Category: Summer School 2021

Tips to help you achieve success in an online class setting

Guest Contributor: 
Angela Rose Self, Brandeis University, Candidate for Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, 2022

Brandeis made the switch in the Spring of 2020 to have classes be fully online, which continued into the 2020-2021 academic school year. I was worried at first about making the switch to online courses, as were many of my peers. However, I am happy to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed online courses and the flexibility they brought to my schedule. Instead of having to commute to classes everyday, I was able to spend the extra time studying and tackling my coursework. Also, I now had time to pursue my hobbies that I had little time for before. My professors adapted smoothly to the online format and made the classes engaging. As someone who is naturally quiet in class, the online format allowed me to participate more as I had time to collect my thoughts and express myself through the “chat” function in Zoom, instead of having to speak up in front of the entire class. 

Here are my tips to help you achieve success in an online class setting:

Make a dedicated work space

Now that your home is also the classroom, it is important to make separate spaces for each. Not having separated spaces can make it difficult to transition out of work, especially during periods of rest. I would highly recommend that you dedicate an area of your home, be that a desk, room, or whatever else is available, solely to schoolwork. This can help create a better work-life balance.

Take screen breaks

Staring at a computer screen can be taxing and is something that both my professors and classmates experienced. To avoid the “Zoom burnout,” take breaks from screens between courses and schoolwork. This can include going on a walk, talking to your family, or anything else that gets you away from a screen. Additionally, I have found that this helps me to be more productive during the times that I am working.

Treat online class as you would the classroom

Learning from home, while it can be an amazing experience, does pose some challenges. For instance, there is easier access to distractions (like your phone!) that you normally would not have in the traditional classroom. To eliminate those distractions, I suggest putting them in a drawer or somewhere out of sight for the duration of the class. This can make it easier to focus on the material being discussed. Also, dressing as you would for a normal class can help to create that work-life balance I mentioned earlier. While it can be fun to attend class in your pajamas, long-term I found that getting dressed for class helped me to separate school from other aspects of my life.

Overall, as a student who has taken many courses over Zoom, I recommend to anyone hesitant about taking an online class to do it! Classes are much more flexible and the ability to learn from anywhere can be freeing.

If you are interested in taking an online course this summer, view the Brandeis Summer School website for more details!

Study Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care this summer!

The environments where we live, learn, work, play, and pray shape our day-to-day lives and long-term health and wellbeing in complex ways. Dr. Anthony Iton, Senior Vice President for Healthy Communities at the California Endowment, famously said “tell me your zip code and I’ll tell you your life expectancy.” 

The Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care course lays a theoretical and empirical foundation for students interested in understanding how social factors (poverty, community context, work environments, etc.) affect the health and wellbeing of racial and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable populations in the United States. During this course, students will develop tools to analyze epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status.

Taught by Jessica Santos, this class is designed to address current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. If you would like to learn more about how structural factors (racism, segregation, gender hierarchies, dominant cultural norms within health systems and organizations, and their intersections) contribute to health disparities, and how policies and practices inside and outside of the healthcare system are advancing health equity, then you don’t want to miss this course! Register here

No prerequisites are required to take this course and all students are encouraged to enroll.

Course Details:

HSSP 114B: Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care

With Jessica Santos, Ph.D. – view biography here.

Summer Session 1: June1 to July 2, 2021

Online: Mondays, Tuesday, and Thursdays

Time: 11:10am – 1:40pm

Sage Class Number: 2024

Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: SS

 

Online courses are filling very quickly this summer so be sure to register soon!

Questions?

Email us at summerschool@brandeis.edu

20 new classes added for this summer!

Registration for the Brandeis University Summer School is open and we’ve added 20 new classes!

2021 Summer Session Dates

  • Session I – June 1 to July 2, 2021
  • Session II – July 5 to August 6, 2019
  • Extended Session O – June 1 to August 9, 2021

View our full academic calendar

As many Brandeis students are still unable to travel, we also want to remind you that Summer School classes will be entirely online this summer. There will be two models of online instruction:

  • Session 1 (Tuesday, June 1 – Friday, July 2, 2021) and Session 2 (Tuesday, July 6 – Friday, August 6, 2021) will offer five-week courses via “remote learning,” through which students engage with instructors and classmates by utilizing Zoom for synchronous meetings, as well as LATTE.
  • Extended Session O (Tuesday, June 1 – Monday, August 9, 2021) will offer a number of 10-week “Zoom-based remote learning” classes and 10-week asynchronous online classes. Asynchronous classes use a common structured calendar of readings, assignments, and interactions with classmates.

Learn more about online classes and how they are conducted

How To Register

We hope you’ll join us for a class this summer!

We’re offering a variety of courses this year to help you fulfill degree requirements and explore new academic interests. Many students use summer to focus on challenging courses like Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Economics. Some students also use their summer term to work on a second or third major, or lighten their course load for a future semester when they will be studying abroad or working at an internship.

Whatever your reason is, the Brandeis Summer School offers you the chance to study and connect with our talented faculty and fellow students in small classes!

 


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