Instructors, Students Adjusting to Online/Remote Classes

East Central College Nursing instructor Connie Wissbaum logs into Zoom shortly before class starts and greets her students as they chick into a remote meeting site.

Wissbaum, like many instructors at ECC, is teaching live over Zoom, a cloud-based video conferencing service.

After chatting with students and taking attendance, Wissbaum begins the class period with an explanation of what the day’s instruction will be. During a Nursing of Adults and Children 1 class last week, Wissbaum taught about diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

Wissbaum sees her students in individual boxes on a computer screen instead of at tables in the classroom, a new concept for most faculty and students.

“If you do have a question, wave your hand in the camera,” she told them. “That way when I see the movement I can, maybe, focus on it.”

Remote instruction prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has required adjustments for students and instructors.

Wissbaum explained that a major difference in teaching remotely compared to in the classroom is the need for greater flexibility from faculty for our students, some of which are at home with children.

“We have to be very accommodating,” Wissbaum said. “There are a lot of parents in class and they are all at home trying to do homework.”

Many instructors take a team approach with a second faculty member to test remotely. Students are required to download exam software before taking a test, Wissbaum said.

She noted that students then use two devices, one for Zoom and the second to actually take the test. Then one faculty member is a proctor overseeing test takers while the other administers the test.

“We are trying to make it as close to the classroom setting as possible,” Wissbaum added.

Wissbaum has been a full-time faculty members since 2017. Prior to that she was a nurse in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital Washington.

She recently defended her dissertation via zoom while working toward a doctorate.

Wissbaum added that she has contacted the ER director at Mercy Hospital and she is ready to help during the COVID-19 pandemic if she is needed.

Check out a video below of Wissbaum opening and beginning her class: