Episode description

As higher learning moved into the Fall 2020 academic term, it became clear the Covid-19 pandemic would continue to impact all professors, whether they were seasoned veterans or newly minted. Educators who had honed classroom techniques over decades had no choice but to adapt to new techniques and technology at the start of the school year, even those in disciplines with highly specialized learning environments — the creative writing workshop, for example. 

One experienced classroom professor whom we followed over the year was Liza Wieland of East Carolina University, who not only shared details of her own online experience after decades of teaching creative writing in a physical classroom, but also offered her perspective as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development. 

Kieran and Dan first sat down with Liza in September 2020 to learn about Liza's classroom experiences — online and in-person — to that point. Then we dove deep into adjusting to synchronous Zoom classes, student Internet access issues, and making the best of available technology to serve ECU students from a distance. We also got a picture of how the pandemic impacted the other faculty in Liza's college.

As you’ll hear, the job got done but it wasn’t always sunshine and flowers.