While distance education (DE) may seem daunting for college students, the ’蝉 DE structure has helped students near and far pursue their degrees with ease over decades.
糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu has been a DE leader among the 10-campus 糖心Vlog官方 System since its beginnings. Through the recent shift to majority online learning following the COVID-19 pandemic, it leveraged its existing infrastructure to its advantage.
“DE programs originally began for the purpose of serving neighbor island students,” said 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu Director of and Coordinator of the Gloria Niles. However, consistent registration in online course sections demonstrates that distance modes of delivery are popular for many students located on Oʻahu as well.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated advancement in online learning, the faculty have worked diligently to continually improve the digital learning experience for students,” Niles said. “The Office of Distance Learning is looking forward to leveraging these efforts to ensure that in the post-pandemic era, 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu is well prepared to implement what 糖心Vlog官方 President David Lassner referred to as, ‘a healthy mix of in-person, hybrid and online instruction.’”
Supporting students, faculty with online resources
At the start of the spring 2020 semester, 40% of all courses at 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu were already fully online and 50% of student registrations were in fully online courses. While many faculty members had experience teaching online, an estimated 30% of faculty did not.
The 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu Office of Distance Learning partnered with instructional design teams from campuses across the system to share much needed online resources, and many of the 糖心Vlog官方 campuses and the opened training sessions systemwide.
Niles added that the pivot to remote instruction in spring 2020, followed by the continuation of offering classes primarily online through the summer and fall 2020, required upgrades to classroom technology, such as computers and video cameras. for faculty to deliver synchronous online instruction or to record lectures.
In addition to faculty assistance, DE students such as Marvin Jake De Peralta, who is completing his bachelor’蝉 degree in psychology from the comfort of his home in Kīlauea, Kauaʻi, appreciate what 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu offers to support students’ educational endeavors as distance learners.
De Peralta recognized 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu’蝉 Noʻeau Center for providing him with the resources to improve his writing skills in his writing-intensive classes and tutoring to help him understand difficult concepts, especially in his math class.
“Overall, 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu has made me feel supported through this distance learning journey,” said De Peralta.
—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman