Giving Day 2020

On the second day of the spring quarter, Louisiana Tech University leadership asked the five colleges to transition to 100% online delivery of coursework within three days. This lift was huge, and the timeline was tight, but it was a critical decision to ensure the safety and security of our students and the entire Tech Family. Faculty and staff, campus partners, and donors like you all played a part to ensure our students’ educational careers continued without pause. Come Monday morning, we did it! Faculty in all departments have offered creative solutions that meet rigorous curriculum standards for courses requiring authentic experiences such as practica, internships, and activity courses. One example of this would be the instruction of our dance classes using Zoom, a web-based platform for synchronous course delivery.

On a broader scale, the College of Education has provided critical support to faculty across the entire University and to students and parents seeking educational support in their homes through The Hub and a new outreach program called ConnecTechEd.  The Hub in the COE has a mission of supporting and strengthening teaching and learning across all stages of education for both instructors and students by providing active learning opportunities. The Hub partnered with the Center for Instructional Technology to address challenges Tech faculty may be facing with online teaching and share strategies for overcoming them. ConnecTechEd features weekly, live, online sessions led by College faculty where parents and P-12 students can connect to pose questions about subjects or learning activities by subject. 

The development of The Hub and the technologies needed to respond to the online delivery of coursework were supported in part through private gifts.  Today, on Louisiana Tech’s 2nd annual Giving Day, we are grateful for the outpouring of support of alumni and friends to help us continue to serve our students in this way and countless others.  There is no telling what other needs may arise for our College of Education family in the days and months ahead, but we feel well-positioned to face those uncertain challenges with the support of our Tech Family behind us.