Pub. 2 2020 Issue 3

Hands-On Learning to Hands-Online Learning CHALLENGES AND TAKEAWAYS F riday March 13th started out like most Fridays; arrive at the college at 7 a.m, answer emails and get ready for the day. It was the Friday before Spring Break. We were preparing for a possible closing if the COVID-19 virus came to NH but, we didn’t figure it to happen so fast. At 8 a.m. that morn- ing, we got the call. The college was closing for the day. It meant no lab, no meetings, and no getting caught up before break. We gathered things for teaching online and then headed home. Yeah, teaching online in a hands-on program. None of us in Auto, Honda or collision repair had any experience teaching online, but we would have to learn quickly. The week of Spring Break brought lots of conference calls and uncertainty about how and when we would continue with hands on learning. It was determined that we could have small labs of 4-5 students at a time. We managed that for one day. Then Gov. Sununu placed the stay at home order. Now we had to do everything online. Most students are hands on learners like most of us in this industry. Not having labs means not being able to use the ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND DEPARTMENT CHAIR/PROGRAM COORDINATOR, COLLISION REPAIR TECHNOLOGY AT NASHUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE KARL WUNDERLICH D R I V E 14