A joke no more: Online education in the face of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

As the role of online education expands and becomes more prominent in society, instructors must find ways to better learn, understand, and incorporate unique techniques to reach students in online formats. Once regarded as something that is not as serious as face-to-face formats, online education has now been forced upon various educational institutions to continue with students’ learning processes, given the social distancing requirements. While stay-at-home orders may eventually be lifted and put back into place, online learning is here to stay. Being that it is currently essential, formal policies must be established and recommendations must be made to address the complex needs of students, faculty, and staff at different colleges and universities.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• online education
• higher education
• social work

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tamika Cora Baldwin-Clark

Tamika Cora Baldwin-Clark Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Tamika Baldwin-Clark, PhD, LCSW-S, LCDC, is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Prairie View A & M University. She earned her BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, in August 2006, her MSW from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, in August 2008, and her PhD in Social Work from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD, in May 2014. Tamika has lived in the Houston, Texas area since June 2014, following graduation from her social work doctoral program. She has studied and worked in the field of social work, both internationally and domestically, for over a decade, and previously taught graduate courses online through the University of Nevada-Reno. Some of her other positions include being a foster care social worker in Detroit, a counselor at Phoenix House, a therapist at Baylor College of Medicine, a service coordinator at Texas Children’s Hospital, a U.S. Census Bureau Enumerator, and a care manager at Ealing and Lambeth Council Social Services in London, UK. Tamika is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor (LCSW-S), as well as, a licensed chemical dependency counselor (LCDC). While her specialization is gerontology, she also has practiced in the areas of child welfare, substance use, and mental health. She enjoys traveling with her family and friends and has been to six of the seven continents. Tamika believes that teaching is her passion, as it allows her to be creative with how she reaches her students.