Lehigh MBA Students Avoid “Snow Day” by Attending Class Online
This has been a highly abnormal winter, to say the least. Several Philadelphia area colleges and universities have had to close because of the massive snowstorms that have swept the region in the past few months. The snow days can wreak havoc with MBA students’ schedules, but with some creativity, class can go on as scheduled. On one recent snowy night, a professor at Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics used distance learning technology in a new way so that he would not have to cancel his MBA class, even though the University itself was closed due to the weather.
Instead of canceling class when the University closed, Professor David Hinrichs conducted his MBA evening class on Managing Information from home using Lehigh’s Classroom Live technology. The MBA students joined the class from home using laptops and headsets. Every student was able to attend.
Amanda Domitovitch, an MBA student at Lehigh, said that the weather on that night made commuting to class on campus dangerous: “It was an awful night, and so many of us commute a long way to attend classes. You really don’t want the class canceled, but you also don’t want to drive on snow and ice.” The online class gave the students the chance to attend class without driving to class in risky conditions.
The Classroom Live technology was originally designed and implemented to allow distance learners to participate in classes from home using a web connection. Using Classroom Live distance learners can communicate with on campus students in a class through video, audio, and chat room links.
Professor Hinrich said, “we hope we’re past the worst of the winter, but it is great to know we have a safe option to keep class on track and our students connected if we have another closing.”
