Inside the Online Classroom with Economics Professor Matt Metzgar

Friday, September 4, 2020

Matt Metzgar

Economics, Belk College of Business

In an effort to shed some more light on the measures faculty members are taking to assure the online courses they teach this fall align with students’ learning needs and expectations, we reached out to Metzgar to see how he is approaching a few of his courses this fall semester.

 

What steps are you taking to create an effective online learning environment for your students?

It’s important  to mirror the key components of an in-person class as much as possible. This means presenting the material in different ways, providing opportunities for practice, and creating opportunities for dialogue with the instructor and other students.


What should students do to be successful in your online classes?

Online classes require more discipline. It can be easy to lose focus with online and offline distractions. Students may need to remind themselves of their long-run goals—to graduate and have a successful career.


How are you prepared to navigate the unique landscape of this fall semester?

My goal is to be as far ahead of the curve as I can be. I’m putting in extra time now getting things organized and planned out for the whole semester. That way I can have the time to react to the challenges of the semester as they come.

How will you create a sense of classroom community within an online environment?

I genuinely care about my students’ success, and I try to communicate that in various ways. I will be using a discussion tool called Campuswire to engage students. Some students prefer individual communication, so email is obviously another channel as well. 

How are you creating online projects that will engage students?

Even though the class is online, you still want to connect students to the physical world of business. A project I utilize is for students to create videos “on location." For example, I filmed a video where I went to the site of a closed business and showed visually how the high level of nearby competition led to its closure. These types of projects give students a chance to see business concepts in action.