Re:Unimpressed by online classes, college students file laws...
by ghaff on Monday May 04, 2020 @08:16AM
(#23067043)
Medium to large lecture classes can probably work pretty well. As can mostly small seminars I would think. Other things are tough or impossible.
For example, I had an undergraduate thesis in my major, which required being physically in a lab and having access to a machine shop. In any case, there are lab/project classes throughout a lot of STEM majors that students aren't going to be able to reasonably finish this semester. I don't know how this is being typically handled with everyone having to drop things ~ 1 month into the semester.
1. For classes requiring user testing or behavioral experiments, assignments are being processed through mechanical turk.
2. The experimental physics lab is changing from a 'choose-your-own-adventure' model of choosing a final project to a satellite/telemetry/astronomy project.
3. Some classes are providing synthetic datasets or data from previous semesters for lab classes.
4. Some classes are basically finished. It is actually impossible to continue teaching them, so they're purely instructional or seminars, at this point.
A lot of these lab classes are required to graduate, too. They also require so many resources that they can only be taught once a year. It's seriously demotivating, especially for passionate hands-on learners. And paying sticker price doesn't help the sting for many students.