Introduction of Background

Because of the COVID-19, colleges and universities have moved classrooms to the digital platform. Many faculties are researching how to teach courses on the internet, which have the same utilities in the physical classroom. In the United States, many students complain about the online class doesn’t provide social connections. In western education, learn by group working is an essential educational culture. Coronavirus brings huge disasters to western traditional education. Statistical data from the “US national center for education statistics”, in 2017, there are 67.1% of the undergraduate students do not take courses from the internet. 18% of the students indicate they will take at least 1 online course each semester. This is our research problem, how can we help students learning, engage, and experience while operating remotely? We will provide 5 suggestions for universities. These moves will inspire institutions to innovate online education. Meanwhile, we also hope our students can quickly adapt to the blended learning environment when they return to the schools.

观点总结：

西方教育的核心在于从小组学习中获取知识。也就是说西方传统教育依赖于学生的团队协作能力。而新冠肺炎对西方教育最大的冲击是几乎切断了学生所有的社交通路。来自NCES的数据显示，在2017年，有67.1%的学生表示，他们从来不选择将主课学习放到线上。仅有18%的学生表示，他们每一学期至少选择一门线上课程。这就带来了我们的研究目标：如何提升学生在线上的学习效果？在学生返校后，我们也应该帮助学生快速适应环境，毕竟线上教育不会马上中断，那么这个过渡期应该怎么度过。希望我们的研究能对教育者带来一些启发。

Suggestion 1 – Network and Equipment Access

The basic problems in online learning are the quality of the internet and devices. Some university offers student loan or borrowing service that provide hot-spot, laptop, and e-book reader. For example, the provides equipment loans and 24-hour technical support. The instructors and students can use the loans to purchase learning resources for special periods.

Universities should also design a variety of IT and learning options for students. For example, Zoom provides free cloud storage and meeting service for university members. In the United States, some low-income families may struggle with the learning environment. Universities and governments provide on-campus food and medical supplies to the students. Such as Mississippi State University are in a controlled, physically distant way. This gives us an idea, all of the universities should corporate together in China. They can provide some learning spaces for low-income families. For example, a student, whose hometown is in Chengdu, from Eurasia University can learn in Sichuan University.

Universities should also provide mental services on the internet, including video options for mental health professionals, partnerships with telehealth and counseling providers, and access to online mindfulness classes and applications.

观点总结：

硬件设施和网络是影响线上学习质量的直接原因。一些大学为了帮助有困难的成员，提供了以下措施：首先，提供IT贷款给学生和老师们，以解决网络学习的燃眉之急。并且还提供24小时技术服务。例如华盛顿大学为学生们提供了设备租赁和贷款支持。其次，全国大学应该联合起来，为家庭有困难的学生提供临时学习设备和场地。例如一位在成都的欧亚学生，由于家庭困难或者缺乏学习设备，那么四川大学可以临时安排学生在学校上课，并且食堂和校医院也提供相应的服务。例如美国密西西比州立大学沿用了此方法。最后，心理辅导是必不可少的。学校可以提供线上心理咨询、健康课程。甚至可以在一些电台上提供正念冥想音乐。

Suggestion 2 – Support Faculty

Most professors have to re-create the courses for online learning. They also face difficulties to keep teaching goals with the same standards. Faculties should provide enough teaching support for instructors. Some universities hired some experts, who have online education experiences, as the assistants that help instructors design courses.

Social Media is a good platform that faculty can share best practices. Highlighting and explaining successful experiences can cultivate newcomers to digital education. Some faculties will inevitably start from different points in their comfort and skill with online teaching. So, the cultivation can significantly improve educational quality and create a knowledge-sharing culture.

Universities should also set up a structure so that faculty can get regular feedback on their remote teaching. For example, online surveys and learning data from the digital platforms are the common “teaching and learning” quality management system. Professors can use the data analysis results to improve the teaching methods rather than performance evaluation. Student tutor can also use the results to support student learning.

观点总结：

大学老师在面对紧急情况下，需要快速重建课程内容，以适应线上教育，并且还要达成人才培养目标。其中，老师们之间的经验分享和学生的反馈是十分重要的。一些大学也会聘用具有线上教育的专家来帮助老师快速将课程转型，并且指导学生学习。

Suggestion 3 – Move the quad online, too

One of the values in higher education is the social network. Students can interact with each other and create some new ideas. As the classes move to remote learning, institutions should also consider how to use existing tools to support social activities.

One way is to use the current learning platform to create a single, central place – a kind of student center – with the live staff and consistent hours. For example, the University of Florida created an online student plaza. There are some learning tutors and IT supporters to answer the questions for university members. Students can also create a virtual room for group study. They can also invite teachers to join the online session.

Another way is to invite professionals from industry. Institutions should discuss the demands with the students, understand the needs to happen in terms of technology access, learning, and engagement. For example, some universities jointly hold webinars for students to learn climate change. Guest lecturers can join live discussion and guide students to make research. The essential advantages of remote learning is the ability to invite the industrial leaders from all over the world.

观点总结：

线上社交是大学教育的方法之一。学生交流与互动是主要需求之一。目前主要有两种办法解决这个问题。一个是通过当前大学的线上学习平台为媒介，建立一个在线学习交流中心。例如佛罗里达大学在现有平台之上，专门开设了线上论坛，用以讨论学习和技术上的问题。另外，学什么们还可以建立虚拟会议室，可以邀请老师一起参加讨论。第二种办法是邀请行业专家。如，一些大学联合举办网络研讨会，供学生学习气候变化。客座讲师可以参加现场讨论，并指导学生进行研究。远程学习的主要优点是可以邀请来自世界各地的行业领导者。

Suggestion 4 – Create a learning group

Universities are rich in human talent. To succeed in remote learning, institutions can invite some teachers and students, who have IT experiences, learn digital education, then teach other members. For example, Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College create a digital learning group (8 people). They learn new digital education methods in 4 hours per day. The group also provides supports to university members, include students, instructors, administration departments, and libraries. Another possibility is to ask alumni or community members to provide remote learning mentorship to support students with career development and virtual internship.

观点总结：

大学拥有丰富的人才资源。为了在线上学习取得成功。学校可以设立一个应急小组，专门学习和测试各种线上学习工具，并帮助学校的其他成员解决线上学习问题。例如宾夕法尼亚洲的穆伦贝格学院建立了一个8人数字学习小组。他们每天需要用4个小时讨论和测试数字化教育技术。该小组还向包括学生，教师，行政管理部门和图书馆在内的大学成员提供支持。第三个方法是，让校友和社区伙伴提供远程学习指导，例如学生职业咨询和线上实习。

Suggestion 5 – Invest in Cybersecurity for remote learning

The rushed efforts to move to learn online have increased the risks of cyberthreats. Universities can reduce cyber threats by investing in the security system and creating information security courses. The IT department should also monitor digital records when students and instructors use university equipment.

观点总结：

当所有资源移到线上的时候，不可避免的问题是信息安全。学校的IT部门可以考虑投入一些资金用以购买数据安全软件。另外，该部门还需要教育学校成员如何正确使用信息技术。有必要的话可以监控学校设备的访问数据。

本期主题的参考文献：

[1] How many students take distance learning courses at the postsecondary level?https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=80

[2] Getting the next phase of remote learning right in higher education. Published by McKinsey & Company; AuthorChristine Heitz,Martha Laboissiere, Saurabh Sanghvi, and Jimmy Sarakatsannis.Date: 04/23/2020

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