The Challenge of Distance Learning: An Educator’s Journey
Abstract
This essay explores the sudden shift from residential higher education to remote learning in the United States, a consequence of the novel coronavirus. It is a personal account of experiences as a professor at a Midwestern university. Many instructors had no training in online teaching. For university faculty, Covid-19 meant having to transform courses from in-person instruction to a remote platform practically overnight. Among the student comments I received were that I managed the online transition well. Over the next academic year, 2020-21, universities face challenges in resuming on-campus teaching, and the possibility that a new outbreak of the virus might bring a repeat of the Spring 2020 semester. Although that possibility sounds dire, there is hope that the shift to remote learning may offer a silver lining in the form of expanding course offerings beyond geographic areas and reaching a wider audience. For liberal arts institutions that are struggling financially, a rise in the use of remote learning and online education may offer a new beginning, and for public universities, potential new revenue given declining state support, a silver lining.
Recommended Citation
Meagher, M. E. (2020). The Challenge of Distance Learning: An Educator’s Journey. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 32(1*2), pp. 137-152. Philosophy Documentation Center.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.5840/jis2020321/28
Department(s)
History and Political Science
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 Philosophy Documentation Center, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
2020
