The Socratic Inquiry Newsletter Vol 3 Issue 7 (2021)

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V O L . 3 I S S U E 7 2 0 2 1 ( J U N 7 - J U L 4 )Featured ArticleThe Effects of COVID-19 on theEducational ProcessAuthor: Curtis R. Blakely, Ph.D.University of WyomingLaramie, WY, USABy now, the world has been in the grips of a pandemic for nearly two years. There havebeen an untold number of deaths. Borders have been closed, immigration/tourism hasbeen halted and makeshift hospitals and morgues have become the norm. Vulnerablepopulations have been disproportionately affected with the poor, elderly and childrensuffering greatly. Not only has this pandemic been a public-health nightmare, but it hasseverely impacted the global economy. Local, state and federal governments (includingentire nations) are struggling to keep abreast with the hardships that the virus haswrought on their communities. Tax bases/surpluses have been depleted, governmentservices have been curtailed, and the supply chain has been unable to keep storeshelves stocked.While all of us has been personally impacted by these events, for those of us in theeducation profession, we have seen several innovative approaches that have helped uscontinue to teach our student populations. For example, while the traditional approachto teaching involves the classroom, mandatory practices related to social isolation havelargely made this approach impossible. Instead, professionals within this field havenecessarily been required to develop new approaches to ensure that the world’sPage No. 02
V O L . 3 I S S U E 7 2 0 2 1 ( J U N 7 - J U L 4 )student population continues to benefit from the educational process. While primary, secondary,undergraduate and graduate students have all been impacted, this brief article is being writtenfrom the perspective of a college professor.Prior to the pandemic, alternative means of teaching were often viewed by traditionalists asimperfect, ineffective and of low-quality. Schools that specialized in distance-learning were oftenviewed as an acceptable option only for non-traditional working students or those that could nototherwise attend a traditional school. Oftentimes, these schools marketed themselves tomembers of the military who could not otherwise attend school due to their schedules ordeployments.Considering the present situation, even the most ardent traditionalist has begun to concede thatinternet-based approaches may be beneficial. Among these approaches are delivery platformsthat include synchronous courses (which require students to meet via a virtual classroom),asynchronous courses (that do not require virtual class meetings but do require studentparticipation by way of watching recorded lectures, and completing readings, assignments andtests), and hybrid courses that are based on a mixture of these two approaches.Overall, these approaches have now become mainstream. No longer is distance-leaning viewedas a secondary choice. Instead, synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid courses, all of which arebased upon internet delivery methods, have permitted, for the most part, colleges anduniversities worldwide to continue to deliver instructional materials. This has not only legitimizeddistance learning, but it has allowed educational processes to continue largely uninhibited. Itappears that those few schools that have historically specialized in on-line distance-learninghave found a resurgence of interests among today’s student populations. Similarly, traditionalschools of higher learning have adapted to the changing expectations and challenges that theyare facing. As such, from the perspective of the contemporary professor, the evolutionaryprocess affecting the classroom has permitted students to learn from nearly every corner of theglobe regardless of their location, employment status, or ability to locate adequatetransportation/lodging. At no time in history has higher education been more accessible.Page No. 03
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The Socratic Inquiry Newsletter Vol 3 Issue 7 (2021)

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