I am sure you and your students still have questions about the fall semester and we are working on sharing answers with you as soon as they become available. This month’s Parents of the Pack will give you some insights into the preparations we are making to improve your student’s academic experience this fall. Also, for those of you whose students have graduated and happen to still be on the list, congratulations to you and your student! Please feel free to unsubscribe via the link at the bottom of this message.
We were able to pivot to online instruction quickly this spring due to our standard hurricane preparedness, but there are always lessons to learn and improvements to make. Here are a few of the changes we’re making so our mix of online and in-classroom teaching is better than ever.
Investing in technology for better smart classrooms: Our social distancing protocols call for some classes to be broken into cohorts where one group is in the classroom one day and taking class remotely the next. This gives all our students direct access to faculty that is the benefit of in-person teaching while keeping them and our instructors safe. We are outfitting all of our classrooms with the latest and greatest technology to make this hybrid teaching model work as smoothly as possible.
Switching from Blackboard to Canvas: Blackboard was the platform that we used in the past to deliver course content. This is where students submit assignments, check their grades, and chat with their professors and classmates. We have had some challenges with Blackboard over the time we were using it and were scheduled to conduct a review of Blackboard vs. similar products this past spring. Armed with new information about how distance learning through Blackboard was working, the review committee determined that a product called Canvas would better enable our faculty to deliver the kind of learning experiences that students deserve. It’s quite ambitious to make a switch from one platform to another, but our faculty are enthusiastically digging into this challenge and will be ready to start teaching with Canvas in the fall.
Workshops for faculty: Our Center for Faculty Innovation and the Online Learning Team have been providing a steady stream of workshops and resources to support faculty teaching since we transitioned to online operations in March. They just kickstarted the transition to Canvas with a June Teaching and Training Conference that covered not only the fundamentals of Canvas and how to transition materials to it from Blackboard, but also the latest best practices for enhancing online teaching and helping ensure student success.
Digital equity initiatives: This spring we loaned hotspots and laptops to many students who normally relied on our computer labs and camps WIFI to do their coursework. This fall, we plan for our computer facilities to remain open with social distancing and also are working to provide even more laptops to loan out. Soon students will be asked to complete a survey to tell us more about their technology needs, both at home and at school.
Increased access to e-textbooks: Laurie Phillips, Associate Dean of Monroe Library, is passionate about reducing course material costs for students. She was able to obtain funds from the Louisiana library network for e-textbooks that will save our students $16,000 in textbook costs. She regularly partners with faculty to help them find excellent course materials at a free or reduced cost.
Excellent teaching and personalized attention to students are the hallmarks of a Loyola education. Our faculty are working tirelessly to find better and better ways to deliver on that promise as we carefully re-open the campus in the fall.
Please visit our FAQ Website for the latest information about the fall semester. It is continually updated as our plans evolve.