University looks different this year, but that’s not all bad | Education - The Globe and Mail

Kira Vermond, The Globe and Mail explains, On a Wednesday in mid-October, Andy Robinson, an animal biosciences professor at the University of Guelph, ran into a snag right before class. 

Physical Computing 1: Kinetics online class conducted by a professor at the Ontario College of Art & Design University.

Photo: SIMONE JONES/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Like other instructors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, he was scheduled to teach his biology course remotely.

But then came a power outage at his home outside Cambridge, Ont. And his internet? Gone.

Luckily, Prof. Robinson had one last option: His cellphone. With just enough signal to connect to Zoom, he shot a live video for his students from his hobby farm’s barn, where he keeps nine miniature donkeys with names such as Anakin, Dexter and Beans...

As universities across Canada approach the final months of the fall semester, they’ve addressed a school season unlike any other. To prioritize health and safety, most classes have gone online. As have frosh orientation weeks and graduation commencement ceremonies. Residence buildings sit empty or have welcomed only a handful of students.

Yet, as Prof. Robinson’s story shows, ingenuity and flexibility – not to mention a fair amount of digital moxie – are paving the way toward high-quality education even in the face of a worldwide pandemic...

Simone Jones, an art professor at the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto, known as OCAD, agrees that online learning has had a paradoxically positive effect on the sense of community her students experience. She teaches classes from her own Toronto studio, so they get a window into her world.

Read more... 

Source: The Globe and Mail