At the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, we take pride in our ability to offer classes at the time, place and delivery method that best suits our students’ busy lives. We typically offer in-person, online and blended (combination of both) courses that allow our students to work, raise families and attend classes.

To meet the requirements of social distancing to flatten the curve and hopefully lessen the impact of the Coronavirus on our community, we have converted almost all our offerings to online. Our goal is to allow our students to continue to pursue their degrees and gain a sense of accomplishment when so much else of their lives is interrupted.

SCF is not new to online courses and many of our professors have extensive experience with online classes. Normally about 32% of our courses are online. SCF Associate Professor of Political Science Danny Fuerstman has been teaching online since 2009 and finds that students appreciate its flexibility. That is optimal for students today who are working long shifts in essential occupations or parents at home remotely working and trying to continue their education.

Professor Fuerstman, SCF’s 2019 Outstanding Faculty Award winner, told me that there are a few keys to being successful in an online environment. First, it’s important to be self-motivated. When you are in a physical classroom multiple times a week it is easier to keep yourself accountable. That is much harder to do when you don’t have that physical reminder on a weekly basis.

Second, it is important to stay organized. Look over your syllabus and the course layout. Make sure you know what is required each week, where you can find it in your learning management system and how you need to go about doing it.

Finally, doing the work early is huge. Procrastination is a natural tendency and when there are so many other urgent things going on right now it is understandable. But leaving assignments to the last day means you probably won’t put as much time into your work as you normally would, leaving you with little leeway if technology fails or life gets in the way.

As students – and parents – across our service area experience online learning in our school districts and colleges, the best advice from Professor Fuerstman is to not let the challenge overwhelm you. Make sure you can figure out how to get on to your school’s learning management system and navigate within it. Take it one day at a time.

Some people may be intimidated by the technology, but this can help you become comfortable with the kinds of technologies and skills you will need in the workplace – things that many of us are using to telework today.

If you are worried about not getting the work done on time or have trouble sticking to the deadlines, find a friend or family member who you can share your assignment due dates with and ask them to keep you accountable.

We are posting additional online learning tips on the SCF social media sites. Please let us know what is working best for you.

We are all a little out of our comfort zone right now but taking classes and pursuing an educational goal can provide a sense of progress and normalcy. We hope to get SCF students back in the classroom as soon as safely possible, but until then, we are available to our students online for all their academic and student support service needs.

Dr. Carol Probstfeld, is president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.