University of Lethbridge. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

U of L talks transition to online courses during pandemic

Sep 11, 2020 | 1:44 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – For perhaps the first time ever, the vast majority of students enrolled at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) will not actually step foot on campus this term.

Classes kicked off on Wednesday with most programs being offered mostly or entirely online.

Since May, faculty have been working hard to get the school ready.

“I’m proud of how our units from across campus have come together and collaboratively worked to support our faculty members so that they can be in the best position to present a great experience to our students,” says U of L President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon.

Instructors have taken part in a wide range of tutorials and webinars aimed at not only conducted classes virtually but figuring out how to keep their students engaged.

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“We also created and continue to offer a number of Shoptalk workshops on online teaching and learning,” says David Hinger, executive director of the Teaching Centre. “Our faculty members have really come together to support one another as we make this shift. Many created videos and FAQs for their colleagues and others have hosted Community of Practice Zoom sessions that cover everything from online assessment strategies to how to teach large classes or social sciences and humanities courses online, for example.”

For students, the officials from the university say they took every step possible to ensure they could still feel connected, engaged, and able to learn.

This includes finding new ways to offer support systems.

“Student Affairs and many other teams across the University have worked together to ensure students will continue to benefit from a full range of top-quality support services, including counselling, health services, study spaces, tutors and learning strategy support, and more,” says Kathleen Massey, the associate vice-president (students). “Some supports will be offered exclusively online and others will be offered both in-person and virtually. As well, online learning strategy sessions have been offered to students throughout the summer to help prepare them for online courses this fall.”

A release from the U of L states that the virtual New Student Orientation had a “robust participation rate.”

The Moodle learning management system has been transitioned to a new Alberta Learning Management Cloud and all students and staff have been migrated to the Microsoft Office 365 email, calendar, and collaboration platform this summer.

Some in-person and experiential courses will continue in the fall term such as laboratory-based science courses, fine arts studio courses, and health science offerings like nursing and addictions counselling.

Nearly 300 students are living in on-campus residence.