By: Chloe Gessner
Staff Writer
Every student on campus knows eLearn. Whether it is submitting assignments, logging into classes, or just checking it out, there is one person who keeps it running from Florida. That person is Star Boe!
Star has worked for Vol State for over 10 years. She enjoys using her spare time to play board games, make quilts, and visit Disney World! She keeps eLearn running from her new home in Florida. Vol State offered her the job remotely so she can continue to run eLearn and make sure the students and staff are taken care of. Boe said, “I love knowing the work I do helps others to learn, grow, and meet their personal goals.”
She has even described how she is able to keep operating eLearn! She states, “Working remotely requires many of the same tools and skills that even a student would use when taking an online course. I need to be proactive and invested in keeping up with the information being shared.”
She also described the importance of knowing what is happening on campus and what is happening with the software. Prioritizing her time and tasks helps to keep the system running smoothly for everyone. Not only her, but there is a team of four who help with the learning system. “We have a team of 4 people who help keep eLearn up and running. All of us have Microsoft teams on all day. This is how we quickly send chats to each other and hop on video calls when we need to talk things out or look at the same computer screen together. This team of 4 is responsible for keeping up with eLearn changes, being experts on a variety of software like Word, PowerPoint, Panorama, Verity, Yula Video, and many more.” Even though it can be challenging to keep an online learning software going in a different state, this team is handling it perfectly!
She was also asked if she enjoys doing her job remotely. Many students and staff even have their preferences for meeting in person or just doing their work online. She claims, “Remote work is not for everyone, and it has its advantages and disadvantages. During lockdown in 2020, I found out I love working remotely. However, I do miss running into co-workers as I walk the halls, eat lunch, and go about my daily business. When you are remote, you must specifically reach out to connect with someone. My ideal work situation would be close enough to campus to have an in-office day about every 2 weeks.” She really wants to be able to be here, but only for a certain amount of time each week so she can focus on the big project, that being eLearn.
Like many learning systems, whether it be Canvas or eLearn, they all can have their pros and cons. Sometimes students can get frustrated with it if they don’t know how to use it. Boe said, “Student often need to check the content area of their course but also know how to directly access specific tools like discussions, quizzes, and dropboxes.” If a student knows how to better use it and navigate it, then there will be no issue completing work, turning in documents to the Dropbox, participating in discussions, and checking their grades for each class.
Lastly, there is a chance that eLearn could be updated in the near future. When Boe was asked about any changes soon, she said, “Most of the changes in eLearn are contained to a specific tool and often the impact is not super noticeable. However, within the next year (likely this summer), eLearn will get an updated look at the content area of each course. This look will have a big visual impact.” Faculty and students will really notice a difference with visual change. It seems it will likely operate the same, but it can throw some people off for sure.
Luckily, staff will be notified soon of the changes. Star says, “We will be sharing communications with the faculty to help them see the differences between the current content experience and the new content experience. Anytime there is a visual change, it can create a bit of frustration as we all have to find the new location of buttons and links that we typically use. But change is important to make improvements and keep eLearn looking current and engaging.”
Even though she is in another state, she is still proving to everyone here at Vol State that she really is the eLearn master, and her goals are for everyone to succeed while they are at this college.
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