Online medical school classes as well as pharmacy, biomedical sciences and physical
therapy courses began March 16 at 黑料传送门 Georgia and many students and faculty members
report positive experiences.
鈥淭he best thing that鈥檚 going to come out of COVID-19 is change at the cost of ambiguity
and uncertainty.鈥�
- Joseph Kaczmarczyk, DO, MPH, MBA, Interim Dean and Chief Academic Officer, 黑料传送门
Georgia
Dr. Kaczmarczyk spoke these prescient words to students on Friday, March 13, 2020, just after the decision had been made to move teaching online due to the pandemic known across the globe as COVID-19.
Fortunately, faculty members were ready and had been prepared for such a scenario due to the threat of weather closures. That Friday, members of the campus鈥� Educational Media and Professional Development and Online Learning departments were gathered in a classroom offering guidance to faculty and staff alike. Huo Lu, PhD, professor of anatomy and course director, said, 鈥淭hey helped us to solve many technical issues onsite. They did a lot of work to make sure we were prepared.鈥�
Online learning began Monday and many students and faculty members report positive experiences. Brooke Shultis, academic development coordinator, said 鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing to see how faculty who are used to face-to-face instruction have taken charge and revamped their courses to give students the best digital experience possible.鈥�
Shu Zhu, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience, physiology and pharmacology, who co-directs the Homeostasis in Organs and Systems II course with Robert McAfee, PhD, assistant professor of anatomy, experienced 鈥渁 very interactive session鈥� with 71 students participating in a test class on March 12. She tried various functions including giving students access to the whiteboard where they made 鈥渁 beautiful piece of art ... students loved it and thought it was fun! Other activities included responding to questions through audio and chat, sharing and explaining pdf documents and slides, polling and even recording attendance. 鈥淚t took us some time to learn and figure out things together, but overall Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a user friendly system.鈥�
Doctor of Physical Therapy student Robert Kane (DPT 鈥�21), said 鈥淚t is game changing to go from a 2D image in a textbook to seeing how impairments will present in real-life with practitioner resources, patient testimonials and online resources through our learning platforms. The collaboration has only increased among our class.鈥�
Teresa Pierce, PT, DPT, a certified pediatric clinical specialist in the department of physical therapy, reports that she taught her first-online course on March 16 with colleague Jeanne Welch, PT, DPT, a certified neurologic clinical specialist. During her doctorate program, she had participated in online coursework, but had never created a virtual classroom. 鈥淭his term I am teaching nine hours a week so I knew I needed to figure this out in order for students to continue learning neuromuscular management without coming to class.鈥�
鈥淎fter much trial and error and several calls to the 黑料传送门 Blackboard 鈥榟otline鈥�, I was able to successfully practice using the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra system with a couple of my students and my teaching partner,鈥� she said. I created step-by-step instructions on how to log onto the online class and sent these out to all the Doctor of Physical Therapy students, asking them to send me their PowerPoint presentations so that I could upload them into the session. At 10 a.m., we were having our first online classroom experience with the seven student groups successfully presenting their information to classmates.鈥�
Dr. Pierce said she plans to poll the students to collect data on their impressions of the effectiveness of online classes.
Eric Wang, PhD, associate professor for pharmaceutical sciences, said, 鈥淪o far my experience with online teaching and learning using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is very positive. A lot of students really appreciate this format of learning and what we have done to make this happen in such a short period of time. They seem more attentive, responsive and engaged than learning in a traditional classroom setting.鈥�
Adwoa Aduonum, PhD, MSc, associate professor of neuroscience and physiology, admitted she was a bit 鈥渁pprehensive鈥� about using technology to teach, but 鈥渞ealized I could master it with practice鈥� and the help of IT support. 鈥淥verall the session was fantastic,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 taught it as if they were in the lecture hall with our usual interaction. I asked questions that students responded to via chat so the entire class could see the questions as long as they were engaged.鈥�
According to Biomedical Sciences student Jessica Myara (MS/Biomed 鈥�21), digital learning 鈥渉as gone pretty well. Professors have been trying their best to accommodate students as much as possible and we, as students, truly appreciate that. Biomedical Sciences graduate students have been using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and this has worked really well for us.鈥�
She added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great interactive platform where students feel connected to their professors and can ask questions in real time rather than having to wait for an email response back. Through these uncertain times, it鈥檚 nice to know that 黑料传送门 is working hard to ensure students continue to get their education.鈥�
Myara shared her current setup at home where she transported part of her desk into the living room so she can use her TV to view lectures. On her MacBook, she is able to 鈥淎irPlay鈥� to her TV. She said she uses the function 鈥淯se as a Separate Display鈥� and is able to split the screen.
鈥淚n this way, I can use my TV as a projector of the PowerPoint and lecture via Collaborate Ultra and use my laptop to take notes via Microsoft Office OneNote,鈥� she explained.
Associate Professor Sonia Thomas, PharmD, BCOP, believes 鈥渙nline teaching is the new wave for millennials. It鈥檚 amazing what we can do with technology and how the comfort of one鈥檚 home can increase quality of life and enhance mental health which is very important in performance.鈥�
Lu said, 鈥淲e, as a team, are all willing to learn new things and we are ready to adapt.鈥�
黑料传送门 Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (黑料传送门), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), 黑料传送门 Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins 黑料传送门 South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, 黑料传送门 Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit .
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