Brooke Judy is a freshman from Monaca.
Brooke Judy
Freshman, Liberal Arts
Monaca, PA
Posted May 11, 2020
In the past few weeks since Penn State University has transferred to remote learning, I have felt little to no stress about my schooling. All of my classes this past semester were in-class lectures, so the transition from face-to-face to my laptop was interesting. However, my professors have continued to support my fellow PSU students and have been extremely understanding with assignments and lectures.
For example, my psychology professor frequently updates Canvas (Penn State’s website for students and professors to post assignments, quizzes, discussion boards, or to access grades), and he posts audio lectures with the PowerPoint slides. His reasoning was so that students can learn at the best time for them. He explained that with international students, it would be more beneficial for them due to different time zones.
In addition, my friends from Penn State Beaver and I have all kept in touch, which is extremely beneficial for classwork. My friends and I are in the same classes, so we all work together, whether it is studying, forwarding each other notes, or just catching someone up on a lecture he or she may have missed.
I am beyond proud of my professors and fellow Penn State students as WE ARE PENN STATE STRONG.
Posted April 23, 2020
When I first heard about Penn State switching to remote learning due to the coronavirus, I was anxious and worried about my grades. I am enrolled in an honors class called CMLIT 440: War Stories (Comparative Literature). The class is described as one of Penn State’s seminar classes, meaning it is discussion based. Because the grading is mostly based on class interactions, I was worried about my grade.
However, my professor used Zoom, a video chat program. After my first class, I felt a wave of relief. I was able to communicate with all of my classmates easily. Additionally, my professor has been extremely helpful to my classmates and me. She suggested our class use a discussion board that we can post a question or response on at any time, which is particularly helpful to international students who are often in a much different time zone.
What I enjoy most about Zoom lectures is that they can be recorded. Therefore, I can refer back to the lecture when studying or doing homework problems. The recorded lectures are also beneficial for students who live in different time zones. I appreciate how all of my professors have been understanding and have reached out numerous times just to check in.