Our Road to the White House 2020 class went from living and learning together 24/7, criss-crossing the state of New Hampshire in 15-passenger vans .... to self-isolation and social distancing. All USF classes have moved 100% online for the remainder of the semester.
While I have been teaching online for many years -- even recently publishing an article about "Civic Engagement in the Online Classroom" (See http://www.ejournalofpublicaffairs.org/civic-engagement-in-the-online-classroom-increasing-youth-political-engagement-in-an-online-american-government-course/) -- it was still a bit of a shock and a huge undertaking to re-develop all of my face-to-face classes into online classes during our Spring Break week. (At least we had this built-in period to work on this transition.)
(At USF 5,000 classes were moved online virtually overnight -- see https://www.wusf.org/coronavirus-has-tampa-bay-area-schools-universities-preparing-for-online-learning/)
Today, our Road to the White House 2020 class met online for the first time. Using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (through our LMS: Canvas), we were able to meet "live" during our usual class period. What a treat it was to "see" my students!
I am happy to report that we did not have any technological issues. (I was a bit worried, given that all schools all over the US and, indeed, all around the world, have transitioned all classes online at the same time.) Everything went smoothly, and we had a productive class.
The topic for today was Predicting Presidential Elections, and students presented papers using various forecasting methods (e.g., based on public opinion polls, identifying bellwether states, surveys of the president’s job performance, expert opinion, looking at the nominating process and general election campaigns to assess their forecasting potential, and looking at the national economy as clues to election outcomes, among others) to predict whether the Democrat or the Republican candidate will win the 2020 presidential election (finding evidence to support their hypotheses like polling data, economic indicators, etc.). Students did an outstanding job, and I am looking forward to reading the papers.
I understand that all of us are dealing with a range of difficult issues as a result of this pandemic, some of which may cause severe hardships. Yet, I feel incredibly grateful that we were able to come together as a class today -- discussing our previously scheduled content of forecasting presidential elections while incorporating current events and considering the 2020 presidential campaign in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many things in our lives are turned upside down right now. But one thing that can remain constant is our commitment to our academics and to each other.
And -- regardless of accommodations and adjustments that may be necessary -- we can still finish this semester as strong as we started. #GoBulls
And I look forward to "seeing" you on Thursday!
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| Welcome to our learning community Dottie, Lexi, Happy, Belamy, Murphy, Guiness, Augie, and Kyro! |
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| I am so grateful that we can still "see" each other and continue learning together |
