Event Recap – From Pivot to Promise: Lessons Learned during COVID-19

The newly formed ACM2Y community of the larger ACM organization hosted their very first event on September 24, 2021. This panel style event was designed to provide two-year educators with a space to share and learn about strategies, tools and opportunities that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual event began with a warm welcome from ACM2Y chair Cara Tang of Portland Community College and host, Robert Tureman of Paul D. Camp Community College. The group was pleased to welcome three panelists – Tommy Pollok of Tidewater Community College, Misti Clark of Collin College and Christian Servin of El Paso Community College. 

The discussion

Topics ranging from publisher materials, proctoring strategies, course content, equity and more were shared during this very engaging debut event for the ACM2Y group.

Pollock shared how the equity concerns centering around access to technology prompted the creation of a computer club. Members of the club would receive donated or malfunctioning computers, work to fix them and redistribute them to those in need. This demonstration of service learning is something that emerged from the pandemic.

Based on survey results from students, Clark shared how students “…love the online lectures.” The results showed that students also enjoyed having all of their course materials in one place and were hopeful that faculty would maintain the level of empathy shown during the pandemic.

Servin shared how the sudden pivot to online instruction allowed instructors to see the value in tools such as learning management systems as well as explore additional tech-focused tools from publishers. Serving a population of students that could benefit from the elimination of a commute while still being able to obtain their education was favorable among students. Servin shared, “Students were very happy with the online environment.”

The chat was filled with experiences, gems and perspectives which complemented the very rich and meaningful discussion. Special thanks to all who attended as well as the dedicated executive committee members who worked to organize the event.

Recording

To learn more about ACM2Y or join us for future events, visit http://acm2y.acm.org .