PRESCRIPTION FOR EXCELLENCE With Dr. James J. Williams
New School of Thought: Succeeding As An Online Professor Change has come! The school year for Fall 2020 looks quite different this time. From that, I have now taken on a new side hustle as an adjunct professor - online. I’m both nervous and excited at the same time. Having only taught in a classroom environment, I humbly accept this challenge – this new school of thought! If there’s one big takeaway from the Covid-19 crisis for higher education, it’s that teaching well online is increasingly, and vitally, important. Maybe you’re thinking: Well, once this global health threat recedes — with testing, tracing, and vaccines — online learning will diminish in prevalence and I can go back to teaching entirely in person.
Not likely! The virtual train has left the station. And it’s to your advantage to be on it. Having survived the huge disruptions of this spring’s emergency online pivot, leaders across higher education have a new perspective now on the value of online options to help students keep progressing toward a degree in the face of an unexpected impediment — whether it’s a pandemic, a hurricane, or a personal challenge. The financial arguments for why colleges and universities need to improve their course-delivery options are important. But for me, especially as a parent of a teenage son, as for many of you, it’s actually, and only, about the students. 12
