Excerpt from “Teaching during lockdown: Transitioning to online learning” on FlipSnack, featuring founder Joshua Williams, written by Adelina.

Future of education 

In our quest of understanding more about teaching during lockdown and how different educational institutions and their teachers transitioned to online learning we stumbled upon Parsons School of Design, New York. And so we wondered. How does a prestigious design institution handle online learning? 

Luckily, Joshua Williams, Assistant Professor Of Fashion Management was kind enough to give us some very insightful information. 

As you’d expect, challenges were pretty much the same. Keeping students engaged, connected and motivated. But a podcast is such a good instrument to keep students engaged with industry professionals. Called “Retail Revolution”, the podcast focuses on how the pandemic was affecting retail, a theme any design student will want to know more about, especially today. 

So, in order to spark conversation around this subject, the school organized a live Zoom Q&A and produced two bonus episodes featuring students. 

Joshua was already working on creating an online version of the Fashion Management MPS graduate program with the goal of launching it in Fall 2021. The goal was to rethink online education from the ground up, so as not simply to mirror an onsite program, but to create something new. 

“In my decade of teaching, I had come to realize that onsite and online learning are quite different modalities. One is not better than the other, just different. And that is how I approached the development of the new program.”

Of course, this helped tremendously when face-to-face learning was no longer an option starting March. 

Using online learning tools like Canvas or Zoom, teachers from Parsons School of Design managed to stay in touch with students, send out assignments and give feedback. So, the entire institution is considering a more substantial shift online—thinking about the potential of being online, or hybrid, in the fall. 

“All in all, our experience throughout this sudden transition has been positive, albeit with some sadness that our graduating seniors will not have the chance to see each other in person as they complete their summer classes.” says Joshua. 

Conclusion

It is clear that this pandemic crisis affected all of us. But perhaps, for some industries, it was a much-needed push forward. For the educational system, adapting to the new “normal” meant fully transitioning to online learning. And teaching during lockdown came with a lot of question marks. For some teachers, this meant finding new creative ways to do their job more efficiently.