Social distancing requirements and remote learning have substantially altered previous conceptions concerning how education can be accessed by students, facilitated by faculty and applied beyond the classroom. From primary school teachers to the deans of graduate programs, educators and administrators have learned a lesson or two themselves about adapting education methodology to best meet the needs of their students. The Michigan Daily spoke with teaching faculty from the University of Michigan’s various schools and colleges about the past months of virtual and hybrid learning and what they are taking away from it all going forward. As COVID-19 cases among the campus community increased in the late fall and into the winter term, in-person learning was rarely a viable option. However, some professors had the opportunity to experiment with a hybrid classroom in the fall. In this format, professors simultaneously teach students online and in person. Typically, small cohorts of students rotate in and out of the physical classroom during certain days or times to reduce class sizes, while the remainder of the class attends virtually. Dennis Oswald, an accounting lecturer and visiting assistant professor, adopted a hybrid teaching style at the start of the year. Although hybrid teaching can be difficult in practice, Oswald said for him, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. He enjoyed delivering lectures in person to students in a classroom setting. “I was still teaching in person, I was still in a classroom,” Oswald said. “I didn’t make a lot of changes in terms of the way in which my material was being delivered because I was still teaching it, just I was teaching to a camera (too).” While Oswald did not have to make drastic changes to his teaching style, he admits the sudden shift to hybrid teaching was not ideal. “I’ve been teaching for 20 years,”Oswald said. “This is the first time I’ve ever had to do hybrid, so I didn’t have the skills of 20 years of hybrid teaching behind me.” The majority of professors at the University taught completely remote with either synchronous live instruction or asynchronous pre-recorded activities—or in some cases, a mix of both. Mary Gell, a lecturer in the German department, said she switched to remote learning as soon as the University sent students home last March and has not physically taught in the classroom since then. She said the transition to virtually teaching a foreign language was stressful because she had to quickly reevaluate how to present several aspects of her usual curriculum. “There’s so much to think about,” Gell said. “You have to rethink your whole course. That’s what can be so overwhelming, just thinking, ‘how do I have this make the most sense for this (online) format.’” 2 Thursday, May 13, 2021 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS What the pandemic has taught U-M faculty about virtual learning Former Ann Arbor coffee shop Espresso Royale and boba shop Bubble Island both closed in April 2020 due to financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. David Lin, former owner of both of these Ann Arbor staples, has since dedicated his time to assisting other small businesses in the endless fight to remain open and continue to generate revenue amid changing COVID-19 restrictions. Lin’s fundraiser, the COVID Rescue Fund, holds the goal of helping to bring back 100 small businesses across the United States through community donations. On the fund’s website, visitors are able to vote for a small business they believe deserves financial assistance. Based on the amount of votes they receive and their current financial situations, businesses can be granted up to $100,000 to make up the revenue they have lost in the last 14 months. These grants are awarded monthly based on a variety of eligibility requirements, such as having fewer than three locations in 2019. From his own experiences with Bubble Island and Espresso Royale, Lin said he has a great deal of empathy for similarly struggling business owners. Lin said he knows first hand that entrepreneurs who have dedicated their lives to their establishments can be left empty-handed and emotionally distraught. “Most of these people have been hit so hard financially that they don’t have resources to go start a new business, and their credit might be so destroyed that no one will loan the money,” Lin said. “So the only outcome for most of these people is to go work minimum- wage jobs, and it’s just a huge mismatch of what their talents are, and I think that’s a huge tragedy.” Businesses across the country, from dance studios to coffee shops, have applied for the potentially life-altering grant Lin is offering. Lin highlighted a Tae Kwon Do instructor from Texas who is on the brink of permanent closure of his studio. “(The instructor) has trained Olympians, he has trained U.S. national team members, his son was one of the coaches of the U.S. national team,” Lin said. “He’s been doing this his whole life, and his dojo is about to go out of business. We need to help people like that, who are excellent at what they do, get back to work so they can be productive and help society.” One of the fund’s current featured applicants is Ann Arbor’s very own aUM Yoga, which formerly had studios on North University Avenue and South University Avenue. The owner, Jessie Lipkowitz, is a University of Michigan alum who is deeply invested in the Ann Arbor community. Lipkowitz said she hopes to receive a grant from the COVID Rescue Fund in order to continue to provide a space for improving health and wellness in Ann Arbor. “I care wholeheartedly about the demographics that I work with and the communities that I serve,” Lipkowitz said. “I do a lot of community work through the yoga studio, and I hope that I’m given an opportunity so that I can continue the mission statement of this business.” Former Espresso Royale owner establishes ‘COVID Rescue Fund’ for struggling small businesses MAANASA BOMMINENI Daily Staff Reporter EMILY BLUMBERG Daily Staff Reporter 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com CALDER LEWIS Editor in Chief eic@michigandaily.com KATIE LYNGKLIP Business Manager business@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL STAFF Madison Gagne Managing Editor mbgagne@umich.edu Allison Engkvist Digital Managing Editor Christian Juliano and Shannon Stocking Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com Josh Taubman and Max Wadley Managing Sports Editors sports@michigandaily.com Rosa Sofia Kaminski and Julian Wray Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Becca Mahon and Dominick Sokotoff Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com Sarah Chung and Allison Yih Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Ethan Patrick and Caroline Atkinson Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Eliya Imtiaz and Lola Yang Managing Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com Amelia Duffy and Zoe Storer Managing Social Media Editors socialmedia@michigandaily.com Mary Rolfes Editorial Page Editor opinion@michigandaily.com Margaret Rudnick Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Samantha Cole Managing Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com CONTACT INFORMATION News Tips tipline@michigandaily.com Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com News section news@michigandaily.com Photo Department photo@michigandaily.com Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Advertising wmg-contact@umich.edu The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2 per issue. Subscriptions for September - April are $250, and year-long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. Subscriptions must be prepaid. Read more at michigandaily.com Read more at michigandaily.com MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily Faculty have had to adapt to new teaching methods. JARETT ORR/Daily David Lin hopes to bring back 100 small businesses.