https://abcnews.go.com/US/mich...th/story?id=72975851

All Michigan State students asked to quarantine over 'exponential growth' of COVID-19

Meanwhile, schools like W&M, Colby, Syracuse (and many others) all seem to be faring reasonably well, with small and hopefully manageable positive counts.

We will see some fascinating empirical work over the next year.

In a meeting with our dean last week, someone mentioned something about new research that when everyone is masked, being in the classroom seems to be pretty safe and not where infections are happening. (It seems the infections are happening in places where people don't have masks on, like restaurants and parties. No surprise). I have not seen anything that really looks at that....

So, P*D, re W&M, how many classes are actually meeting in-person? You yourself are online for the whole semester, right?

I also have a friend at Colby but she has a high-risk condition so she is also teaching online.

I really want to feel like I can go back to classroom teaching and be safe with just masks....

I don't have a precise number for F2F versus remote/synchronous. In general, our small classes are F2F. That includes first-year seminars and capstone seminars at the other end. Lecture classes of 35 can also be accommodated on campus and some are being offered that way.

I'm currently staying remote, though I'm reserving the option of returning to F2F when I think it's OK. The problem, however, is that I'm rather liking the remote setting! I get to see all 15-16 of my students in a nice grid on my big monitor. I can see them raise a hand, and sometimes they just start speaking, which is usually fine. If I go back into the class, we'll all be distanced and I'll be behind plexiglas with a mask muffling my speech. I don't find that preferable. I haven't surveyed my classes, so I don't know their preferences.

I'm also fascinated by having a writer sitting in for the remote/synchronous experience. I've disclosed this to W&M, and they have approved, subject to common sense ground rules.

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I get to see all 15-16 of my students in a nice grid on my big monitor. I can see them raise a hand, and sometimes they just start speaking, which is usually fine. If I go back into the class, we'll all be distanced and I'll be behind plexiglas with a mask muffling my speech. I don't find that preferable.

Yes, I agree, that is definitely a benefit for me as well! The remote synchronous set up is working really well.

quote:

I haven't surveyed my classes, so I don't know their preferences.

We have been given permission to stay online -- those of us, including me, who are in the schedule book as hybrid are supposed to be back to f2f in a few weeks. So I am writing an actual survey for my students to answer anonymously to see what they think.

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I'm also fascinated by having a writer sitting in for the remote/synchronous experience.

What do you mean? Why is it fascinating?

Fascinating for many reasons. For starters, because her experience in my class could wind up in Forbes. Next, we're having regular conversations afterward about remote teaching, the subject matter, and the higher education system more generally.

She is largely a fly on the wall, but I tweaked her last week by directly asking her a question, just like she was a regular student in the class.