LEBANON — Osher@Dartmouth was ready to start its spring semester on March 20 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, canceling its in-person classes.
It was particularly unfortunate for the Dartmouth College organization because it had just moved from Hanover to its new home at 1 Court St. in downtown Lebanon.
“We started by asking our leaders who would be comfortable to switch over to Zoom,” said Laura Belback, assistant program manager at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dartmouth.
Of the 67 classes scheduled, 19 have continued on in the virtual format. Osher provided refunds to all who requested them. The first round of online classes started on April 13.
“We’re excited to have as many as were willing to give Zoom a try,” Belback said. “The subject matter is still very diverse even though there’s a smaller group of classes.”
There are still four classes available for participants to sign up for: “Emotion and Meaning in the Music of Jon Appleton: Classical and Electronic” by Appleton (which will meet Fridays from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., May 8-June 10), “Mindfulness Meditation: Establishing or Deepening a Daily Practice” by Stephen O’Dwyer (which will meet Tuesdays from 9-11 a.m., May 12-June 16), “Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics in Today’s Disjointed World” by Joseph Ronan (which will meet Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., May 12-June 16) and “D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love” by Phyllis Deutsch (which will meet Wednesdays from 9-11 a.m., May 20-June 17). Each course costs $60 and people can learn more at osher.dartmouth.edu.
Osher staff provided training to those unfamiliar with Zoom.
“Technology and I do not get along. I sometimes need manual assistance opening a box of raisins,” said Vic Henningsen, who is going into week three of his class “Revolution Revised: The Founders in the 1790s.”
“This was a big, big step for me and so far, thanks largely to the forbearance of the Osher staff it’s been fine,” Henningsen said.
There are 11 people in Henningsen’s course, down from the 16 who had registered for when the class was going to be held face-to-face.
“I’ve always wanted to try this. Never had the courage to do it on my own,” said Henningsen, who serves as co-chair of Osher’s curriculum committee. “As long as I knew the Osher staff was there to guide me, I thought ‘what better time to do this?’ ”
In his teaching, Henningsen, 69, uses a lot of documents and relied on Osher staff to get him comfortable with Zoom’s document sharing mechanisms. Throughout the two-hour class, he also breaks participants into smaller discussion groups.
“What you’re trying to do is take something that is inherently informal and going online makes it more formal,” he said. “The mechanical aspect of the platform just slows that down. I’m thinking that’s going to get easier as we get more used it.”
Henningsen, who was a high school teacher at Philips Academy in Andover, Mass., for 33 years, taught his first Osher class in 2014. While he has taken online classes himself, this spring is the first time he has taught one.
“I obviously prefer teaching in person and the face-to-face aspect is something I miss dreadfully,” Henningsen said.
Participants have been good natured about the challenges of adjusting to new technology.
“It’s all been really quite genial. Lots of good humor,” said Henningsen, of Thetford Center. “So far people are engaged with it in goodwill, good spirit and a lot of good energy.”
Osher staff are still in the planning stages of the upcoming summer term, Belback said. The summer lecture series has been canceled. Decisions for the fall term, which traditionally has the highest number of participants, have not been made yet.
“We’re hoping to be back in the classroom, but we’re preparing ourselves in case we have to continue the online structure,” Belback said.
Prior to the pandemic, Osher had been thinking about the advantages of having courses available online in addition to in-person.
“We’re hoping that it can work for the future so maybe if you’re home or you have to miss a class you’d be able to Zoom in on it,” Belback said, adding that participants could also have the option to re-watch classes they attended in person.
Participants of all ages — including some well into their 90s — have taken to learning via Zoom.
“I think we’re feeling the reward of it. We’re all feeling relieved that everyone is happy and enjoying their online classes,” Belback said. “I think it is nice to have some face-to-face interaction with people while you’re in isolation. I think the members have really enjoyed seeing everyone else.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
