| TOP STORIES Learning Institutions Find Benefits, Downsides to Digital Shift
COVID-19 has brought about a sea change in the way college educators have to think about courses, students and technology as they hunker down to finish an unprecedented academic year. In today’s locked-down world, there are fundamental elements of higher education courses that can’t be replicated in a virtual learning environment. But college educators, despite various concerns about at-home students, are making the best out of the tools they have during the interrupted academic year. Bill Ryan, an adjunct professor for the University System of Maryland and Howard Community College, said a lot of courses are structured to be face to face. There were technologies for augmenting such classes before the COVID-19 outbreak, but such tools were generally not used, so teachers have had to adapt quickly to a new status quo. In the struggle to adapt, Ryan believes IT helpdesk support at the institutions has been key to staying above water. READ MORE | 
