I know that the transition to remote learning has been a bit tough on many, myself included. Others have found it to be a breeze, with less work than their on campus classes. For me, I feel like I now have almost double or triple the work to learn the material without in-person lectures. Due to this, I wanted to share a bit about various options and resources that might help to relieve some stress that the transition to remote learning may have caused for you.Â
Q: What are the “double A,” “universal 4.0” and “ mandatory pass/fail (S/U)” options I keep hearing about?Â
Double A =Â a system where everyone would either get an A or an A- based on their performance in the class.Â
Universal 4.0 =Â everyone at the university would get a 4.0 for this semester or fail due to the pandemic situation.Â
Mandatory Pass/Fail (or S/U as Emory refers to it)Â =Â everyone at that university MUST take their classes as pass fail and cannot take any of their classes for a grade.Â
Emory is currently implementing an extension to the date in which we can choose to switch a class to S/U until the last day of classes. This is meant to help students who may not have a productive learning environment at home. Some students may have to provide full time care for their siblings during the week or simply don’t have a productive learning environment at home. Though this option may seem like it is making those students at a disadvantage if they choose to take the S/U option, many graduate program’s admission teams have already stated that they understand the possible situations and difficulties of remote learning, and therefore would not count an S/U against you. Offering the option also allows students who do have a productive learning environment at home to get credit for the work they’ve done so far if they can keep it up, as an S/U would not factor into a student’s GPA. For example, a student who has a productive learning environment and currently has an A in a class would likely not want to switch to S/U.Â
Q: What are some free resources that companies are offering to help with remote learning?Â
Pearson: RedShelf and Vital SourceÂ
If your books are still in the mail, or you’re using your textbooks a lot more than you normally would due to remote learning, you can take advantage of this resource. You can access online versions of your textbooks for free if you login with your Emory email on the RedShelf and Vital Source websites. Make sure you click bookshelf, and there shouldn’t be a price listed on the book when you click it, otherwise you will have to go back through the link again to locate how to access the free online ebooks due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is especially helpful if you use the search function for various vocabulary terms, or like to utilize the online study resources that online textbooks sometimes provide.Â
Wize: Tutoring Resource and Homework HelpÂ
Wize, an online tutoring company, is offering its exam prep and homework help resources to assist during the remote learning period. They hope that this will help to reduce the stress and anxiety caused by the transition to remote learning and to help further students’ academic progress during the semester online. There are over 10,000 course lessons created on the website, and qualified tutors. Students would also have access to Wize professors and Wize instructors to answer questions about homework, exam prep or general course material. Wize offers support for classes in biology, physics, mathematics, psychology, chemistry, statistics, engineering, economics, accounting, finance and more.Â
Books, Materials, Publications:
If your textbooks aren’t published by Pearson, or you need books for a English or History course that uses other materials than textbooks try some of these resources that are offering free materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic:Â
– Duke University PressÂ
– MIT University PressÂ
– Ohio State University PressÂ
– University of Michigan PressÂ
– Project MUSE (Johns Hopkins University Press, Ohio State University Press, University of Nebraska Press, University of North Carolina Press, Temple University Press, Vanderbilt University Press)Â
–Â ProQuest Ebook CentralÂ
–Â ProQuest and EBSCOÂ
– HBOÂ
– National Theater LiveÂ
Q: What are some tips to help me stay on top of my mountain of assignments, deadlines, and readings?Â
It might be hard to stay ahead of the curve, especially if your classes (like many of mine have) decided that readings and videos are a more fair method of instruction than lectures, and turned their class time into more of an office hours question and answer format. I like to use my Outlook calendar that is linked to my Emory email in order to keep all my assignments and deadlines organized. While on campus I would normally use a written planner, with the lack of verbal reminders for assignments (purely due to the nature of remote learning) I have found the “recurring feature” on the Outlook calendar to be helpful for weekly quizzes or assignments. Try to get as much of the work that you can get done as soon as possible, especially daunting tasks that you want to put off until the last minute. I’m also working on investing in some noise canceling headphones so I can stay focused during quizzes even with at home and outside distractions. Make sure to take advantage of EPASS and Learning Assistants (yes they are still working digitally) as well as your professor’s office hours. Remember to take breaks! At least for me, a nice run or walk around my house really helps me to stay focused on my school work. Â
Make sure to stay home and stay safe Emory! Breaking quarantine/ social distancing will just prolong our return to the school that we love, so please stay home! You can call your Emory friends and your home friends too over FaceTime or Zoom! Â