Brittany Crane, M.A. in Integrated Design student
"My professors still gave high quality lectures that were informative and rewarding. The classes were even more interesting because the professors and students thought of creative ways to present the course material..."
Brittany Crane was taking in-person classes when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the University of Baltimore’s campus and classes university wide were shifted online.
She wasn’t new to online classes, having taken some during her undergraduate studies and earlier in her graduate program, but she hadn’t had a full online schedule. Plus, as a student in UBalt’s M.A. in Integrated Design program, she enjoyed the collaboration and community that seemed more typical of face-to-face classes.
When everything shifted after spring break, Brittany appreciated that her professors responded quickly and well to the unforeseen circumstance.
“They knew that some students were going through personal hardships that could affect their school work, so both of my professors altered the course assignments to fit better with students' schedules and reduce some of the stress to make the transition smoother,” she says.
Despite that ease of transition, Brittany had her concerns. She wasn’t sure how being fully remote might impact her GPA or if she could expect the same academic quality.
By semester’s end, however, Brittany realized she liked having the online schedule, and even enjoyed some lessons more because of it.
“My professors still gave high quality lectures that were informative and rewarding. The classes were even more interesting because the professors and students thought of creative ways to present the course material virtually to keep the classes engaging,” she says.
Brittany says she liked the casual nature that the online classes offered. She was learning the valuable academic lessons she expected from the comfort of her home. Having one asynchronous class even enabled her to do class work on her own time so she could navigate her studies around her other responsibilities.
“I came to realize that it is possible to continue taking all online courses while still being able to successfully learn and obtain everything I need from those courses, and keeping my grades consistent as I would in in-person classes,” Brittany says.
Taking classes online helped Brittany in at least one way she didn’t expect. She became more comfortable being on camera and conversing with people virtually, and when she landed a job interview that had to be virtual, she could face it confidently.
That paid off, too; she got the job.
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