Posts in the Summer School Information Category at Brandeis Summer School Blog

Category: Summer School Information (page 1 of 12)

Tips to help you achieve success in an online class setting

June 29, 2021 / BrandeisGPS / Comments Off

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!

Students attending class outside on the Brandeis University campus.

Fall Semester Update

August 7, 2020 / BrandeisGPS / Comments Off

Guest blog contributor: Angela Self

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Dear Members of the Brandeis Community,

Brandeis University has announced a comprehensive plan to safely reopen campus for the fall semester. The COVID-19 Task Force, which included faculty, staff, and students, consulted with local, state, and national public health and medical experts to develop this plan for the university’s fall semester. Below we have highlighted important plan information that is of particular interest for our students here at Brandeis Summer School.

Available Facilities

There are facilities available to students on the Brandeis University campus. These include the library, gym, and mailroom, among many others. While these are available to the Brandeis community, there are strict health and safety measures that are required for all of those who enter campus. Access to these facilities are subject to change, and we will keep you updated as the semester progresses.

Health and Safety Measures

Based upon public health best practices and accommodations for individual community-member needs, the university is implementing the following policies and procedures to create an on-campus environment that is as safe as possible:

High Frequency, Universal Testing: Brandeis will provide high-frequency, mandatory COVID-19 testing to all on-campus community members. There will also be mandatory testing multiple times per month for all students, faculty, and staff who either live on campus or who come to campus several times per week, regardless of symptoms. This will enable Brandeis to quickly identify and contain any instances of infection on campus.

Public Health Protocols: The university will institute a suite of public health measures, including symptom monitoring, mandatory face masks/coverings indoors and outdoors, public hand-sanitizing stations, and mandatory physical distancing. They will also ask all individuals who return to campus to sign a community commitment to follow such protocols.

Cleaning Enhancements and Building Modifications: The university is also taking actions, such as enhanced cleaning protocols and changes to foot-traffic flow through buildings and on-campus pathways, to ensure that all campus spaces and buildings support the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff.

These are just a few of the many health and safety measures that are being implemented across campus.

Resources

For more information regarding the reopening of Brandeis this fall semester, please visit the following links:

Letter from the President

Campus Health and Safety Measures

Fall 2020 Plans Webpage

COVID-19 Task Force Report

Staying Sane During Quarantine

June 28, 2020 / BrandeisGPS / Comments Off

These past weeks have proved to be trying times for the global community. The transition to an online world has left many scrambling for a sense of normalcy. Many find themselves worried about the safety of their loved ones, especially if they are in the high-risk category. Others are trying to maintain their regular study and work schedule during a pandemic. So, how do we keep our sanity during this unprecedented global lockdown?

Brandeis University student and GPS blog writer, Angela Self, compiled a list of some helpful tips to stay sane during quarantine:

1. Stick to a routine

Being stuck inside can make the days blend together and amplify negative emotions. Creating a sense of structure during these uncertain times can help to soothe nerves. Take some time out of your day to figure out all of the activities that were important to you before the global pandemic. Did you go to the gym everyday? Try to workout at home (there are plenty of free workouts on youtube). Create a detailed schedule and stick to it. Be sure to include when to wake up, shower, work, exercise, and most importantly, when you can relax. Hopefully this will help to create some semblance of normalcy.

2. Limit your news intake

It is important to keep up-to-date with information regarding the Coronavirus, especially when it concerns regulations or guidelines for public interactions in your area. But obsessing over the latest Coronavirus news can be unhealthy and detrimental to your mental health. Consider limiting your news intake to just one or two times a day. Also, remember to check the reliability of your news source. One of the best sources of information about the Coronavirus is the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Another great resource for mental health coping strategies during these unprecedented times is NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), which we encourage everyone to read.

3.Stay physically active

WHO, otherwise known as the World Health Organization, strongly recommends that everyone finds a way to stay physically active during self-quarantine. It’s important to our health and well-being to avoid remaining sedentary. Try taking a few breaks during your day to go on short walks, even if it’s just around your house. And get outside if you can! Just remember that if you plan on exercising outside, to do so by abiding by the CDC guidelines.

A young happy college female student sitting on sofa at home, using laptop when studying.

Become absorbed in James Joyce’s Ulysses this summer!

May 21, 2020 / BrandeisGPS / Comments Off

David R. Sherman, Associate Professor of English at Brandeis, will lead a course on Joyce’s Ulysses this summer.

Session I: June 1 to July 3, 2020

Days: M, T, W, Th

Time: 11:10am – 1:10pm

Credit Hours: 4 Credits

Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: WI, HUM

This seminar is an opportunity to become absorbed in Joyce’s Ulysses as a member of an interpretive community. Published in 1922, this novel has impacted modern literature like no other. A novel at the edge of the genre of the novel, Ulysses is a highly experimental, weirdly delightful, and encyclopedic world-making project.

This class will explore the novel chapter by chapter, with parallel readings of Homer and other intertexts. This course will also consider the place of Ulysses in modernism: the explosive cultural project across the arts in the early 20th century that is still with us.

As a four-credit course, it is based on the expectation that students will work for at least three hours outside of class for every class contact hour (doing assigned readings, research, papers and projects, and so on). The learning goals for this course include:

developing the ability to closely read and re-read complex texts and to make nuanced
descriptions of their stylistic patterns, structural principles, rhetorical techniques and
other aspects of their aesthetic force and signifying effects;
developing skills with analytic and interpretive writing, through feedback and revision
researching and presenting information about scholarly debates around Ulysses
mapping Ulysses in relation to other modernist cultural movements;
designing creative or non-academic responses to Ulysses, in various media and genres

Our intensive, collaborative approach to Ulysses will serve different needs for each student, based on individual academic and creative commitments – view the full course syllabus here

Summer registration in Sage is open and some classes are already full – so be sure to enroll soon!

We are fully online this summer!

April 28, 2020 / BrandeisGPS / Comments Off

To ensure everyone’s health and safety, all Summer School sessions are now online for summer 2020.

Based on the expectation that social distancing will continue throughout the summer, the Brandeis Summer School will now offer all of the 5-week courses in Undergraduate Summer Session 1 and Session 2 via “remote learning.” As in past years, we will also offer a number (now greatly expanded) of 10-week asynchronous online classes.

What is the difference between 5-week Session 1 and Session 2 courses, and 10-week Session O?

Session 1 (June 1 – July 3, 2020) and Session 2 (July 6 – August 7, 2020) will offer five-week courses via “remote learning,” through which you’ll engage with instructors and classmates by utilizing Zoom for synchronous meetings, as well as LATTE.

Session O (June 1 – August 9, 2020) will also offer a number of 10-week asynchronous online classes. As in past years, Session O courses at Brandeis are generally presented asynchronously using a common structured calendar of readings, assignments, and interactions with classmates. You do not need to be online in front of your computer at set days and times each week. Instead, you’ll have shared course deadlines for completing the readings, watching and creating videos, submitting assignments, critiquing peer work, posting original and thoughtful contributions to online discussion forums, and replying to classmates.

What skills do I need to succeed in an online course?

Strong reading and writing skills: our courses rely on written material, recorded video, and podcasts. In addition to weekly readings, course content may include weekly online “lecture notes,” supplemental readings, articles, case studies, and discussions. You’ll participate in the course through regular, written assignments, discussion posts, and project work.

Effective time-management skills: using the syllabus, weekly checklists, and an online calendar and assignments tool, you’ll follow the course schedule and meet weekly assignment expectations. Expect to spend 18-22 hours per week in a 10-week course, and 36-44 hours per week in a 5-week course (including the live “remote learning” class meetings).

Comfort with the technology: you’ll learn to use online learning technology effectively. All online summer courses are based within the Brandeis LATTE system, the University’s online learning environment. Remote learning courses will utilize Zoom. Many courses will also use other online tools, like the creation of videos, sharing of files, development of Google Slides, Sheets, and Docs, as well as specialized programs developed for the subject matter.

What courses are being offered in the 10-week session online, and in the 5-week sessions?

Visit our course listings page. Then, to find the 10-week asynchronous online classes, use the “Choose which sessions to display” filter at the top of the page to select “Session 0” (Online) to view just the courses that will be offered 10-week asynchronous online. The 5-week “remote learning” courses will be listed as Session 1 or Session 2, along with the dates and times of the online class meetings.

Registration will open soon!

The schedule and offering of summer are subject to change, and with the announcement that all classes will be online, a few courses have changed sessions, dates, and times. So be sure to review the Summer School course offerings and check your Sage account to confirm that you don’t have any holds that could prevent you from registering.