During COVID-19, some OC professors are moving online

The fall semester has been in session for three weeks, but not everyone is ready to meet in person.

While most classes are gathering in person, some professors have opted to meet entirely online. Others still teach in their classroom but allow students to attend in the classroom or virtually.

According to Oklahoma Christian University’s Roadmap to Readiness, faculty may develop their courses “fully in-person; fully online (asynchronous); remote (online but with a set, synchronous meeting pattern); or blended as flex model.”

Chip Kooi, professor of theology, said health concerns influenced his decision to teach his classes entirely online.

“I had some treatments last year that compromised my immune system,” Kooi said. “About the same time, my wife had a pulmonary embolism. Obviously, there are some respiratory issues there. In addition, my 85-year-old mother lives nearby and I am frequently with her.”

According to Kooi, the decision to transition to an online format was made with other leaders in the Bible department a few weeks before the semester started.

“My dean asked if I would be interested and I said, ‘absolutely,’” Kooi said. 

Jillian Poyzer-Johnson, assistant professor of accounting, currently allows students to attend class in person or meet online via Blackboard Collaborate. She said she gave students a virtual option in case in-person classes transition online.

“We’d love to be in class; we’d love to set up classes to be full-time in person, but we can’t guarantee that,”  Poyzer-Johnson said. “Learning from the spring, I wanted to have the ability to have a seamless transition into online, both for students and for myself.“

Poyzer-Johnson said she lectures in class using presentation slides and a document camera. Students who join via Collaborate are able to see the slides and the camera via the screen sharing option.

“The students essentially get the same experience, regardless of where they are sitting,” Poyzer-Johnson said. 

Kooi said his students have generally reacted positively to his decision to conduct class virtually, especially from students who have health concerns.

“There is some fear involved in coming into a classroom,” Kooi said. “One of [my students] has an autoimmune disorder, so he was very happy to not have to come into class.”

In addition, Poyzer-Johnson said attendance percentages have not decreased from standard, in-person classes, with average overall attendance standing at 86-98% between her classes.

“Students feel a little bit more empowered that they have a choice,” Poyzer-Johnson said. “It’s like how church is right now: we don’t want to feel pressured to attend if we’re not comfortable in a public, social setting. I wanted students to have that freedom of choice.”

Both professors said the online format has worked well for international students who must stay in their home country while still attending Oklahoma Christian. According to Kooi, the time difference between Oklahoma and international students’ time zones has not been an issue in his classes, but it is taken into consideration. 

“I asked [one of my international students] about this ahead of time, and he said, ‘I’m already operating on Oklahoma time,’” Kooi said. “He changed his clocks so his daytime is the same as ours. It’s a concern, but when we trained with the Online Learning Commission, they alerted us to it and I was prepared to handle it.”

Karlee Foxx, a senior education student, is taking applied mathematics with Monica Muza, instructor of mathematics. Foxx said Muza decided to move the class to an online format due to health concerns.

“She announced the decision a couple days before school started,” Foxx said. “She said she has several members in her family who are at risk.”

While she said she believes Muza is teaching the class well, Foxx said virtual learning is still a struggle. 

“I honestly don’t like it,” Foxx said. “I’m such a visual learner; I like to be in person. It’s been really hard online because I have had to do most of it from the textbook.”

Foxx said she would not mind transitioning to virtual courses for some classes, but said certain classes are harder to learn from while online.

“It’s only harder because it’s math class,” Foxx said. “It wouldn’t bother me to have my other classes go online, because they are more discussion-based.”

While Kooi said he would prefer meeting in-person for lectures, he believes virtual classes without masks still offer benefits which in-person classes with masks lack.

“Collaborate may be better because I can see people,” Kooi said. “If I say something I think is funny and no one laughs, I know I bombed. If I say something funny and I see people laughing, I know I’m connecting. I like to be able to talk to people and see their faces.”