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Version 5 Version 6
Trying to Adapt to Remote Learning Trying to Adapt to Remote Learning
(1 day later)
To the Editor:To the Editor:
Re “Swapping Whiteboards for Screens, in a Week” (front page, March 30):Re “Swapping Whiteboards for Screens, in a Week” (front page, March 30):
I was glad to see The Times focus on one group on the front lines who have not received as much recognition as they deserve: teachers, from kindergarten through college. They are working 12-hour days trying to develop lessons so that their students can continue to learn.I was glad to see The Times focus on one group on the front lines who have not received as much recognition as they deserve: teachers, from kindergarten through college. They are working 12-hour days trying to develop lessons so that their students can continue to learn.
Creating an online course, if it is done well, is time-consuming and tedious, and requires a tremendous amount of thinking through an idea or a skill. Instructions that are normally delivered orally must be extremely detailed. Failing to provide a step or a detail can cause students to fail to do something or not understand an idea. For the remainder of the semester, teachers are working on the front lines.Creating an online course, if it is done well, is time-consuming and tedious, and requires a tremendous amount of thinking through an idea or a skill. Instructions that are normally delivered orally must be extremely detailed. Failing to provide a step or a detail can cause students to fail to do something or not understand an idea. For the remainder of the semester, teachers are working on the front lines.
Carolyn BoiarskyHammond, Ind.The writer is a professor of English at Purdue University Northwest-Hammond Campus.Carolyn BoiarskyHammond, Ind.The writer is a professor of English at Purdue University Northwest-Hammond Campus.
To the Editor:To the Editor:
Though community college students make up nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States today, they are often left out of media coverage, including how the precipitous move to “distance learning” will affect their educations (“Letter Grades Would Fail Students Whom Crisis Sent Home,” news article, March 29).Though community college students make up nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States today, they are often left out of media coverage, including how the precipitous move to “distance learning” will affect their educations (“Letter Grades Would Fail Students Whom Crisis Sent Home,” news article, March 29).
Here’s how some of my students are faring: One young woman is being taken back to Russia by her mother to care for her father, who lives there and has an underlying health condition, in the event he gets Covid-19.Here’s how some of my students are faring: One young woman is being taken back to Russia by her mother to care for her father, who lives there and has an underlying health condition, in the event he gets Covid-19.
Another industrious young woman shares one laptop and an unstable Wi-Fi connection with her three younger siblings, whose online education she is now also supervising, as her parents speak little English. A young man has emailed asking for an extension on the essay, please, as he has been sick with presumed Covid-19. And then there is the one-third of the class who are effectively missing in action despite repeated efforts on my part to contact them.Another industrious young woman shares one laptop and an unstable Wi-Fi connection with her three younger siblings, whose online education she is now also supervising, as her parents speak little English. A young man has emailed asking for an extension on the essay, please, as he has been sick with presumed Covid-19. And then there is the one-third of the class who are effectively missing in action despite repeated efforts on my part to contact them.
Thus, the move to online education for this disadvantaged and often invisible student population is very far from ideal and will have lasting educational and financial implications.Thus, the move to online education for this disadvantaged and often invisible student population is very far from ideal and will have lasting educational and financial implications.
Emily SchneeBrooklynThe writer is a professor of English at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York.Emily SchneeBrooklynThe writer is a professor of English at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York.
To the Editor:To the Editor:
In 2015, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published an article in the journal Policy Insights From the Behavioral and Brain Sciences entitled, “Video Captions Benefit Everyone.” She reviewed more than 100 studies on the benefits of video captioning and found that captioning “improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video” for people of all ages and hearing ability.In 2015, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published an article in the journal Policy Insights From the Behavioral and Brain Sciences entitled, “Video Captions Benefit Everyone.” She reviewed more than 100 studies on the benefits of video captioning and found that captioning “improves comprehension of, attention to, and memory for the video” for people of all ages and hearing ability.
Those of us with hearing loss have long understood the benefits of captioning. What may come as a surprise to people without hearing loss is that they would also be helped. With schools closed because of the coronavirus, education at all levels is primarily online with videos and lectures. This might be an opportune time for educators to consider adding captions to these presentations.Those of us with hearing loss have long understood the benefits of captioning. What may come as a surprise to people without hearing loss is that they would also be helped. With schools closed because of the coronavirus, education at all levels is primarily online with videos and lectures. This might be an opportune time for educators to consider adding captions to these presentations.
Updated Aug. 13, 2020 Updated Aug. 14, 2020
The latest highlights as the first students return to U.S. schools.The latest highlights as the first students return to U.S. schools.
Jon TaylorNew YorkThe writer is vice president of Hearing Loss Association of America, New York City Chapter.Jon TaylorNew YorkThe writer is vice president of Hearing Loss Association of America, New York City Chapter.
To the Editor:To the Editor:
Re “Crisis Pits Patient Privacy Against Public’s Need to Know” (news article, March 30):Re “Crisis Pits Patient Privacy Against Public’s Need to Know” (news article, March 30):
Our university’s policy places a higher priority on privacy than transparency. University administration has instructed us not to share information about co-workers who have contracted Covid-19 on the grounds that it would violate privacy laws. Why can’t the time and general location of potential exposure be announced promptly while safeguarding individual privacy?Our university’s policy places a higher priority on privacy than transparency. University administration has instructed us not to share information about co-workers who have contracted Covid-19 on the grounds that it would violate privacy laws. Why can’t the time and general location of potential exposure be announced promptly while safeguarding individual privacy?
Those of us who have learned through unofficial channels about colleagues with Covid-19 have been placed in the untenable position of harboring a potentially deadly secret that leaves untold others at risk and fractures our trust in university officials.Those of us who have learned through unofficial channels about colleagues with Covid-19 have been placed in the untenable position of harboring a potentially deadly secret that leaves untold others at risk and fractures our trust in university officials.
Emilie RegnierWorthington, OhioThe writer is an associate professor at The Ohio State University.Emilie RegnierWorthington, OhioThe writer is an associate professor at The Ohio State University.