBoost [ 33 ] are standalone algorithms. We leveraged their implementations from Python’s scikit-learn package [ 34 ]. Our last model was a majority-voting ensemble learner [ 35 ] based on the aforementioned six models.

All models were trained using a 5-fold (outer) cross-validation. Therein, we divided the training data into five disjoint partitions (i.e., folds) and trained/evaluated each classifier five times with different training and test data. Specifically, at each iteration i ( i = 1, 2, … 5), fold i was designated as the test data and the remaining nine folds were designated as the training data. Hyperparameters were selected using a nested 5-fold (inner) cross-validation on the training data. We reported the average performance of the 5 test folds.

Addressing imbalanced data

A particular challenge in building our classification models was the severe data imbalance in the two classes. For example, Table 2 shows that the ratio between the instances from the two classes was 495/22 = 22.5 for the COVID-19 Regulations Response domain. Standard machine learning algorithms implicitly assume an equal representation of training data for each class. Applying the models directly to severely imbalanced data would lead to unsatisfactory performance on the minority class. We addressed this issue using the oversampling technique. Specifically, each minority sample was duplicated ( r -1) times to match the total number of majority instances, where r was the data size ratio in the two classes. While there are a few other methods, such as SMOTE [ 36 ] and bagging [ 37 ], to address imbalanced data in building machine learning models, our experiments found that the differences were marginal, and the results in Table 2 confirmed that the oversampling technique was sufficient.

Evaluation metrics

We evaluated the performance of our classification models using six metrics defined as follows:

• Overall accuracy : the fraction of correctly classified instances in the test data.
• Recall : the fraction of correctly classified instances among all well-adjusted instances.
• Specificity : the fraction of correctly classified instances among all not well-adjusted instances.
• Precision : the fraction of correctly classified instances among all positive predictions.
• F1 score : harmonic mean of recall and specificity.
• AUC score (of the ROC curve) : A ROC curve displays the trade-off between the true positive rate (TPR, or sensitivity) and the true negative rate (TNR, or specificity) of a classification model at different threshold settings. AUC reveals the capability of a model to separate the positive and negative classes; that is, the higher the AUC score, the more effective a model is at performing the classification.

Model interpretation with SHAP plots

SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanation) is a unified framework to interpret the predictions of machine learning models [ 38 ]. SHAP is based on the classic concept of Shapley value [ 39 ], which is used in game theory to fairly distribute gains and costs among a group of collaborating players in achieving a specific goal. Because some players contribute more to the coalition than others and players have different levels of leverage or efficiency, it is important to investigate how essential each participant is to the final outcome. Shapley value quantifies the contribution that each player brings to the game using well-studied mathematically theory and properties (the formal derivation of the calculation is beyond the scope of this paper).

Within the machine learning context, a model can be viewed as a coalition game in which the prediction is the goal and the predictive features serve as the players. We are interested in understanding the effect of each feature on the outcome variable. SHAP plot provides an effective method to visualize the feature contributions to the game outcome, which are the model predictions. For instance, Fig 1 presents the beeswarm SHAP plot for the random forest applied to the Titanic dataset [ 40 ]. The task is to predict a passenger’s survival using 12 characteristic features (Sex, Pclass, Age, etc.). The predictive features are plotted in their order of relative importance along the y-axis. In addition, each row illustrates a feature’s contribution to the predictive outcomes, with each dot representing an individual instance in the dataset. The magnitude of feature values is color-coded from blue (low) to red (high). The points are distributed horizontally along the x-axis according to their SHAP values. In places where there is a high density of SHAP values, the points are stacked vertically. Examining the color distribution horizontally along the x-axis for each variable provides insights into the general relationship between a variable’s raw values and its directional impact to the outcome. For instance, Fig 1 shows that a passenger’s sex (encoded as male = 0 and female = 1) is the top feature in predicting a passenger’s chances of survival. Lower values (i.e., female) are concentrated on the right side of the y-axis, indicating a high chance of survival. The next two predictive features are Pclass (encoded as first-, second-, and third-class cabins) and age. In particular, low values of Pclass (i.e., high socioeconomic status) are associated with a high chance of survival, and the same is true for low age values. Thus, we can infer that women, children, and passengers in the first-class cabins had a greater probability of survival than the others.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g001

In our study, we employed the SHAP approach to study the relative importance and directional impact of those predictive features utilized in our classification tasks.

This section presents the results of seven machine learning models on classifying well-adjusted and not well-adjusted students in each of the five COVID-19 study domains based on their characteristics in WAYS, SACQ and PSS. The performance for each classification task was evaluated using the six metrics described above. The analysis focuses exclusively on the performance on the test data. Of these seven models, random forest displayed the highest AUC scores, although the advantage was marginal in some cases. All random forest models used 1000 estimators. The depth of the trees ranged from 14 to 30, and the minimum leaf samples ranged from 10 to 20. These hyperparameters were selected using the method outlined in the “Machine Learning Methods” section. Remaining unspecified hyperparameters assumed the default values in Python’s scikit-learn library—the software we used to build our models. We present the risk factors in each task using the SHAP approach described above.

Classification task performance

Academic adjustment..

The results in Table 3 show that random forest achieved the highest overall accuracy (86%) and AUC score (0.86) in predicting students’ academic adjustment. When the results were broken down into performance on the well-adjusted class and the not well-adjusted class, random forest achieved results of 90% (recall) and 82% (specificity), respectively. Random forest also led the other models in precision and F1 scores of 0.84 and 0.87, respectively.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.t003

Emotionality adjustment.

Table 3 shows that random forest achieved the highest overall predictive accuracy (89%) for predicting students’ emotionality adjustment. The model had a 94% accuracy in predicting the well-adjusted class and 85% accuracy for the not well-adjusted class. Random forest also led other models in precision (86%), F1 (90%), and AUC (0.89) scores.

Social support adjustment.

The results in Table 3 show that random forest led other models in predicting social support adjustment across all six evaluation metrics. More specifically, the model achieved a 0.93 overall accuracy with 0.87 and 0.99 for the well-adjusted and not well-adjusted classes, respectively. The precision, F1, and AUC scores were 0.99, 0.93, and 0.94, respectively.

General COVID-19 regulations response.

The results in Table 3 show that random forest delivered the best predictive accuracy value of 92% compared to the other models. When this outcome was dissected into performance in the well-adjusted class and the not well-adjusted class, random forest achieved results of 87% and 98%, respectively. Random forest also led the other models in the remaining evaluation metrics with 0.97, 0.92, and 0.92 for precision, F1, and AUC scores, respectively.

Discriminatory impact related to COVID-19.

Table 3 shows that random forest had the best overall accuracy performance of 93%. The performances for the well-adjusted and not well-adjusted classes were 96% and 91%, respectively. The model also exhibited the highest precision (0.92), F1 (0.93), and AUC (0.93) scores.

Analysis of predictive features

An additional intention of this research was to identify the most relevant risk factors associated with each aspect of college adjustment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings will help university administrators focus on the most effective measures to influence students’ college adjustment during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic challenges and support the students accordingly. Table 3 represents the top-10 predictors for the five classification tasks using the best performing model (i.e., RF). The bold features in Table 3 are the variables with the most substantial impact whose SHAP values were above the average magnitude.

We present the SHAP plots in Figs 2 – 6 for the top 10 predictive features of each model in Table 4 to visualize the directional impact of the predictors on the dependent variable. We were particularly interested in distinguishing the positive and negative predictors among the highly ranked (i.e., bold) features for each classification task.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g002

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g003

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g004

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g005

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.g006

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279711.t004

For academic adjustment, Table 4 indicates that the random forest model proposes academic adjustment (SACQ_AA), personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA), both perceived stress features (PSS_Total and PSS_Short), and avoidance coping (WAYS_EA) as the most important predictors in students’ academic adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysis of the SHAP plot ( Fig 2 ) helps to identify the direction of the impact of the features on academic adjustment. The findings show that academic adjustment (SACQ_AA) and personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA) are positive predictors of college adjustment, meaning that high academic performance and positive emotions lead to positive adjustment to academic changes. However, high levels of stress (PSS_Total and PSS_Short), and avoidance coping (WAYS_EA) lead to difficulties adjusting to college life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As shown in Table 4 , the random forest model suggests that perceived stress variables (PSS_Total and PSS_Short), personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA), distancing coping (WAYS_D), and escape avoidance (WAYS_EA) are the features with the highest influence on students’ emotionality adjustment prediction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SHAP plot ( Fig 3 ) indicates that both perceived stress features (PSS_Total and PSS_short) have a negative impact on emotionality adjustment. Personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA) and distancing (WAYS_D) are positive predictors meaning that students who are more adjusted in their personal psychological and physical well-being and use distancing coping strategies are likely to experience fewer negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plot also shows that escape avoidance (WAYS_EA) has a negative influence, meaning students who use avoidance coping are more likely to experience negative emotions.

As shown in Table 4 , attachment (SACQ_A), academic adjustment (SACQ_AA), social adjustment (SACQ_SA), confrontive coping (WAYS_CC), planful problem solving (WAYS_PPS) and escape avoidance (WAYS_EA) are the strongest predictors based on the random forest model, suggesting that these predictors are the more reliable features in predicting students’ social support adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SHAP plot ( Fig 4 ) shows that high levels of attachment (SACQ_A), academic performance (SACQ_AA), social integration (SACQ_SA), and planful problem solving (WAYS_PPS) lead to positive social support adjustment, which means students who are attached to the institution, have satisfactory academic performance, are actively social, and approach problems in a systematic way are likely to perceive more social support. The plot also shows that confrontive coping (WAYS_CC) and escape avoidance (WAYS_EA) are negative predictors.

As shown in Table 4 , the RF model suggests that institutional attachment (SACQ_A), distancing coping (WAYS_D), confrontive coping (WAYS_CC), social adjustment (SACQ_SA), and personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA) are the most relevant features in students’ adjustment and response to general COVID-19 regulations during the pandemic.

The SHAP plot ( Fig 5 ) shows that high levels of attachment (SACQ_A) and social adjustment (SACQ_SA) lead to positive adjustment to regulations and restrictions imposed by public health officials while high scores in distancing (WAYS_D), confrontive coping (WAYS_CC), and personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA) lead to negative adjustment.

As shown in Table 4 , the RF model suggests that institutional attachment (SACQ_A), distancing coping strategies (WAYS_D), self-control (WAYS_SC), personal-emotional adjustment (SACQ_PEA), social adjustment (SACQ_SA), and academic adjustment (SACQ_AA) are the most influential factors in students’ adjustment to discriminatory impact related to COVID-19.

The SHAP plot ( Fig 6 ) shows that high levels of institutional attachment (SACQ_A), and social adjustment (SACQ_SA) lead to students experiencing more discrimination impact. Said differently, students who are attached to their institution and actively social are more likely to experience discrimination related to COVID-19. The plot also shows that the same is true for academic adjustment (SACQ_AA) and self-control (WAYS_SC). On the other hand, students who use distancing coping strategies (WAYS_D) and positive emotions (SACQ_PEA) are less likely to experience discrimination.

Machine learning

Results in Table 3 show that the logistic regression model consistently underperformed other approaches across all five classification tasks. One explanation is that the target variables in our study were not linearly dependent on the explanatory variables. While logistic regression does not require a direct linear relationship between the dependent and independent variables, it still needs independent variables to be linearly related to the log-odds of the outcome. Our findings suggest that non-linear models are more desirable in predicting students’ responses to COVID-19 challenges based on their overall adaptation to college and characteristic coping methods.

Among the non-linear models, the random forest model demonstrated modest advantages over the other models. However, since it is impossible to conduct an exhaustive hyperparameter search, it is reasonable to expect that these models were equally effective for our predictive tasks.

Academic adjustment

Academic adjustment reflects students’ ability to cope with the various educational demands of the university experience, which correlates with students’ setting of academic goals, self-appraisal, and feelings of control over the outcome of their academic efforts. Academic adjustment consists of factors such as motivation, application, performance, and the academic environment and includes academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills [ 7 , 41 ]. Analysis of students’ academic adjustment considers students’ attitudes towards their academic goals and their required academic demands, their sense of educational purpose, and their level of satisfaction with their academic environment. How well students’ motivation translates into academic effort and how successful students are in applying their knowledge and skills to their academic work and meeting academic requirements are also important in overall academic adjustment [ 7 ]. It is not surprising that academic adjustment is a positive predictor of adaptation to college. The findings underscore the importance of examining college students’ overall academic adjustment, especially when they encounter a stressful public health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic with its disruptive effects on their university environment.

Emotionality adjustment

Personal-emotional adjustment consists of students’ psychological and physical well-being and is associated with psychosocial coping skills and resources, degree of experienced psychological distress, and emotional reliance on others [ 7 ]. University students display higher rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other forms of psychological distress than the rest of the population [ 5 , 42 ]. Psychological and physical well-being impact school performance, overall functioning, and ability to cope with demands and stressors [ 16 , 42 ]. Experiences related to personal-emotional adjustment with regard to the university experience may have been beneficial in managing perceived stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings indicate that personal-emotional adjustment has a considerable influence on COVID-19- related emotionality adjustment prediction.

Social support adjustment

In terms of social support adjustment, the results indicate that the more attachment students felt towards their university and the better adjusted the students were to their college academics and social lives, the more likely students were to perceive better social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. This result is supported by a vast amount of past literature. For example, Ames et al. [ 20 ] discovered that students who reported higher levels of university attachment and satisfaction tended to report better social connections, more social acceptance, and higher levels of academic competence. Likewise, the higher levels and better quality of social support that students received from friends and others, the lower the levels of stress they perceived during the college adjustment processes and the better the predicted adjustment outcomes [ 43 , 44 ]. There is also strong evidence that social support networks can help individuals adjust to stressors and facilitate coping in the long term, even when facing extremely stressful situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic [ 45 ]. As repeatedly shown in the past literature and again highlighted in the results of this study, the importance of a solid social support network comprising friends, family, and even faculty members in mitigating stressors speaks to the necessity of universities allocating more consideration and resources to facilitate students’ social connections as a coping strategy in general and especially during a public health emergency like COVID-19 that emphasizes social distancing.

On the other hand, the results of this study showed that the more students used confrontive and escape avoidance coping strategies, the less likely the students were to feel supported socially during the initial stage of the pandemic. Chao [ 46 ] also indicated that people who engaged more in dysfunctional coping perceived more levels of stress, lower levels of social support, and lower levels of well-being. Wishful thinking and social withdrawal also were found to be negatively related to a person’s subjective well-being when encountering stress [ 47 ]. Within the context of COVID-19 pandemic adjustment, it is possible that students who reported using more confrontive and escape avoidance coping strategies may have held more negative views towards their situations and social supports. In return, such negative views may have led to a distorted image of the social support required to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and a lower level of satisfaction and well-being during that adaptation.

General COVID-19 regulations response

With regard to students’ response to general COVID-19 regulations imposed by public health officials, the results indicated that the more attached students were to their institutions and the better they had adjusted to their college social lives, the more likely they were to respond positively to public policies and regulations regarding COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Conversely, the more they used distancing and confrontive coping strategies, the less likely they were to respond positively to regulations. As discussed in past research, students who report higher levels of university attachment and satisfaction tend to possess more coping strategies and less negative psychological distress in general [ 20 ], but higher engagement in dysfunctional coping leads to lower levels of well-being [ 46 ]. Moreover, Rentner and Alsulaiman [ 48 ] discovered that many students held optimistic biases and believed that they were less vulnerable to the virus than their family and friends. The findings of this study again highlight the importance of universities establishing solid institutional and social support as well as providing more positive coping strategies to help their students navigate through the pandemic and adhere to regulatory guidelines.

Discriminatory impact related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Discriminatory events have occurred repeatedly and been widely scrutinized during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study showed that when students encountered discriminatory incidents stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the more attached to their university and the more socially adjusted they were, the more likely they were to perceive a discriminatory impact. This finding in fact contradicts the existing research. Research has revealed that support from faculty, one form of social support, protected undergraduate students from severe depression during COVID-19 [ 49 ], and those who were able to virtually connect with others socially were better able to cope with the stress induced by encountering COVID-19-related discrimination [ 50 ]. One possible explanation for this contradiction could be that this study’s data were collected during the initial peak of the pandemic when institutional support and virtual social connections had not yet been firmly established by the students. It is also possible that students who relied more on their attachment to their universities and social connections may have exhibited lower levels of self-efficacy [ 51 ], which could have played a role in their coping strategies.

This study also discovered that students who used more distancing coping strategies and who were more adjusted in their personal psychological and physical well-being tended to perceive less impact from COVID-19-related discriminatory incidents. This could be due to the disengagement techniques that the students were using during the initial peak of the pandemic. Distancing oneself from an immediate stressor may create the temporary impression of removing the stressor, and yet the stress likely remains and creates an exacerbated impact in the long run [ 46 ]. On the contrary, students with better personal-emotional adjustment may practice more action-based positive coping strategies, which could contribute to their resilience against the impact of such incidents. Taken together, these results again show the low efficacy of distancing coping strategies and call for the need for universities to introduce more action-based positive coping strategies to better support their students.

Limitations and future work

One limitation of our study is that we employed standard, well-established machine learning models and investigated the five psychological domains independently. However, a student’s responses in these five domains could be interconnected. For instance, a student’s emotional state could affect their academic adjustment. Thus, a valuable future undertaking could be to apply more advanced machine learning techniques to exploit the interrelationship among the predictive tasks. To this end, multi-task learning [ 52 ] offers a promising solution.

Participants were recruited through convenience sampling by utilizing the researchers’ social networks and connections within higher education. Thus, the sample does not fully represent U.S. census demographics in terms of race, ethnicity, and geographical features, although we made efforts to ensure a diverse participant pool. Additionally, the current study pulled participants from a larger-scale study examining the experiences of university students during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March to June of 2020). Thus, the data might not reflect university students’ experiences during later stages of the pandemic. Future researchers might consider examining university students’ adaptation during different stages of the pandemic. The SACQ measure was originally validated with primarily undergraduate students. Future research should consider the suitability and appropriateness of the SACQ among graduate students.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Agnes DeRaad for her editorial support.

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10 Ways to Help Your Students Cope with the Transition to Virtual Learning

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• Classroom Management
• Digital Learning
• Student Support

I f you’re concerned about quickly transitioning to the virtual classroom, you are not alone. Educators and students around the globe are settling in—at home—to finish out the school year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. For many, the digital classroom is a completely new environment. But there’s good news: studies show that learning online is just as effective as learning in the physical classroom, as long as you prepare yourself—and your students—to succeed.

While you’ll surely need to focus on how to adapt your lectures, materials, and assignments to better suit the online classroom, it’s also critical to think about how your students may struggle to adjust—as individuals and as a group. As you begin your transition to teaching online, consider these 10 ways to become a better leader and resource for your students during this unprecedented time.

1. Ensure Your Students Are Equipped Technically

As quickly as you can, determine: Do your students have the technology they need to fully participate in virtual learning? Does every student have access to a device that can perform the functions necessary for online learning, and does that device have the basic software installed to run classroom sessions?

You don’t need to have all the technology answers, but you do need to be a resource for your students. Know the contact information for your institution’s IT department, and direct students to any assistance services they may require. Ensuring that every student has full access to the resources they need, and can overcome barriers at home to participate effectively online is critical so that no one feels excluded or left behind.

2. Give Voice to the Trauma of What Is Happening

The COVID-19 virus—and the mandated social distancing it has necessitated—has created ongoing and escalating consequences and worries for your students. As an educator, you must initially meet them where they are psychologically. Give them space and time to voice the thoughts and emotions they are experiencing before delving into your lessons. Ask students how they are doing. Otherwise, you’ll be ignoring the whole reason you’re making the transition online—the elephant in the virtual room, as it were—and missing an important moment to connect with your students.

As we know from Greenberg, Clair, and Maclean , professors play an important role in the wake of traumatic events—and many believe that role includes acknowledging that students are going through emotional and psychological stress. In addressing the ongoing trauma of this pandemic, acknowledge the position you and your students are in and the emotions that come with it. You need to do that before you can ask them to carve out time to continue learning.

No matter how you decide to address the more personal impact of COVID-19 on your students, remind them of the support services available to them through your institution and acknowledge that you are all going through this difficult time together.

3. Set Ground Rules Early On

From the beginning, establish—and sometimes reset—ground rules. You should still ask students not to multitask or check their phones during class, for example. To enforce this, ask students to use video and keep their cameras on throughout class; it really makes a difference. Then get into whatever material you have planned for the day.

Do a “class launch” that sets expectations for this new way of learning—you want to clarify, in detail, how the class will work together online. How should the class communicate and how often? How big should breakout groups be? Ask your students what they think, and take that into consideration as you establish new norms.

4. Find New Ways to Check in with Students

Ensure that students have ongoing opportunities to speak as a group about the new state of affairs—this isn’t a once-and-done conversation. Early on, say something like, It’s a new world; we’re not sure how long this is going to last, but for the rest of the semester, I want to make sure that everyone feels they have the setup and support they need.

Remember, too, that with online teaching, there’s not just one meeting time, one form of communication, or one medium of conveying messages. Make sure you communicate redundantly to avoid confusion and ensure that everyone has heard and understood you. Follow up with an email or announcement, and have multiple touchpoints (through various media) to keep the conversation going after class.

5. Create an Effective Culture for Your Virtual Class

Building a great online class culture is very important, and very difficult, to do—it requires you to actively work on it. Here are three effective steps to facilitate a supportive culture for your online classroom:

Make sure students always feel like they know what’s going on. At home, they are away from their campus hub and can feel like they’ve lost touch with what’s happening at their school, with their classmates and teachers. Communication is extremely important: send more emails or announcements, implement one-on-one conversations, and encourage more discussions.

Take care to ensure that students don’t feel like they have less access to you than their peers do. Because everyone is at home, their methods of communicating with you may be different. Make sure you are accessible and available to everyone equally. Engage your students more than ever and do it fairly. They need to feel like there’s parity among them.

When you run synchronous class time with the entire group, make sure you’re balancing for inclusion and airtime. If you have students who tend to dominate the conversation during in-person discussions, they’re going to dominate virtually as well. Make space for all students to participate. Call on students who are less inclined to speak up when other students are dominating class time.

6. Diversify Modes to Enhance Engagement

During your class sessions, diversify the modes. Every 20 minutes, change how you are engaging your students. Consider using varied modes such as slides, videos, polls, lecture, reflection activities, and simulations. This practice enhances student engagement and breaks up your class time in a productive and vibrant way. You must create this new rhythm for yourself and your students to set expectations for their engagement throughout the class.

7. Recognize the Psychological Impact of Screen-Only Learning

Without the benefit of face-to-face contact, educators and students in online-only environments may feel isolated and lonely. If you and your students were accustomed to having unplanned and informal “hallway” conversations before or after class, you now realize the importance of those interactions to your overall learning experience. Those conversations can have a direct impact on participation and on students’ sense of connection with you and each other, and they can easily go away with remote environments.

How do you recreate those informal social moments? Here are a few ideas:

Set up online office hours through whichever medium is best for you and your class, be it email, instant chat, or voice and video calling. Make yourself available for student support on a regular and consistent basis just as you would in person.

Create a virtual “hallway” where students are encouraged to have more candid—but class appropriate—conversations, just as they might have before their in-person classes. For example, you can log in to the online tool you are using a few minutes early and let students know that you will be there then. You can privately instant message with individual students or chat with those who show up early as a group. Alternately, you can implement a separate chat, establish a hashtag for the class, have phone or video calls, or encourage informal engagement on applications like WhatsApp, WeChat, or Viber.

8. Proactively Assist Struggling Students

First, recognize the signs of a struggling student: they’re withdrawn, they’re communicating less. When you see them on video during class time, they are more inhibited. They aren’t participating in class discussions. Then, talk to them; have a conversation—this student may need more engagement and contact from others. Make sure they have what they need. During this time, we need to make sure that, within our classes and broader university communities, there are services available to help students when they need it. Know where to direct students to take advantage of any assistive and support services that your institution may provide.

Students might be feeling that their sense of purpose and community is undermined; when campus life is suspended, students—and educators—can feel like they’re no longer a part of something bigger than just themselves. As leaders, we need to help our students with this, and part of that is being much more visible as a resource. Through video lectures, discussions, and other communication, be confident and calm. And above all, be available as a resource.

9. Trust Your Students

As you make the move to the virtual classroom and begin to teach your students online, keep this in mind: You have to trust your students. This is an era when we should heed Ernest Hemingway’s quote, “The way to make people trustworthy is to trust them.” You can’t always see what your students are doing, but give them assignments, equip them to do their work, check in on them like you have in the past, and know that you’re giving them important resources and support during a challenging time.

10. Stay Positive

Despite the trying circumstances that are prompting this move to digital learning, remember this important positive aspect: Students are developing virtual skills that will be helpful to them throughout their careers in the digital age. As long as you face this change head on and take advantage of the strengths of online learning, it can absolutely be a successful experience for you and your students.

Tsedal Neeley is the Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She is the head of the required first-year Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD) course in the MBA program. Tsedal also co-chairs the executive offering Leading Global Businesses. She teaches extensively in executive programs such as Global Strategic Management, the Program for Leadership Development, and the Harvard Business Analytics Program. Follow her on Twitter @tsedal .

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Adapting to Being an Online Student

Communicate with your instructor

Know the expectations , establish a functional work space.

"I love taking courses online and feel the class engagement is just as good as an in-person class. We connect through small groups, online forums, and if we know our classmates, through emails and texts. Additionally, I can do my class comfortably from my bed. I've taken all three of my classes online and the online platforms (Blackboard, Zoom, and Moodle) are fairly intuitive to use and there is great tech support. I recommend online classes very highly.” -Samantha Carroll

Utilize your resources

     "The first two weeks I decided that I needed to get organized from the very beginning and not let this coursework get ahead of me since I decided to work full time and go to school. Being organized is the best suggestion that I can give to new students. Once you get the hang of it and get in a rhythm of adapting schoolwork into your daily routine, it seems like you are just rolling along. Also, do not be afraid to use resources. Asking my professor, fellow classmates and Tim questions helped me not to feel overwhelmed during times when it was likely that I would have felt that way." ---- from a Recreation, Sport and Tourism Master’s Student

Manage your time wisely

Actively participate and leverage your network.

"Generally from my perspective, online courses can be a really great experience. I’ve loved it. It takes a little getting used to but I do feel like you can get just as much out of an online class as an in-person one. It can be easy to get distracted, so you have to consciously put yourself in the headspace of “this is class, I’m in school, I’m here to learn” because you’re not in that physical space. The chat can be overwhelming because it can move really quickly, but you don’t need to keep up with every message sent. Having friends in class that you can text with (not during class, of course) to discuss assignments, readings, etc. can really help. And, of course, keeping in mind that even though you’re not physically with your classmates, you’re all in the same boat. If you suddenly had to jump into online learning and you’re disoriented, they probably are too! So cut yourself some slack and do your best, it’s okay to not be comfortable right away.” -Miranda Axworthy, iSchool student

For more information and tips on learning online, visit the following websites:

• How to connect with your online classmates:  https://online.illinois.edu/articles/online-learning/item/2020/03/04/how-to-connect-with-your-online-classmates
• Staying organized throughout your online course:  https://online.illinois.edu/articles/online-learning/item/2020/01/08/staying-organized-throughout-your-online-course .
• Roadmap to group project success in online courses: https://online.illinois.edu/articles/online-learning/item/2017/07/13/roadmap-to-group-project-success-in-online-classes

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Tips to Adjusting to Online Learning for Students

Here are some helpful suggestions to help you transition to online learning:.

Organizing your school work in new ways may be challenging, but you can do this.

• Think about which of your classes are the most difficult. Start with those classes and begin to create "to do lists" for those. Break down your list or tasks into clear, manageable steps. You can start a list of upcoming tasks for each course at the beginning of each week and put it all in one place, like a journal or planner or just a piece of paper. Perhaps you want to create a folder on your computer for each class. A notebook can work well.

• Communication will not be the same as it was in face to face classes. In email correspondence, try your very best to phrase questions to your instructors in such a way so they are able to respond in a brief response. Faculty members may be more likely to respond if they know they can answer you quickly, plus this will keep down the back-and-forth emails with professors.

• A great idea is to create email folders for each course and put any communication into that folder, to manage the huge influx of digital information. For many faculty at FSC (and all across the country as well), teaching on line will be new and challenging.

• It can be isolating to go from an active college student on a busy campus to sitting at home with no one to interact with but email and Brightspace. Stay engaged with family and friends through this stressful experience. You're least at risk outside, so get outside for exercise and fresh air, if possible.

WE CARE ABOUT YOU and the College cares about you. These are really challenging times for us. Engage in your courses EVERY day. Because the content may be delivered not in the method you're used to, you will likely need to spend more time on learning the content than you usually require. More review of notes, more reading, and employing more active study methods to stay engaged while learning alone are important strategies. EVERYONE is learning to do things in a new way.

• Communication is critical if you're having trouble with an online test. Contact the instructor, and the DSC in the same email. Students must take an active role. Keep communicating!

• Utilize academic support, even remotely. Academic advisors, tutors, and us in the Disability Services Center are still available via email.

Shifting to Taking Exams Online

Exam Environment

You are used to coming to our office for a more controlled environment to minimize distractions. To create a similar setting, we suggest you prepare your space before starting an exam online.

• Set up your space before taking your exam to minimize distractions. Make the environment feel like a testing environment (in other words, don't decide to eat your lunch while you are taking your exam or have your television on in the background). • Turn off phones. If you have a landline, set the ringer to silent or low. • Place a "do not disturb" or "testing in progress" sign on your door. • Inform family members (who might also be home) that you will be taking an exam for a specific span of time to minimize interruptions. • You might want to use a lock down browser if you're prone to surfing the internet. • Have all allowed materials available and organized before starting the exam. • At least 15 minutes before the exam, set up your environment to make sure you do not have any computer or internet access issues. • If fidgets or music/sound help you, make sure you have these items available.

• Know the rules and expectations of taking the exam online. Is it open book/notes or are students held to the honor system? Are you being proctored remotely by your professor or a computer program? • Can you start the exam at any time or is the exam only available during a certain time frame? • If your accommodations allow for breaks during exam, is there a way to pause the exam? • Before starting the exam, make sure you know how many questions are on the exam and how much time you have so you can plan accordingly. Since we won't be there to give a warning, you might want to set a timer to go off 10 minutes before your time is up. • Have a clock or timer nearby so you can track how much time you have. • Have scrap paper so that you can note questions you want to revisit. • Questions may be presented one at a time. It may be more difficult to navigate an exam and go back to review questions. Jot down question numbers and note any questions you may have. • If you have clarification questions for your professor, will you be able to reach the professor? How will you do this? Find out before you take your exam. • You may have finally gotten used to the format of your teacher's in-class exams and suddenly that format might be different as it shifts to an online platform. o Reach out to your teachers and ask if the exams will be different. The more prepared you are with what to expect, the better. o If you are suddenly allowed to use notes or access your books during an exam, be careful not to use up all of your time and rely too heavily on these materials. It is better to put an answer down that you think is correct and then return to that question later if you have time at the end to double check than to spend time searching for each of the answers.

Migraines and Eye Strain

Prolonged computer usage can cause a strain on your eyes. If you are prone to migraines or have other visual issues, you will want to take extra steps to minimize the impact as much as possible by adding some adjustments to your computer monitor and workstation.

• Your desk setup can trigger a migraine. Make sure your monitor is placed directly in front of your face to reduce neck strain. Your monitor should be 20 to 40 inches away from your face at eye level. • Adjust the refresh rate of your monitor to its highest rating. • Adjust the display settings of your computer to help reduce eye strain and fatigue.

• Brightness: Adjust the brightness of the display so it's approximately the same as the brightness of your surrounding workstation. As a test, look at the white background of this page. If it looks like a light source, it's too bright. If it seems dull and gray, it may be too dark.
• Text size and contrast: Adjust the text size (enlarge) and contrast for comfort. Usually, black print on a white background is the best combination for comfort.
• Color temperature: This is a technical term used to describe the spectrum of visible light emitted by a color display. Blue light is short-wavelength visible light that is associated with more eye strain than longer wavelength hues, such as orange and red. Reducing the color temperature of your display lowers the amount of blue light emitted by a color display for better long-term viewing comfort.

• To reduce your risk of tiring your eyes by constantly focusing on your screen, use the "20-20-20 rule". Look away from your computer at least every 20 minutes and gaze at a distant object (at least 20 feet away) for at least 20 seconds.

Are you a student with Autism?

Students with ASD

As many colleges and universities move online due to virus transmission concerns, many of you on the spectrum may face some particular challenges.

Change –Change in your routine can really be hard. These changes may be difficult for you to accept and work within. None of us knows what the next few weeks will bring, however, we are all in this together and we are here for you. All of us at the DSC can be reached via email for any questions or concerns you may have.

Structure – Many of you thrive with structure which we are removing with classes going online and many students returning home from their residence halls. The lack of structure and sameness is very challenging. Make a schedule to structure your day.

Being Alone – During this time of crisis we are told to practice "social distancing." We want to encourage our students to keep up social contacts online with Skype or Facetime. Study groups can meet online and multiplayer games can be suggested for social continuity. (See next section)

Screen and Game Addiction - College students in general and those with ASD in particular are very vulnerable to screen and game addiction. Moving classes online gives students even more screen time and the possibility of increased addiction considering the isolation the crisis is causing. We suggest you use a timer so you can take screen breaks, get outside, eating, and sleeping all are even more important now than ever (and for us too!)

Residence Halls – You may be hesitant to leave your residence halls and move back home. You may like the independence college has afforded you and not want to return to a restrictive home and parents may be intrusive. This is temporary of the current crisis and will be returning to your residence halls (we hope many of them this spring but as least in the fall.)

Course Work and Motivation – Online classes can pose many barriers. You must be motivated to complete work independently and be able to initiate assignments and study. This can be challenging. We can assist you with structure and formulating schedules via email.

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Essays About Online Class: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Essays about online class tell many stories. If you need to write about e-learning, discover the top examples and prompts for the subject in our guide.

With over 5.8 million American students attending in 2021, online classes are now one of the education sector’s most popular and modern learning methods. Although it became prevalent because of the pandemic, it’s believed that the concept of distance learning began in the late 1800s .

Online classes pose many benefits that many still take advantage of even after the pandemic. However, not everyone adjusts well to this technology-centered learning due to no face-to-face contact and difficulty learning without the back-and-forth of lesson question time. 

1. My Experience as an Online Student by Debra Sicard

2. how to succeed in online classes essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 3. essay on advantages and disadvantages of online classes by anonymous on selfstudymantra.com, 4. online school vs. traditional school essay by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 5. short essay on online classes by anonymous on byjus.com, 7 helpful prompts on essays about online class, 1. online classes: defined, 2. my experience with online classes during lockdown, 3. how does online class work, 4. the best sites for online class, 5. the pros and cons of enrolling in online class, 6. review of a book about online class, 7. should online classes be the norm.

“I am not a traditional student, so I have non-traditional needs… online classes fit my lifestyle.”

Sicard shares her positive experience with online classes, primarily centering her essay on convenience. She says that with online courses, she can fit more lessons into her schedule, save her money on gas, and have more time with her family. In addition, she mentions she can work and do other things besides taking her credits.

To have a proper perspective of the topic, Sicard also includes the disadvantages of virtual learning, such as devices catching viruses and missing in-real-life interactions with her professors and classmates. But, she believes that an online student can learn as much or even more than what students learn in traditional classes.

“In an online class, a student can only achieve success if he is committed to time management, balancing personal obligations, finding an ideal study environment, asking questions, and applying more effort to completing the course requirements.”

This essay contains steps a non-traditional student can take to avoid failing online classes. The author says that students, especially multitaskers, must know how to manage and balance their time to avoid losing focus. In addition, having a dedicated study spot is necessary to avoid distractions.

“Online classes or online method of learning presents an easy and comfortable method to achieve knowledge. Online classes have now become a great alternative to traditional classes.”

The writer delves into the benefits and drawbacks of online versus traditional learning. Virtual classes offer students freedom regarding their schedules and whereabouts. Some schools also allow students to learn for free. E-learning effectively trains individuals to be responsible and disciplined. 

However, individuals who are not computer literate will find online classes frustrating. Plus, electronic devices can be bad for health, and a lack of personal interaction can hinder personality development.

“[Online course] will also help you become more self-motivated, a trait that will make you stand out in the workplace and beyond.”

By listing the similarities and differences between online and traditional schools, the author demonstrates what classes a student should pick. The writer concludes that while traditional schools prepare students for the real world by interacting with diverse people, online schools help students become more self-motivated to stand out.

“The advantages of online classes take over their disadvantages. If students want to learn, then they have immense opportunities to learn from online classes.”

The author defines online classes as a type of education system where students use electronic devices with an internet connection to learn. However, while online learning improves the quality of education, it can also make the student lazy and cultivates a sense of isolation. Ultimately, they believe that to have the best education system, school teachers and officials must learn how to combine the two methods.

If the topic you’re thinking of is still confusing and you don’t know where to start, here are seven easy writing prompts to inspire you:

Explain the topic to your reader and give a brief history of the origins of online classes. Then briefly compare it to the traditional class to make the differences clear. Finally, point out the distinct features of online classes that conventional learning doesn’t offer, such as face-to-face interaction and question-and-answer debates. You can also discuss various online classes schools offer, such as hybrid learning, interactive online courses, etc.

Tell your story if you’re a student with experience with online classes. Narrate how your school switched to virtual classrooms. Relay the challenges you encountered, including how you adapted. Finish your essay by stating your current preference and why. 

For example, you favor e-learning because it cuts your transportation expenses, helps you be more responsible for managing your time, and lets you sleep in the mornings.

Relate your experience when your school moved online. Discuss any equipment or devices you need to buy before enrolling in your online class. Explain how your school handles online courses and what it does when there are technical difficulties. Add how these challenges (such as unstable internet connection and sudden power outage), such as attendance and participation, impact a class.

To make your essay more intriguing, add the average price of your online classes and if you think it’s fair. For instance, you can argue that since schools don’t provide computers and save expenses on cleaning and utilities when physical classrooms are unused, they should cut their laboratory or miscellaneous fees. You may also be interested in these articles about back to school .

Zoom, Google Classroom, and Microsoft Team are just three of the most popular online teaching software for online classes. In this prompt, look for the most useful and efficient software sites teachers or schools should incorporate into e-learning. Find examples or reliable data that show the number of students or schools that use them. Finally, ensure the details you add are accurate to make your essay credible.

Do you want to write about technology instead? Check out our  essays about technology .

Discussing online classes’ positive and negative effects is a usual essay topic. To make your essay stand out, pick the most impactful points on everyone involved. Don’t just explore the students’ perspectives. Include how virtual learning influences teachers, parents, and businesses.

To give you an idea, you can look into businesses near the campus that closed down when the school shifted to virtual classrooms.

This prompt requires you to search for publications about online classes and share your opinion on them.

For example, John F. Lyons’s book, How to Succeed in an Online Class , published in 2011, introduced technology students encounter in online classes. Suppose you read this book. First, enumerate Lyons’ advice, tips, and learning techniques to prevent a student from failing their online course. Then, briefly explain them individually and include examples or proof that his advice helped.

Online schooling has been around for a long time but has only become widespread because of the pandemic. Use this prompt to write your opinion on whether schools should make virtual learning a permanent option for students. Whatever your answer is, explain your reason to your readers.If you’re interested in learning more about essays, check out our essay writing tips !

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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How to adjust to distance learning

With most schools transitioning to distance learning, many students are trying their best to adjust, with varying degrees of success. This reaction is understandable. The current set up might be more beneficial to some students than others. But for those who might be struggling right now, here are some tips for you that will hopefully make things easier during the next several weeks. 

Before I begin though, it’s important to note one thing: I don’t have the right answers. Nobody does. If you’re feeling lost and struggling to adapt, it’s okay. We ALL are. We are in the middle of an unprecedented moment in our lifetimes. And with that in mind, the most important of my tips is…

Be Understanding and Empathetic

Your professors are just as perplexed and stressed as you are. They will inevitably make mistakes during this time just like everyone else. Be patient with them and give constructive, respectful feedback whenever you can. Remember that they are trying to do what is best for YOU and they greatly value whatever you have to say. Likewise, be patient with your fellow classmates. Help others in your class if they’re having a tougher time with online learning. And if you’re having trouble, feel free to reach out to your fellow classmates and see what you can learn from them. 

Keep in Touch

We’re all human. We naturally crave social interactions with others. So, despite being cooped up in the same place all day, try to stay in touch with those that matter to you most. Whether it be family, friends, or mentors, make sure you stay connected during these times.

There are many ways you can stay connected. There’s texting, phone calls, FaceTime, social media, online gaming, etc. You can even utilize some of the video conferencing apps many professors are using for class such as Google Hangouts and Zoom. Just last week my friends and I chatted on Zoom for an hour or so and it was a fun time!

One of the best parts of college is the social connections you make. So if you want to make these next few weeks seem like college and not just boring online classes, stay connected and keep those meaningful connections going.

However, make these connections safely. Follow CDC guidelines and don’t put anyone at unnecessary risk. We all must make sacrifices at this time and face-to-face interactions likely has to be one of them. 

Create a Personalized Schedule

One of the few upsides to distance learning is that many of you have even more autonomy in terms of when to do work. Albeit, some classes are still meeting at their normal times but many are either meeting only once a week or not at all. 

For some, this lack of structure can be scary. And even if it’s not scary to you, it can still mess you up. The key is to create a schedule that works for you and maximizes your ability to properly learn the material. 

For starters, select a set time (or times) each day to focus on schoolwork. If you’re a night owl, maybe this is the time to get work done. Or if you’re an early riser and learn better after you first wake up, perhaps that will be the time for you. Or maybe you’d prefer to separate things in little chunks throughout the day. Do whatever works best for you, just make sure you stay consistent with it.

As for your study space, make sure it’s a place with little to no distractions. The last thing you need is for your mom to start vacuuming while you watch an important video from your professor or be distracted by what’s on TV while working on that paper due in a couple days. 

To be safe, I’d even recommend turning your phone off or at least leaving it in a different room. Now that we’re distance learning, you’ll have plenty of time to scroll through social media or play games on it. This time should be focused on schoolwork and mastering whatever material you’re learning. 

I hope you found this information to be useful and can apply these tips to your life while adjusting to this new but hopefully brief normal. Again, I don’t have all the answers and nobody else does either. We’re all learning and adapting together so just be patient and understanding to those around you.

Most importantly, stay safe, be smart, and practice healthy habits. This is only temporary and it too shall pass if we all work together. And I believe that we will.   

Justin graduated in 2020, double majoring in biology and neuroscience with a minor in creative writing. He conducted research at Baylor College of Medicine, where he investigated the use of several brain imaging scans to detect early structural and functional differences in young mice with Alzheimer's, with the hope of eventually developing an early diagnostic tool for the disease. He currently is pursuing a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Kentucky.

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Teaching tips

Strategies for teaching online: the ultimate guide for educators.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

With COVID-19 nearly overnight transforming our traditional classrooms into virtual ones, it can seem like distance learning has appeared out of nowhere. But, the truth is, education’s shift towards distance learning had been steadily growing long before this pandemic. And it’s here to stay.

What We Review

Why Distance Learning is Here to Stay

Nothing is perfect, and distance learning isn’t a solution to all a school’s problems. However, it does meet a variety of both students’ and school districts’ needs that traditional, brick-and-mortar classrooms can’t.

Fully virtual schools have been sprouting up across states for years, and only growing in popularity. While some families have realized that full-time distance learning doesn’t suit their personal lifestyles, for others it’s essential. Competitive student-athletes with rigorous training schedules, students with mental or physical ailments, and families who just want the flexibility in their day, to name a few.

Even traditional schools are utilizing fully virtual courses for their in-person populations. For example, say a district wants to offer a film studies course to their students but doesn’t have the funding or the student numbers to justify a full-time film teacher in every building. This district will instead hire one teacher to virtually run the course through an online Learning Management System, like Canvas or Moodle. Students across the district can now take this virtual course at any period of the day, in their school’s computer lab.

We see districts investing in virtual tools, digital subscriptions, practice software, and broadband. Digital citizenship courses are on the rise as a key component in school curricula.

For educators new to distance learning, it can be difficult to know what online teaching techniques work best, or even where to begin. In this comprehensive post, we detail effective online teaching strategies, easy-to-use tips, and provide a number of accessible resources.

The 3 Keys to Teaching Online Classes Effectively

While everyone’s teaching style is a bit different, successful educators all follow the same best practices in online teaching. These 5 simple principles are the framework for all of the top online learning strategies.

1. Clear communication with your students’ families.

Families want to hear from you often and regularly. It can be easy for students and parents to start to feel disconnected. Reassure them your “virtual door” is always open, and share your email and phone number early and often in multiple places. Clear, respectful communication is the key to building relationships and classroom community.

2. Vary your types of lessons.

Your teaching should be a blend of both synchronous (happening in real-time) and asynchronous (unscheduled and self-paced). Synchronous teaching through phone calls, video lessons, or live chats allows students to ask questions and build relationships with you and each other. Asynchronous activities, like discussion boards or recorded lectures, allow your students to complete assignments at their own time and pace. Both styles have their benefits and are necessary in their own ways.

3. Select the right tools for your class.

Your school’s Learning Management System or LMS will most likely be the primary tool you use for your direct communication and posting assignments. Familiarize yourself with it early, and don’t hesitate to reach out to your more tech-savvy coworkers with questions. You’ll also need a separate tool like Google Voice o r Zoom or phone calls, live lessons, and video chatting. 

Beyond these basics, there are a huge variety of educational technology tools to transform your teaching and engage your students. This is the fun part! Use the tips and tricks provided later in this article for discovering, experimenting, and implementing new tools in your classroom.

Return to the Table of Contents

What are the Most Common Strategies of Distance Education?

Encouraging student engagement while ensuring they master their course content can be challenging in any setting. We provide vital online teaching ideas on how to make your lessons more interactive and foster active learning. We discuss these five most common strategies in distance education in more detail throughout this article:

1. Adapt your lessons to work online.

Revamp your in-person lessons to the online environment with engaging discussions, screen recordings, and interactive tech tools.

2. Set clear expectations with students and families.

Share your expectations and due dates early and often to prepare students and families for a successful year.

3. Build a strong online classroom community.

Classroom community is just as essential in the virtual environment and can be fostered with video chats, purposeful free time, and class message boards.

4. Connect with parents and keep them involved.

Keep parents involved consistently with frequent and engaging communications like weekly newsletters and personal phone calls throughout the school year.

5. Find and utilize the right EdTech for your needs.

Collaborate with fellow educators and identify specific needs to find and implement the best tools for your classroom.

Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Adapt Your Lesson Plans to Different Types of Learners

We know you’ve already put endless hours into your lessons plans, tweaking and perfecting them. Don’t feel like all that work has gone to waste! There are a bunch of different online learning strategies to adapt your in-person lesson plans to fit the virtual environment. It just takes a little creativity and the right tools.

1. Add discussions to increase engagement and comprehension.

An unbeatable tool for asynchronous discussions is Flipgrid . Instead of typing, students record themselves answering your posted questions. They can view and respond to each other’s videos, as well. This is a great option for reluctant writers, a strong way to boost engagement, and promote active learning.

For written discussions, Google Classroom is a great tool. You simply post the assignment instructions, let students post their answer, and then they can read and respond to others. Check out How to Teach From Home with Google Classroom and Albert for more tips.

For synchronous discussions, chat rooms like YO Teach allow students to message back and forth in real-time. Fair warning- these chatrooms require active monitoring from the teacher side. 

2. Utilize screen recordings to pre-record yourself and your lessons.

For the Powerpoints you’ve already created, screen recording software like Loom or Screencastify allows you to record your presentation on-screen as you speak and click through your slides. It even has the option to include a little window with your face on the screen, so your students can still see you. These videos can be downloaded or shared via weblink. 

Beyond just lessons, you can also record yourself explaining assignment directions, for those students who do better when verbally told what to do.

3. Make your lessons interactive and engaging.

Nearpod is one way to make online classes more interactive. It’s a dynamic tool that allows students to follow along and participate in your lessons on their own devices. First, you import your pre-existing lessons pdfs or Powerpoints. You then can add in places for student interaction: written responses, drawings, quizzes, polls, collaborate boards, and more. You can differentiate the type and difficulty of assignments for different student needs.

Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Set Clear Expectations with Students

Strong classroom management is as essential in the online environment as it is in the traditional one. Even though you won’t be physically seeing your students every day, read on for 5 effective online teaching strategies to hold them accountable.

1. Post behavior expectations in every live discussion.

Make your rules/expectations crystal clear from the outset, especially in live discussions. You’ll probably find even the quieter students feel more bold typing in the chat- which is great when it’s positive conversations, but not-so-great when it gets off-topic or inappropriate. 

In your first synchronous lesson, spend time discussing with your students what you as a class want your “Online Classroom Norms” to be. Create a list of around 8-10 norms, including specific rules like “stay on topic,” “always be kind and respectful,” “raise your hand and wait to be called on before turning on your microphone.” After you create the norms, review and share the document before every live lesson.

2. Set and enforce consequences in live discussions.

The same in any classroom, it’s just as important to enforce your expectations as it is to create and share them. If a student is negatively participating, you can easily mute or remove him or her from the lesson. Then, follow up afterward with a phone call home to discuss the situation.

3. Find your positive reinforcement.

My students used to love cleaning the whiteboard, or getting small pieces of candy. But online, these rewards don’t translate. However, it’s still just as important to reward students to reinforce their positive behavior. Some ideas include:

• Public shoutouts : Recognize star students in your emails to the class, during synchronous lessons, or post them on a public board. A board like padlet can even let students post shoutouts recognizing each other.
• Private shoutouts : Send students and their families individual messages when they’ve done a great job.
• Student choice : Allowing students to make even seemingly small choices can be motivating. Let a student choose which song to play before the lesson starts or choose a fun image for your virtual Zoom background.

4. Set clear due dates.

Many students struggle with time management. Without a rigid school day schedule, it’s easy for students to lose track of time and fall behind on their work. Set due dates for everything, and send frequent reminders. By the way, check out our free teaching strategy discovery tool .

Where possible, chunk large assignments into smaller ones to help students keep on pace. For example, if assigning an essay, set a due date for the outline, the rough draft, and the final essay. This helps force the “wait til the last minute” folks to move forward at a steady pace.

5. Use acknowledgement forms.

In this online environment, you’ll find yourself inevitably wondering, “Does anyone even read my emails?” To guarantee your students read and understand any especially important communications, add a link to a quick Google Form where a student and/or parent will type their name to acknowledge they read and understood it.

Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Build Rapport and Community with Students

Without the natural opportunities to make connections in a traditional classroom, it’s important to create these spaces in the online setting. We share easy best practices in online teaching to build your classroom community:

1. Use interactive Flipgrid discussions.

With Flipgrid, you and your students can respond to topics you’ve posted with a selfie video. Students can view everyone’s responses and then post a video reply. Though these aren’t synchronous discussions, seeing and hearing you and their classmates helps to form a community bond.

2. Incorporate purposeful free time .

Allowing 10 minutes before a live lesson for students to enter early to chat with you and each other, is a great way to foster important, informal connections. If possible, host a half hour recess once a week, where students can log into a live meeting room just to hang out. If conversation lags or needs direction, you can facilitate topics with fun icebreakers and “would you rather” questions.

3. Have a regular show and tell .

The virtual classroom makes show and tell easier than ever! You set the topic (their pet, their favorite outfit, something from a fun vacation), and students can turn on their video cameras and microphones to share in a lesson. Alternatively, you can include your show and tell in the bottom of a weekly email update. Students can share videos or just pictures and a caption- whatever works best for you!

4. Utilize a class message board .

Padlet is a great tool for creating a collaborative class message board. Students can wish each other happy birthdays, share exciting events in their lives, or post shoutouts and encouragements to each other. You can adjust Padlet’s settings so that all messages have to be approved by you before posting.

5. Remember the value of a personal phone call.

Just reaching out and speaking with your student one-on-one builds an essential bond. It can be overwhelming if you have a large class, so set a goal to speak with a certain number of students each week to ensure you’re reaching everyone. If you don’t have a work phone, create a free Google Voice account so families don’t have access to your personal number.

Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Connect with Parents

We know that parent involvement strongly impacts student performance in school. Research shows the importance of teachers and parents developing relationships based on trust, respect, and solid communication. 

In the online environment, parent involvement looks very different. As the person physically with the student, parents are now responsible for making sure their child is staying on-task and logging into the computer each day to complete assignments. It can take some parents a while to adjust to their new role. As the teachers, we must find ways to connect and support our parents, provide online learning strategies for students, and keep them involved throughout the school year.

1. Send frequent reminders with Remind 101 .

This is a great two-way communication tool, that allows you to send both mass and personalized text messages. Parents who aren’t fans of checking their email or logging into their LMS account every day benefit from receiving timely reminders like these directly to their phones:

• Class events, times, and locations
• Due dates for upcoming assignments or test days
• Links to resources, videos, and articles

2. Share out weekly newsletters.

Newsletter emails help keep families informed and involved with the happenings in your class and the school. We recommend including pictures and highlighting student achievements to keep parents engaged all school year.   Lucidpress offers a number of different, free templates to choose from.

3. Be clear and consistent with your expectations.

Parents want to know what they can do to support their child’s learning, but don’t always know where to start. Having clear conversations about your goals and expectations for the school year helps. In the transition to online learning, we can discuss parent expectations like:

• Checking their child’s due dates and what they’ve submitted each day
• Checking the posted grades for each class
• Reading and responding to teacher emails and calls
• Reaching out with any questions or challenges

Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Find the Right EdTech Tools and Curricula Supports

With so many different tools out there, it can be overwhelming to find the one that’s best for you and your students. Our distance learning hub is a great place to start. You can also use these simple strategies to make your selection process easy and effective. 

1. Utilize these 100+ Distance Learning Tools .

We provide a comprehensive guide of 100+ distance learning tools and strategies for effective student engagement. If you’re unsure where to begin, or just want to explore new technology, start with this list. It’s organized by both instructional need and content area.

2. Collaborate with colleagues.

Even though you’re not seeing your coworkers in the hallway every day, they’re still one of the most valuable resources you can find. It can be easy to feel isolated working home alone, but remember to reach out and ask what your fellow teachers are doing in their virtual classrooms. They’re all researching and testing out new strategies and tools just like you are, and sharing your mutual findings benefits everyone.

3. Supplement your Curricula Needs.

When you need to supplement your curriculum with ready-made online activities, Albert has engaging, standards-aligned resources across grade levels and subjects. While many resources are free, educators are encouraged to try Albert for free . Tips for teaching English online using Albert include varying our leveled readings in STEM and across topics to generate interest among different students.

4. EdTech Digital Promise Framework .

This process helps educational leaders select and run successful educational technology pilots in their schools. The steps include how to identify a need, discover and select a product, train staff, and much more.

5. Always do a test run before using a new tool in class.

After you’ve selected the new tool to try, create a mock class to assign work to. Log in and test out your activity as a student, so you can truly see if this will work for your class. Also, you’ll be able to help troubleshoot common problems that you might not have noticed from just your teacher log-in.

Common Mistakes Teachers Make When First Teaching Online

There’s a few common mistakes even the best veteran teachers make when first switching to the online environment. Keep in mind these strategies for teaching online when you get started:

1. Not setting boundaries with students and parents.

Working from home, it can be tough to disconnect from your work. It’s even tougher when you have students and families reaching out to you at all hours of the evening. It can be tempting to answer the phone or send a quick reply, but resist. 

Share the hours you’re available with your families, and stick to them. Mimic your normal school day, like 7:30am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday. It’s important you give yourself the time to disconnect, and anything your student needs can wait until the next morning. Teacher burnout is real.

2. Not testing new tools a few times before rolling them out to your students.

We all know- technology is great… when it works. Inevitably, something won’t always go as planned. But, that’s okay! Just like in the traditional classroom, teachers adapt and move on if something goes wrong. It can be intimidating to try out a new tool for the first time, so we suggest setting up a mock class and using some willing colleagues or family members as your guinea pigs before rolling it out with students.

3. Rolling out too much too soon.

Be wary of assigning complex tasks and assignments without training your students on how to use the technology first. Families and students will be capable of handling this complexity at some point, if you build them up to it. You don’t want your student spending more time trying to decipher the instructions than learning the actual content.

When assigning a learning task using a new tech tool, consider that it may take your families an extra 30min to one hour to get the hang of using it. Provide clear instructions with common troubleshooting tips. Better yet, assign a “mock assignment” of something simple, before actually assigning a lesson. For example, if it’s a discussion board, have students’ first posts be about their family pet or what they did for fun that weekend.

Wrapping Things Up: Things to Remember When Teaching Online

We’ve covered a lot of online teaching ideas and strategies. To wrap things up, here are 3 key takeaways to carry into your virtual classroom:

1. Stay communicative :

Share your expectations for behavior early and often. Keep lines of communication open, using different tools like emails, Remind 101, phone calls, and class message boards. Weekly newsletters are a great way to build community with families.

2. Continuously adapt your classroom :

Use the lessons you’ve already created, and adapt them to the online environment with different ed tech tools. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel- take advantage of the great resources already out there. Albert has a huge library of standards aligned lessons and activities for all ages and subjects.

3. Keep activities interesting with students :

Use a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities to keep your students engaged, and meet different learner needs. Build in purposeful community-building activities like Show and Tell and time for free chat to foster strong student relationships.

We hope you found this Ultimate Guide for Educators helpful. Remember, one of the strong resources educators have is each other! What are you doing in your online classroom? Share your favorite tips for teaching and online learning strategies for students in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like our post on 75 educational teacher websites , our viral post on distance learning tools here or our free 150+ teaching strategies discovery tool .

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Adapting to change: the challenges of online teaching, and learning..

Last Spring, as physical distancing measures were implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19, NC State University announced in mid-March that campus would not reopen.  Spring Break was extended a week to allow instructors and students to adjust to what would become the new normal, with all lectures and labs to be delivered and received online. Zoom, the online meeting application, became a household word. Now, as we near completion of Fall semester which was almost entirely online, instructors and students continue to adapt.

The most challenging aspect of online learning for me has been sticking to a routine. Previously, going to class and other activities provided a nice structure that I could rely on to organize my day. Now as I’ve shifted into online learning, being in my room for a majority of the day has blurred the lines between work and leisure. This is something that I’ve had to focus on, and I feel I’ve gotten better at as the semester progressed.        Carter Howe, Senior in Civil Engineering

The sudden switch to online classes has been challenging for students AND instructors.  Instead of lecturing or learning in a classroom, people found themselves working and learning from home. Concerns included locating a reliable wi-fi connection, finding a space to set up a home office that was private, quiet and well lit, and learning to work around the schedules of your family and/or housemates. Beyond process considerations, there was also an emotional toll for many instructors and students. Lecturing to a sea of digital faces on Zoom offered little feedback for instructors, and students reported feeling isolated and de-motivated.

I tried to garner engagement from students during lectures on Zoom, but you can’t force it. If you try to force interaction and it doesn’t work, now you’re hanging on a ledge. You have to learn to strike a balance.  Steve Welton, Lecturer

At the end of the Spring semester, the Undergraduate Program Committee (UPC) conducted a survey of CCEE instructors to gather information about the experiences and lessons learned related to converting their teaching to online. “We gathered information about hardware used, teaching methods, exams, quizzes and homework assignments,” said Dr. Min Liu, who oversaw the survey. “Although there is plenty of information available about online teaching, it was valuable to share our own experiences in the department, because we teach similar groups of students on closely related topics.”

Based on survey results and informal sharing, UPC conducted a 1.5 hour workshop entitled “Sharing Our Own Experience – Online Teaching Workshop” for CCEE instructors. Drs. Tarek Aziz and Johnathan Miller, and Lecturer Steve Welton, shared their methods as related to streaming platforms Zoom and Mediasite – a classroom capture program that NC State has a license to use. They also shared their individual ways of recording or streaming their lectures, often using two cameras so that one camera captures the instructor while another shows relevant documents. They shared tips about how to set up the cameras to keep students’ attention. There was also discussion about how to engage students and encourage participation.

“One way of keeping students engaged is to create assignments, such as guided problems, that have to be completed during class time,” Aziz relayed.   He went on to explain that one of the biggest challenges he faced during Spring semester was administering exams. “I use Moodle to administer exams that include both short quizzes with multiple choice answers, and longer written portions, with time limits that students have to follow,” Aziz said.  Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system. He explained that exams can be graded in Moodle or an application called Gradescope.

Welton said the hardest part for him was the lack of interaction and engagement from students without the face-to-face connection. “Students can become extremely passive with online lectures, so I tried to develop problems that we worked in class. I would get their help to run numbers and gradually build a problem with their input.  I used a document camera to build the problem during the lecture,” Welton said. In the case of large class sizes, he created breakout rooms, which is available on the Zoom platform. The idea was to encourage student participation in smaller groups. “What I found was that, in the higher-level classes where you have juniors and seniors who already know their colleagues, it can work well. If you throw freshman and sophomores together, who are strangers, it can be a tough situation,” Welton said.

The online workshop organized by UPC was recorded and made available to all CCEE instructors who could not attend the initial session. Dr. Min Liu also shared a summary of the workshop at a faculty meeting. “Some of the general findings that came out of the survey and the workshop was the need to provide students with plenty of information about the structure of the course, and a schedule with important dates such as quizzes and exams, and set those up in Moodle,” Liu said. “We also encouraged all our lecturers to survey their students at the beginning of the semester to be aware of any internet accessibility challenges. All lectures should be recorded for later viewing in case there were problems with signals or schedules for any reason. We also want to make sure we encourage all our students to ask questions, and we reminded ourselves to be patient and understanding during this time.”

For me, the most challenging aspect of online learning is being alert and motivated to learn from a place where I would usually rest and relax. My instructors have done well with keeping the class engaged and interested despite not being in the same room. Some professors could do better with offering incentives to be in class with graded participation. Chloe Stokes, Senior in Environmental Engineering  

Most common challenges undergraduate students face during online classes.

• Technical issues.
• Distractions and time management.
• Staying motivated.
• Understanding course expectations.
• Lack of in-person interaction.
• Adapting to unfamiliar technology.
• Uncertainty about the future.

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✍️Essay on Online Classes: Samples in 100, 150, 200 Words

• Updated on  
• Oct 20, 2023

Online classes, also known as virtual classes, have over time revolutionized education. They are known for providing students with the flexibility to access educational content and at the same time interact with professors in the comfort of their homes. With time, this mode of learning has gained huge popularity due to its accessibility and the ability to cater to diverse learning styles.

In this digital age, online classes have become a fundamental part of education, enabling all individuals to acquire knowledge, skills etc. Are you looking to gain some more information about online classes? Well, you have come to the right place. Here you will get to read some samples of online classes. 

Table of Contents

• 1 What are Online Classes?
• 2 Essay on Online Classes in 100 Words
• 3 Essay on Online Classes in 150 Words
• 4 Essay on Online Classes in 200 Words

Also Read: Online Courses

What are Online Classes?

Online classes are educational courses or learning programs which are conducted over the Internet. They provide students with the opportunity to study and complete their coursework remotely from the comfort of their homes. Online classes are a part of formal education. They can be taken in schools or colleges or can be offered by various online learning platforms. 

Online classes may include a variety of digital resources as well as tools. These may include quizzes, assignments, video lectures, discussion forums, connecting with friends via email, chat video calls etc. This type of learning offers the student flexibility in terms of when and where they can access their coursework and study. It is also helpful for those who study part-time have busy schedules and prefer remote learning. 

With the onset of COVID-19 , online classes became a huge hit hence the evolution of online classes. It offers one with different levels of education, skill training and much more. 

Essay on Online Classes in 100 Words

Online classes have become a central aspect of modern education. They offer flexibility, accessibility, and convenience, allowing students to learn from the comfort of their homes. The rise of online classes was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, making a shift from traditional classrooms to virtual learning environments. 

However, there are many disadvantages to online classes. Students may struggle with distractions, lack of in-person interaction, and technical issues. Additionally, they have opened up new avenues for global collaboration and lifelong learning. In an increasingly digital world, online classes are likely to remain a significant part of education.

Essay on Online Classes in 150 Words

Online classes have become a prevalent mode of education, especially in the past two years. These digital platforms offer several advantages. First, they provide flexibility, allowing students to learn from the comfort of their homes. This is especially beneficial for those with busy schedules or who are studying part-time. 

Second, online classes often offer a wider range of courses, enabling learners to explore diverse subjects. Additionally, these classes promote self-discipline and time management skills as students must regulate their own study routines.

However, there are challenges associated with online learning. Technical issues can disrupt classes, and the lack of face-to-face interaction may hinder social development. It can also be isolating for some students.

In conclusion, online classes offer convenience and a variety of courses, but they also present challenges related to technology and socialization. The future of education likely involves a blend of traditional and online learning methods, catering to diverse learning needs.

Also Read: Online Learning

Essay on Online Classes in 200 Words

Online classes have become a prevalent mode of education. However, this shift has brought about both advantages and challenges.

One significant benefit of online classes is accessibility. They allow students from diverse backgrounds and locations to access quality education without any constraints. This inclusivity promotes diversity and global learning experiences. Additionally, online classes often offer flexible schedules, enabling students to balance their studies with other responsibilities.

However, online classes present challenges too. Technical issues and a lack of face-to-face interaction can hinder effective learning. Students may even struggle with self-discipline and motivation, leading to a decline in academic performance. Moreover, the absence of physical facilities like libraries and laboratories can limit hands-on learning opportunities.

In conclusion, online classes have revolutionized education by providing accessibility and flexibility. Yet, they also pose challenges related to technical issues, motivation, and practical experiences. 

Related Articles

Every student has their own pace of study, and this is where distance learning’s benefits really shine. You can go at your own speed in online classes, go over the material as needed, and complete the work in a method that best suits your learning preferences.

Online courses can be successful provided they are well-designed and delivered, just like any other course or programme. However, this depends from person to person as not every student is meant for online classes. 

In online education, students get to study online using a computer/laptop and only need a proper internet connection. 

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay-writing page and follow Leverage Edu ! 

Malvika Chawla

Malvika is a content writer cum news freak who comes with a strong background in Journalism and has worked with renowned news websites such as News 9 and The Financial Express to name a few. When not writing, she can be found bringing life to the canvasses by painting on them.

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Reviewed By: Natalie Asayag MSW, LCSW

10 Easy Steps to Adjust to Online Classes

Published aug 7th, 2020 & updated on feb 13th, 2023.

Depending on where you are in the world, your exact timeline of events may be a little different. But for the most part we can assume that the beginning of 2020, specifically March, hit us like a freight train. One minute we were walking the hallways with our friends, whispering about our cute classmate, and then all of a sudden, we weren’t. Somehow along the way we landed here, wondering how we can adjust to online classes.

Morning commutes, heavy backpacks, group presentations, and every sense of normalcy disappeared. We were left with a single email, a makeshift home desk, and a whole lot of worries.

  With school set to start up again soon, many of us will be diving (back) into the world of online learning. Although the tips here are geared towards college students, they can easily be applied to any sort of virtual work whether it be a career, internship, or community position. 

Without further ado, 10 actionable tips to help you adjust to online classes and transition to virtual learning!

1. Make a Schedule for Class Time AND Homework Time

This is the one, folks. It’s first on the list for a reason. Despite the obvious differences, the more you can keep your online classes like normal classes, the better. 

Make a schedule that incorporates your lectures, assignments, study time, and free time. Plan out your days, weeks, and months and stick to them as closely as you can. This will give you a nice routine and a sense of normalcy (although what even is normal anymore?). 

There are tons of different scheduling methods out there: handwritten agendas, electronic calendars, block scheduling, apps, you name it. Test them all out until you find one that works for you. Then follow it like a duckling to its mama. 

2. Eliminate Distractions

And we thought it was hard to focus during live lectures. Oh boy. 

Whether it’s a busy household or a busy cell phone, it’s 42849 times easier to be distracted while working at home. Speaking from experience, of course. Even if you can’t get rid of all of the distractions, try to find a way to at least minimize them. 

Share a copy of your class schedule with your family so they know when to keep the volume down (if that’s possible). Hide the TV remote in another room and, while you’re at it, leave your phone there too. Taking these proactive steps will help you stay more focused and keep your schoolwork on track. 

3. Have a Dedicated Workspace

When you’re spending so much time at home, it’s important to have designated spaces within that home. As appealing as it may be to work from your bed, it can get old pretty quickly and the lines of your schedule may start blurring a bit. 

You may find yourself working when you’re supposed to be relaxing and relaxing when you’re supposed to be working. Instead, create a welcoming study space so you know that when you’re there, you work. When you’re not, you don’t. 

Soon, that one flight of stairs to your desk will feel like your old bus ride to school. But hopefully it won’t take 30 minutes.  

4. Adjust How You Communicate Online

As if talking to profs wasn’t hard enough already, now we’re expected to talk to them without ever meeting them? Can they sense our fear through the little chat box in Zoom? Online communication adds an extra layer of difficulty because it’s so easy for messages to get misinterpreted. If you haven’t emailed a prof in a while, brush up on how to write a proper email as well as their expectations for responding.

Pro Tip: Don’t start your email with “hey” when reaching out to a prof and for the love of all things good, don’t talk about your new Netflix obsession on the Zoom chat. There’s a time and place, my friends. And this is not it.

5. Ask Questions in Class

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this before: “If you have a question, chances are someone else has the exact same question.” 

Because it’s true. Especially now. If you’re worried it’s going to look like you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t be worried. 

Honestly, do any of us really know what we’re doing with all of this new technology? We’re all in the same boat and trying to figure things out as we go. Don’t be afraid to ask your instructor for help with aggregate supply and demand or ask a classmate for clarification on the paper guidelines. 

6. Use Your Resources

Believe us when we say that there are so many resources out there for online learning and working. Use them. Plus, most schools even have their own online learning resources that are specific to the technology and procedures they use. Start there and expand to the rest of the world wide web as needed.

7. Be Wary of Zoom Fatigue

There’s a reason you feel absolutely exhausted after your fourth Zoom meeting in four hours. And it’s called Zoom fatigue. Yep. It’s a thing. 

According to experts Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy , video calls “force us to focus more intently on conversations in order to absorb information.” There are no non-verbal cues or stimulus breaks, and we spend a lot of time starting at our own faces, trying to make them look invested in the conversation. 

This explains why video meetings are so mentally and physically draining . A couple of ways to ease Zoom fatigue are to avoid multitasking, and switch to plain old phone calls when possible.  

P.S. For adorable and completely relatable workplace illustrations like the one below, check out @lizandmollie on Instagram. 

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Liz and Mollie (@lizandmollie) on May 18, 2020 at 8:33am PDT

8. Take Breaks in Between Classes

We used to be able to walk around campus, grab a coffee, or chat with friends between classes. Now we’re stuck in the same place for the majority of the day. 

In the spirit of treating online classes like the good old days, try getting up and taking a break every once in a while. Do something you love, get some exercise, or write in your journal. Step away from your screen for a few minutes and recharge (while your computer also recharges because, you know, Zoom).

9. Acknowledge How You’re Really Feeling

Changing everything you know is hard. Anyone who says it’s not is lying. It’s important to check in with yourself and monitor how you’re feeling. As always, we recommend turning to journaling to sort through your emotions. 

The DiveThru app has an entire section dedicated to students including quick dives like ‘getting focused’ and ‘quieting test anxiety’. Try them out for free today by downloading the DiveThru app !

10. Be Patient. Everyone’s Learning.

This is a weird time for everyone. There isn’t a single person who can say they’ve experienced this before and are a pro at handling it. Everyone is trying to adjust at rapid speeds and there’s bound to be a few hiccups. Whether it’s with your school, your instructor, your group member, or yourself, be patient. Everyone’s trying their best to adjust to online classes.

Read More: 8 Ways Students Can Deal with Burnout Signs , 8 Steps for Finding the Right Career Path ,

My Experience With Online Classes Essay

With the onset of Covid-19, students everywhere have had to adapt quickly and make an adjustment from traditional in-person classes to online education. I’ve been fortunate enough for my learning experience during this pandemic transition period not just be acceptable but enjoyable as well.

Write a Short Essay On My Experience With Online Classes during Pandemic

1. Introduction:

Despite the initial challenge of adjusting to a totally new format, I have embraced my experience with online learning. As time passed, it has become evident that there are many benefits to this mode of education , which can be especially helpful amidst trying times like these caused by COVID-19. Being able to tailor classes around my lifestyle and having access from anywhere in the world is invaluable for student success!

2. Body Paragraphs:

Online classes enabled me to learn and study from the comfort of my own home. I could avoid time-consuming commutes, conveniently access a range of learning materials, such as e-books and lectures online – all with an internet connection. Not only did this benefit my studies but also served to cultivate valuable skills like self-discipline and proper time management.

Despite its advantages, virtual learning posed some unique challenges. Namely, the lack of face-to-face interaction with teachers and peers made it difficult to ask questions or have meaningful group conversations. Additionally, technical issues such as slow internet connections and platform problems could impede lesson delivery at times.

3. Conclusion

My experiences with online classes have provided me with invaluable lessons, such as self-discipline and effective time management. While these courses bring advantages to the table in terms of convenience and accessibility, I hope that they will be used to supplement traditional learning rather than fully replace it.

Hello! Welcome to my Blog StudyParagraphs.co. My name is Angelina. I am a college professor. I love reading writing for kids students. This blog is full with valuable knowledge for all class students. Thank you for reading my articles.

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STUDENT ROLE ADJUSTMENT IN ONLINE COMMUNITIES OF INQUIRY: MODEL AND INSTRUMENT VALIDATION

The purpose of this study is to validate an instrument to study role adjustment of students new to an online community of inquiry. The community of inquiry conceptual model for online learning was used to shape this research and identify the core elements and conditions associated with role adjustment to online learning (Garrison, Anderson and Archer, 2000). Through a factor

Related Papers

International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies

Martha Cleveland-Innes

This study outlines the process of adjustment learners experience when first participating in an online environment. Findings from a pilot study of adjustment to online learning environments validate differences found in three presences in an online community of inquiry. Using pre- and post-questionnaires, students enrolled in entry-level courses in two graduate degree programs at Athabasca University, Canada, describe their adjustment to online learning. Responses were analyzed in relation to the elements of cognitive, social, and teaching presence, defined by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) as core dimensions of student role requirements in an online community of inquiry. In each of these presences, five areas of adjustment characterize the move toward competence in online learning: interaction, self-identity, instructor role, course design, and technology. Student comments provide understanding of the experience of first time online learners, including the challenges, inter...

sedef smith

Constructs that require significant additional conceptualization within the community of inquiry model for online learning include the selfand co-regulatory processes students bring to online learning. This paper extends previous efforts to advance the CoI model by addressing this gap empirically. Quantitative content analysis and social network analysis were used with online discussion transcripts to identify qualities of the discourse in student led activities. The analysis focused on the three original presences of the model (social, teaching, and cognitive presences) and learning presence, a recent addition to the model. First, frequencies of all four presences were calculated to quantify patterns in online discussions. Next, correlations were computed to investigate which presences correspond with the modes of critical thinking described in cognitive presence. Finally, students’ positions of influence and prestige were analyzed in relation to their expressions of the four forms...

The Internet and Higher Education

Mary Gozza-Cohen

Ben Arbaugh

David Wicks

This study continues the exploration of the Community of Inquiry framework and how collaborative technologies, specifically, wikis can be used to impact student perception of social presence. The subjects were 78 graduate education students in three differently contrived sections of the same online course. Participants completed the Community of Inquiry Survey at the end of the term, which measured their perceived level of teaching, social, and cognitive presence during the course. The experimental setting utilized a single instructor teaching one course, and randomly assigned students. Each section had students collaborate using a different tool (synchronous wiki, asynchronous wiki, and discussion board-only). All subjects perceived high levels of the three presences when compared with previous studies. Students collaborating using an asynchronous wiki perceived significantly more social presence than those using only a discussion board. Specifically, students perceived greater levels of trust and group cohesion when the course design incorporated a wiki for small group collaboration.

Internet and Higher Education

Contemporary Educational Technology

Tolga Güyer

Education and Information Technologies

Kasiyah Junus

This current study investigates the use of online role-playing, in an online discussion forum, in learning the community of inquiry framework – an area of learning covered in the Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) course, an elective course for Computer Science undergraduate students at Universitas Indonesia. The participants were divided into different roles. Each group was triggered to discuss the implementation of online collaborative learning. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data. The result of content analysis exhibited students implementing all the components of the CoI framework. Teaching presence was the rarest, as students were focused on delivering their ideas. Social presence appeared in almost all messages since it is the easiest, and students can feel the impact immediately. The discussion moved to the integration phase but did not proceed to resolution. This study suggested some recommendations and future research topics.

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Gannett hits pause button on its promise to restaff its smallest papers

Outlets with few or no staff members likely to stay that way for a while

For most of 2023 year and all of 2024 so far, Gannett has promised that it is working to add hundreds of new editorial positions , backfilling the many openings that were lost after a December 2022 hiring freeze, then growing further.

The pledge includes restaffing many of the chain’s smallest dailies, ones that have been languishing with one or no locally based journalists as more profitable metros get attention and resources.

Chief Content Officer Kristin Roberts said of the new approach in Gannett’s quarterly earnings call with analysts:

“Last year, we launched an initiative with the conviction that putting reporters into our smallest newsrooms was critical, but not enough on its own to be sustainable.

We needed to experiment with new ways of engaging hometown readers at a small-site scale. Our reporters combined first-person voice with a newsletter approach that invited readers to join them in experiencing their community firsthand, the results were remarkable and gave us the confidence to boldly expand this strategy.”

There was a notable omission, though.

Roberts didn’t say that the company hit the brakes on hiring for that key small newsroom position three months earlier.

The people already on board in the beta version of what Gannett calls the I-30 Initiative could stay. Authorizations to proceed with other hires stopped.  Some candidates who were expecting to start soon have had the offer rescinded. According to internal communications, the “pause” has now been rolled over through the second quarter.

Roberts declined my request for an interview. The next quarterly earnings report is Thursday, and she may or may not offer an update.

The I-30 jobs (so called because they were approved for 30 markets) are unusual ones, defined after a protracted planning process through last summer. Journalists, well paid at roughly $50,000, are being hired on one-year contracts rather than as full-time employees. They must physically work in the target communities.

Their job is to establish a local news presence in cities that have been getting only a thin trickle of hometown content. A particular emphasis, as Roberts said, is creating newsletters, now a primary way in the industry to get samples of coverage to the target audience and capture email addresses of potential paid digital subscribers.

A community division editor who alerted me to the pause said it has created chaos for people like her. (She asked for anonymity in hopes of keeping her job).

Editors, spread thin and scrambling to oversee several papers at once, are not getting the relief they’d anticipated, she said. Identifying I-30 candidates in October and November proved difficult, given the lack of assurance they would be hired permanently.

Plus, from the management perspective of regional editors who hire one level down, they cannot be sure that a position that comes open as an editor moves on or is fired can be filled.

With approvals on hold, “the solution for all these ghost newsrooms is put off indefinitely,” my source said.

Though the number of hires involved is modest, and Gannett continues to spend on growing news staff at its metros , I think there is a context that makes it a bigger deal.

For the better part of a decade, Gannett has been open about bigger newspapers, particularly in an era pivoting from print to digital, being the  best prospects for revenue and profit growth.

The metro division used to hold its annual planning retreat at Poynter and  allowed me to sit in to better understand the company’s editorial strategy. I was told on background by one of the participants that even papers with no news staff contributed welcome revenue and a little profit

Continuing to publish papers with next to no local content has seemed like a sham to analysts like me and market-by-market data expert Penny Abernathy. I first wrote specifically about a Gannett ghost newspaper four years ago — this one in Ithaca, New York, a town with two major universities, that was down to a single local reporter. I got the explanation that metros proportionately generate more revenue and profits.

So, it seemed welcome evidence of journalistic commitment when Roberts’  extensive package of initiatives for her first year at Gannett included a good faith effort to put a better news report in front of its small and midsized town readers.

I’m hoping, even betting, that the I-30 program and other reinvestments resume. But for right now, the community papers have again taken their position in the back of the line for Gannett.

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Amid Columbia protests, Speaker Mike Johnson is wrong that hybrid class plan tells Jewish students to stay home

Virtual access to classes was offered as an option for any student who felt uncomfortable with the continuing protests

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Create and add an email signature in Outlook

In Outlook, you can create one or more personalized signatures for your email messages. Your signature can include text, links, pictures, and images (such as your handwritten signature or a logo).

Note:  If the steps under this New Outlook tab don't work, you may not be using new Outlook for Windows yet. Select Classic Outlook  and follow those steps instead.

Create and add an email signature

On the View tab, select   View Settings . 

Select Accounts > Signatures .

Select    New signature , then give it a distinct name.

In the editing box below the new name, type your signature, then format it with the font, color, and styles to get the appearance you want.

Select Save when you're done.

With your new signature selected from the list above the editing box, go to  Select default signatures and choose whether to apply the signature to new messages and to replies and forwards.

Select Save again.

Note:  If you have a Microsoft account, and you use Outlook and Outlook on the web or Outlook on the web for business, you need to create a signature in both products.

Create your signature and choose when Outlook adds a signature to your messages

If you want to watch how it's done, you can go directly to  the video below .

Open a new email message.

Under Select signature to edit , choose New , and in the New Signature dialog box, type a name for the signature.

Under Edit signature , compose your signature. You can change fonts, font colors, and sizes, as well as text alignment. If you want to create a more robust signature with bullets, tables, or borders, use Word to create and format your signature text, then copy and paste it into the Edit signature box. You can also use a pre-designed template  to create your signature. Download the templates in Word, customize with your personal information, and then copy and paste into the Edit signature box. 

You can add links and images to your email signature, change fonts and colors, and justify the text using the mini formatting bar under Edit signature .

You can also add social media icons and links in your signature or customize one of our pre-designed temlates. For more information, see Create a signature from a template .

To add images to your signature, see Add a logo or image to your signature .

Under Choose default signature , set the following options. 

In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose an email account to associate with the signature. You can have different signatures for each email account.

You can have a signature automatically added to all new messages. Go to in the New messages drop-down box and select one of your signatures. If you don't want to automatically add a signature to new messages, choose (none). This option does not add a signature to any messages you reply to or forward. 

You can select to have your signature automatically appear in reply and forward messages. In the  Replies/forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of (none). 

Choose OK to save your new signature and return to your message. Outlook doesn't add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1, even if you chose to apply the signature to all new messages. You'll have to add the signature manually to this one message. All future messages will have the signature added automatically. To add the signature manually, select Signature from the Message menu and then pick the signature you just created.

Add a logo or image to your signature

If you have a company logo or an image to add to your signature, use the following steps.

Open a new message and then select Signature > Signatures .

In the Select signature to edit box, choose the signature you want to add a logo or image to.

To resize your image, right-click the image, then choose Picture . Select the Size tab and use the options to resize your image. To keep the image proportions, make sure to keep the Lock aspect ratio checkbox checked.

When you're done, select OK , then select OK again to save the changes to your signature.

Insert a signature manually

If you don't choose to insert a signature for all new messages or replies and forwards, you can still insert a signature manually.

In your email message, on the Message tab, select Signature .

Choose your signature from the fly-out menu that appears. If you have more than one signature, you can select any of the signatures you've created.

See how it's done

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Note:  Outlook on the web is the web version of Outlook for business users with a work or school account.

Automatically add a signature to a message

You can create an email signature that you can add automatically to all outgoing messages or add manually to specific ones.

Select Settings   at the top of the page.

Select Mail >  Compose and reply .

Under Email signature , type your signature and use the available formatting options to change its appearance.

Select the default signature for new messages and replies.

Manually add your signature to a new message

If you've created a signature but didn't choose to automatically add it to all outgoing messages, you can add it later when you write an email message.

In a new message or reply, type your message.

If you created multiple signatures, choose the signature you want to use for your new message or reply.

When your email message is ready, choose Send .

Note:  Outlook.com is the web version of Outlook for users signing in with a personal Microsoft account such as an Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account.

Related articles

Create and add an email signature in Outlook for Mac

Create an email signature from a template

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