Due to the continued concerns about the spread of COVID-19, Central Texas College (CTC) announced it will initially offer all face-to-face courses scheduled for the summer 2020 semester as online courses at its Central, Fort Hood and Service Area campuses. The delivery method of these courses may revert back to face-to-face delivery during the semester as CTC monitors and adheres to notices from governmental and health agencies. Registration is currently underway on CTC’s online WebAdvisor system. Some of the Service Area campus summer semester classroom courses now offered online for Fredericksburg, Gatesville, Lampasas and Marble Falls will start May 11, and other classes begin June 1. Students should check the online schedule for their class start date.
While some classroom courses will be presented as a regular online course, many of the classroom-to-online courses will not be taught as a typical online course and will be very similar to a classroom setting. “Many of the former classroom courses will not be a traditional online course,” said Bruce Vasbinder, CTC public relations coordinator. “Many will feature live lectures with the professor through CTC’s integrated video conferencing system Blackboard Collaborate. Students will see their professors during live lectures, be able to ask questions and participate in class discussions in real time for a complete interactive experience. The goal is to do everything we can to make the course feel like students are in the classroom.”
Following the initial campus closure after spring break, many CTC professors converted their classroom courses to a virtual interactive setting for students. This will continue for the summer semester as many students will be able to “attend” class remotely via their mobile phone, tablet or computer during the regularly scheduled class time. To further assist students, instructors will be able to conduct one-on-one tutoring, upload taped video presentations of test reviews and tutoring sessions, and utilize voiced-over PowerPoint presentations in Blackboard thus providing students anytime access to the materials.
During the summer semester, labs required for vocational technical programs, such as allied health and industrial technology that cannot be delivered remotely, may be delivered in small group settings in accordance with CDC guidelines. Career and technical classes will continue the hands-on component by setting up appointments for students. “For safety concerns, students will be able to come in and do their welding, building trades or other industrial technology work by scheduling an appointed time,” said Vasbinder. “This will help limit the number of students in one particular area and enable us to adhere to safety precautions.”