{"id":93803,"date":"2020-10-21T00:21:24","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T21:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2020-10-21T00:21:24","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T21:21:24","slug":"how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"#How these college programs retooled in the middle of a global pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bbf65baf66\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bbf65baf66\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/#When_school_imitates_play\" >When school imitates play<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/#A_kind_of_field_hospital\" >A kind of field hospital<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/#Visions_of_car_repair\" >Visions of car repair<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/#Zooming_in_on_fall_prevention\" >Zooming in on fall prevention<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/#Up_close_with_a_jet_engine\" >Up close with a jet engine<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How these college programs retooled in the middle of a global pandemic<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                                                                        The long shadow of COVID-19 has forced colleges to rethink how they deliver labs and clinics. With mostly online classes on offer this fall, colleges are devising virtual substitutes to equip students with skills for graduation.<\/p>\n<p>Here is what hands-on learning at a distance looks like for some programs.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_school_imitates_play\"><\/span><strong>When school imitates play<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When the pandemic hit in March, Sheridan College instructor Andy Alubaidy <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lied video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to build a virtual lab for his second-year instrumentation and process control course in electromechanical engineering technology at the college\u2019s Brampton, Ont., campus. After watching his nephew, a university student, play video games, Alubaidy wondered, \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you use this tool for education?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From home, students use a computer keyboard and mouse to enter the virtual lab and walk up to four different machines with dials that measure and control liquid levels, fluid flow, air pressure and temperature. In hands-on exercises, students learn to analyze all aspects of instrumentation and process control, recording the results on a lab sheet for assessment by the instructor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a different way of experiencing the hands-on practice,\u201d says Alubaidy, adding that the virtual environment simulates about 95 per cent of what happens in a real lab.<\/p>\n<p>Miguel Morales Mejia, a student in the instrumentation course this summer, was initially skeptical. \u201cHow can you do a lab without any of the equipment?\u201d he asked. But he adapted quickly, as he plays video games that use the same software as the virtual lab. \u201cI was very surprised that the same thing that can give me endless hours of entertainment could also educate me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By taking the virtual lab, the international student from Colombia kept to his fall 2020 graduation schedule instead of risking delays on account of an uncertain return to labs on campus. The virtual environment also meant he could practise his skills at times convenient to him, not those set by the course schedule.<\/p>\n<p>Alubaidy plans to introduce virtual labs in three other courses this fall, but notes, \u201cWe are not abandoning the physical lab.\u201d He sees the virtual lab as a complement to traditional on-campus learning, once it resumes.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_kind_of_field_hospital\"><\/span><strong>A kind of field hospital<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>At Calgary\u2019s Bow Valley College, labs and clinics typically represent about 40 per cent of a two-year practical nursing diploma program. When the pandemic struck last spring, college instructors quickly reimagined all the program\u2019s content in a virtual context.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe put everyone on Microsoft Teams in a week, an amazing feat,\u201d says Nora MacLachlan, dean of health and community studies.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, nursing students purchased their lab supplies from the campus bookstore. For the virtual lab, Bow Valley delivered materials to the students at home. Instructors held regularly scheduled classes by video and filmed recordings of medical procedures for students to view on their own time. For evaluations, students uploaded videos of themselves performing the required procedures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur virtual labs look exactly like hospital rooms and use the same equipment as in a hospital,\u201d says MacLachlan. Students still wear nursing scrubs for their online classes. \u201cThey use all the same equipment as in a hospital, except now they are switching to a desk or kitchen table . . . or whatever flat surface they can use for their sterile procedure,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>Students sometimes improvised how to learn at home. Without an in-class mannequin, second-year student Victoria Stewart learned to insert an intravenous needle into a sponge and used tacks to elevate the IV tubing and bag to her kitchen wall. She could ask real-time questions of the instructor, or connect at any time through a chat box. Stewart liked the flexibility of the online lab because she had multiple practice runs before posting her video-recorded assignments for evaluation. Still, she prefers the human touch of the in-class lab, \u201cwith the instructor beside me coaching me through it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Visions_of_car_repair\"><\/span><strong>Visions of car repair<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>With lab space at a premium due to the pandemic, students in Vancouver Community College\u2019s two-year diploma in auto collision and refinishing will train at home this fall. For a week at a time, each student will have a portable backpack equipped with software that creates an immersive environment in which to practise welding and car painting.<\/p>\n<p>The pandemic was the \u201cmain driver\u201d in purchasing the backpacks, says Brett Griffiths, dean of trades, technology and design at VCC. \u201cWe wanted to make sure these students still got some experience with these critical skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to buying licensed software, the college paid about $4,000 per backpack and $800 each for accompanying virtual reality headsets. Once traditional labs resume, the school will still use the backpacks. \u201cStudents can practise in the virtual lab before going down to the shop,\u201d says Griffiths. \u201cIt is a much lower risk for students and they are not exposed to the smoke and fumes [of a traditional lab].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shelley Gray, chief executive officer of the Industry Training Authority that governs British Columbia\u2019s skills trades, applauds the remote-delivery innovation. \u201cWe need to be cautious, but there are enough checks and balances in place [with simulated learning] that we are not setting students up for failure in the long run,\u201d she says, citing the multi-stage approval process to accredit Red Seal apprentices.<\/p>\n<p>New virtual modes of learning sit well with many employers, she says. \u201cOne of the consistent concerns from industry is how colleges, traditional in their approach, [have been slow] to keep up from a technology perspective.\u201d Students in remote communities benefit, too, she adds, as they can learn from home instead of having to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> to the Lower Mainland for six to eight weeks at a time for classes.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Zooming_in_on_fall_prevention\"><\/span><strong>Zooming in on fall prevention<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The global coronavirus outbreak accelerated an emerging trend in health care\u2014electronic long-distance communication between patients and health professionals\u2014and a rise in employer demand for telehealth-savvy graduates.<\/p>\n<p>With schools closed by the pandemic last March, instructors at Algonquin College in Ottawa looked for alternatives for in-person placements. They contacted occupational therapists and physiotherapists employed at agencies that normally offered placements to see if they would personally host a student at a distance.<\/p>\n<p>In the new format, Algonquin instructors worked closely with the clinical therapists to develop and roll out activities for students in virtual placements and also provided weekly support to students. \u201cWe wanted to create as authentic an experience as we could working with community partners,\u201d says Tim Tosh, coordinator of the occupational therapist assistant, physiotherapist assistant program at Algonquin\u2019s School of Health and Community Studies.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1210630\" style=\"width: 830px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"wp-image-1210630 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ALGONQUIIN-COLLEGE-OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPIST-PHYSIOTHERAPIST-LEWINGTON-OCT05.jpg\" alt=\"Algonquin student Katlyn Harkins works with a mock patient over Zoom, offering tips on avoiding falls at home (Courtesy of Algonquin College)\" width=\"820\" height=\"461\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Algonquin student Katlyn Harkins works with a mock patient over Zoom, offering tips on avoiding falls at home (Courtesy of Algonquin College)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over four weeks, students used teleconferencing technology to conduct virtual sessions with a friend or family member who agreed to be a mock patient needing advice on how to avoid falls at home, for example. Over Zoom, the student instructed the mock patient to identify high-risk areas, such as the bathroom, submitting the video interaction to the clinical therapist supervising their placement. After that, mimicking the interaction typical in a face-to-face placement, the student and supervisor conducted a virtual discussion of possible treatment options. Then the student reconnected with the mock patient to outline potential home modifications and exercises to minimize the risk of a fall.<\/p>\n<p>Because they are forced to adapt without access to face-to-face interactions, \u201cstudents come away from this with better skills in therapeutic communication,\u201d says Tosh. Working virtually, students had to make use of available resources in the home, such as substituting a water bottle for weights to be used in strength-training exercises. \u201cThis could happen in real life, we told the students, so what are the things you can find in a mock-client\u2019s home to mimic the equipment they need?\u201d says program instructor Danijela Subara. \u201cThey have to be creative to find the tools to provide the therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For evaluations, students used their phones to film interactions with patients and posted videos of their performance to instructors. \u201cThe professor could give im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te feedback to the student in a written or video format,\u201d says Subara.<\/p>\n<p>Tosh says that in the at-a-distance placements, the Algonquin instructors were much more involved with the clinical supervisors in the development and rollout of clinical activities to ensure students would meet their competency requirements. The online format \u201callowed us to be more involved in supporting the clinical supervisors because we could see the student\u2019s submissions and answer questions as needed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Algonquin instructors now plan to blend in-class and online clinics so students can practise the skills they need in face-to-face and virtual environments. \u201cLet\u2019s equip you with what you need to be successful because it is going to be hard when you are working,\u201d says Tosh.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Up_close_with_a_jet_engine\"><\/span><strong>Up close with a jet engine<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The cost of equipment and access to the internet are two concerns for colleges when delivering online labs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of students who come with no computer or who are barely making it [financially],\u201d says Marilyn Powers, manager of applied research and academics at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ont. She advises instructors when to incorporate virtual reality and other technology in the curriculum. \u201cWe have lots of people who don\u2019t have good bandwidth, and there are obstacles for them to get data on their phones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mohawk sought out low-cost solutions, where possible. For example, for a course in the two-year diploma in aviation technician<em>\u2013<\/em>avionics maintenance, a new online lab this fall will use virtual reality to help students learn the components of a four-stroke motor, a jet engine and other electronic devices of an airplane. Instead of expensive headsets, the college will use an app\u2014made by EON Reality, a software company\u2014 embedded in cardboard goggles that cost about $10 to $15 each. Students place their phones inside the goggles (with side flaps to block out light) and look through the eye holes to see a 3D image of a motor engine. \u201cWe wanted something that was immersive and that students could use at home,\u201d says Powers.<\/p>\n<p>Instructors in the program are evaluating curriculum to identify content, such as safety procedures, that can be easily learned online compared to material that requires an in-person instructor, such as the modification of an actual instrumentation panel of a small aircraft. Powers says colleges can learn from the aviation industry, which, pre-COVID, won government regulatory approval to use simulators in training and now, with the coronavirus, increasingly looks to augmented and virtual reality as a substitute for in-person instruction. \u201cMaybe it will take a little longer in education, but COVID just made the case for it much better,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This article appears in print in the Maclean\u2019s 2020 Canadian Colleges Guidebook with the headline, \u201cLearn to weld in the comfort of your home!\u201d\u00a0<\/em><br \/>\n<span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/education\/college\/how-these-college-programs-retooled-in-the-middle-of-a-global-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How these college programs retooled in the middle of a global pandemic&#8221; The long shadow of COVID-19 has forced colleges to rethink how they deliver labs and clinics. With mostly online classes on offer this fall, colleges are devising virtual substitutes to equip students with skills for graduation. Here is what hands-on learning at a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/BOW-VALLEY-COLLEGE-NURSEING-DIPLOMA-LEWINGTON-OCT05-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[67891,67806],"class_list":["post-93803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-colleges-guide-2021","tag-editors-picks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}