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Inclusive College on Zoom?
My Inclusive Higher Education 2020 Experience
Stephen Wanser, Kate Lisotta, and Kim Dean
This chapter is about me and how I’m doing with the transition of being online in an inclusive college program. I worked with a peer mentor and a professor to reflect on my experiences and write up my thoughts and insights. We did it all through Zoom in less than four weeks.
Please enjoy what I am about to share.
My name is Stephen Stone Wanser. I am twenty-two years old when writing this in 2020. I am from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I attend the Raising Expectations for Academic Learning (REAL) Certificate at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. I have the heart of a lion, but I fight like a bull. Some characteristics that describe me would be: I am funny, smart, and talented. My hobbies are made from my characteristics, and these hobbies include playing video games, writing, and cooking.
I also like to describe myself as smart because I am motivated about school. I motivate myself because I want to make good grades and make everyone in my life proud. I am also an overachiever, and I seem to find myself going above and beyond for assignments and projects as well. I also have trained myself to follow directions. I learned that if you look deep into directions, you will always find it easier to complete tasks.
I finished high school in 2020, and now I’m attending Arcadia University. Arcadia is a small, beautiful campus with a very noticeable big castle. The location is in Montgomery County, in Cheltenham Township, near Philadelphia. In general, Arcadia has small class sizes, so it is easy to get to know each other and professors.
I am in the REAL Certificate. This is from the website (https://www.arcadia.edu/majors-and-programs/real-certificate/): “The REAL Certificate allows students with disabilities to experience college through academic, vocational, and social programs. Within 2 years, students will take a minimum of one undergraduate course per semester, receive tutoring, social support, and job shadowing. This program is approved by the U.S. Department of Education so students can apply for federal aid.”
Our Collaboration Method
We started meeting in September and met twice a week. I am surprised that we did all this in four weeks. We started with a brainstorm, we thought about who would read this, we thought about tips. Here is a link to our original brainstorm document with all the ideas and work we added. Toward the end, we read it together and agreed on the work. The last thing we did was write questions and record a Zoom interview, which you can see in the digital edition of this book.
My Experiences in the REAL Certificate Program (Inclusive Higher Education)
When I found out that I was going to college, I was looking forward to getting a better education and making new friends. But then came the virus, not a computer virus!! So I was starting Arcadia during a pandemic!
When I found out we were going to be remote for school, I was sad and happy. Sad because I was really looking forward to being on campus. But at the same time I’m happy because I get to stay home and learn, and I find it easier to do school work while being home. Since the pandemic started, learning through (Arcadia) Zoom University has allowed me to learn in the comfort of my own home without distractions. At home I don’t have to worry about a lot of noise. Typically, this program is in person, but since there is a pandemic my experience has been online. I go to Pajama University.
The best part of college so far is meeting different people and learning the ways they think and what their thoughts are about things. I enjoy learning from other pieces of peoples’ ideas and twisting them into a new idea. Finally, peer mentors are the best thing that you’re ever gonna have! Having a peer mentor comes in handy. They can help you come up with ideas and guide you in the right direction for assignments. You are able to come up with ideas, but they help to keep them organized and edit them, which is useful.
Another good part of the REAL program is social time. This happens every day, and it depends on your class schedule what time you have it. Social time is the best time ever to get to watch YouTube videos or relax with other peers.
A few things were hard for me when we started online college. For example, how the heck to work Zoom?! And all the many different Zoom links! It was challenging that there were too many changes in the Zooms when we started. Another bummer about being remote was I didn’t get to see or really meet new people in person.
But the good news is there are lots of chances to make new friends in remote settings. Here are a few examples. Example one: giving phone numbers out. One time I had to exchange phone numbers with one of my social peer mentors to stay in contact. It worked out very well. It felt weird at first to give out my phone number, but now I am used to it. When my usual friends are busy, it’s nice to have other people to talk to. I’m both an introvert and an extrovert. I definitely like to be alone sometimes to have time to think. I also definitely do like to socialize once I get to know the group and the people. It doesn’t take me long to figure out who I want to spend time with. If you pay attention to people, you can figure out which ones are good friend material. Example two: I get put into breakout rooms with random people I don’t know at first. At orientation we were placed into breakout rooms. I was put into a breakout room with a person I had never met before. I was worried he didn’t want to talk to me because his camera kept turning off. However, it turned out we were both into anime and it was fun to talk to each other.
Online College: Challenges and Tips
As I said, managing all the Zoom was difficult. Recently, I thought I had English class and I logged on, but then I realized we didn’t have class. The teacher emailed me to let me know that we are only working on a discussion board for this week. It was kind of confusing because he was not entirely clear about when we were meeting. Usually, I’m very organized, but it’s easy to get confused with your schedule for online school. Always check your syllabus or assignments and pay attention during class to keep track of class dates. If you are ever confused, you can reach out to your professor.
Advice and Tips for Students
- Organization and Planning: Be Prepared
- Stay organized with the Zoom links for classes. Use one document with course links instead of scrolling through old emails or Canvas pages.
- Keep your schedule up on your phone. Look at it every morning to know what to do and keep track of when classes are happening.
- Make sure that you get enough sleep to be able to focus in class.
- Make sure you eat breakfast so you are not hungry during classes.
- Look at your email every day to make sure you know what is happening.
- Participation in Online Learning
- Pay attention.
- Keep phone on silent. Turn off email notifications.
- Plan for your pets ahead of time.
- Take notes. You never know! Then look at your notes throughout the week.
- Make sure you look frozen. Look at the screen and stay still. If you don’t stay pretty still, it is going to look like you are not paying attention.
- Plan focus. Reduce other tabs on your computer.
- Keep your camera on or, if not, make sure you try to say something during the Zoom or at least say something in the chat so they know you are there.
- Try to stay on your camera so your professor knows you are there and paying attention.
- If you look at the computer screen for a really long time and it is bothering you, try to look away from the screen at a wall to blink and refresh.
- Depending on your teacher, you may be able to take quick breaks or turn off your camera briefly while still listening to the class.
- Pay attention.
- Social Tips
- Our program only lasts for two years. Enjoy it while you can! :)
- Try to be yourself.
- If you don’t know other people and are shy, you can sit back in the beginning to get a feel for the group. As you become more comfortable, you can start to speak up to try to make friends.
- You can use the chat feature if you don’t want to speak out loud or have any technical issues.
- It can be easier to make friends if you are paying attention and listening to the professor. If you don’t, you may end up messing up and not being a good team member.
- You can pay attention to the way people in the class work and think, which can help you figure out who is friend material.
Coversation: Conversation While Covered Up
We will be back on campus some day! How can we get along with social distancing next year when REAL is on campus again? We will end our chapter with ideas about “Coversation!” We offer tips for inclusive higher education in the new mask-wearing world. Mask wearing while having conversation = Coversation!
It is harder to hear and follow a conversation when you are both wearing masks, and we tried to think about good tips for college life with masks. Our first idea was to use future technology!! Maybe we will invent a Google Translate mask that will show your comments on your mask while you talk. But until we get there, we had a few ideas:
- When friends or teachers can’t hear you, text your comment! Use your phone to dictate by tapping the microphone and hitting the text button.
- Make sure to look at people.
- Smile even when your mouth isn’t showing. Your eyes look friendly!
- Use your hands a little more (thumbs-up, for example).
- Be considerate and keep your mask on inside.
- Professors should write stuff up on the board or on the screen as a backup.
I can’t wait until I am back on campus and can have in-person “coversations!” By the time we come out of quarantine, Mask-ylvania (Pennsylvania) will be full of Philly cheesesteaks, Eagles fans, and history buffs. Hopefully you’ll come to the City of Brotherly Love. Good things happen in Philadelphia!
If you feel comfortable and want to go for it, definitely do online learning if that is right for you! (Even if it’s not at Arcadia.)