DIVISIONS ON A Mission
NAVIGATING THROUGH COVID-19: Dr. Rolonda Brown highlights Coahoma’s successful transition to virtual learning
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many industries worldwide, causing them to adjust to a new normal and find ways to remain productive during these uncertain times. Higher education is one of those industries, as school administrations have worked tirelessly to ensure students continue receiving a quality education. Coahoma Community College has successfully adapted by implementing three virtual learning formats, hybrid, hy-flex, and virtual. Dr. Rolonda Brown, dean of Academic Affairs, reflected on the measures taken for students to remain on track and to prepare teachers for the transition to online learning. “I think our first step to ensure continued education was moving all face-to-face classes to an online format,” said Brown. “We also immediately began offering online training to all instructors while specifically focusing on those who had little to no experience with online teaching. Professional development and training have
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also been provided to meet the needs of instructors during this time to ensure continued excellence in teaching and teacher adaptability.” Hybrid classes offer students face-to-face interaction with instructors through limited classroom visits while providing access to recorded lectures and having an option to complete assignments online. Hy-flex classes provide students with the opportunity to interact in real time with instructors through live online lectures and study sessions while completing all work online. Virtual courses are entirely online and offer occasional recorded lectures. Coahoma’s online learning transition didn’t come without challenges. Computers and the internet were unavailable to several students, so the college discussed supplying students with the necessary educational tools. Brown reflected on how the college successfully overcame those challenges.
“One of our main challenges was the fact that many students either didn’t have access to a computer, or they did not have access to the internet. We were able to overcome these challenges by offering computers to all students as well as providing hotspots to accommodate the lack of internet service.” Professors embraced the changes and made adjustments to execute their lesson plans. Brown applauds the teachers for their creativity and passion for educating students. “With the change in formats, instructors needed to find a more creative and innovative way to engage students virtually. We wanted students to feel a sense of connection to the college, their teachers, and their classmates while still learning primarily virtually. Instructors have responded by doing their very best to gain the knowledge and new skills necessary to engage students successfully.”
