Advice

New media can improve many of the old media forms that are currently at Baruch College. For example, Blackboard is a CUNY site that is supposed to allow students to be able to see their grades and keep up to date with all the information they will need to successfully complete a course. However, there are still some professors that don't use blackboard to its fullest extent. Possibly because they don't feel the need to when they prefer things to be done in person. With the current conditions that COVID has forced us to adapt to, this is the perfect time for Baruch to put in a new policy and possibly teach professors how to properly use Blackboard. Maybe even simplify Blackboard to better encourage the use of it as a mainstream of communication between professor and student. 

There are classes that allow you to use your computer to take notes while others strictly forbid it. I think that Baruch should set a policy in place that will allow all students to choose their method of note taking. I understand if a professor would rather not have their lecture recorded, as that involves privacy rights, but a student should be able to type their notes instead of writing their notes. While it has been said that writing down information helps you to retain it better, some students may miss important concepts because they are slow writers. Professors have also given the excuse that if they allow students to use laptops in class it’s pretty much inviting them to be distracted by other things. If a student is serious about their education, they will focus on the material and study it. We're adults and should be given the chance to act as such by making our own choices as long as it's not disrupting the class. In order to do this Baruch could make a website that encourages students to take notes digitally which will both make it easier for them to access their notes at any time (even if they forget their notebook at home) and make it easier for students to share their notes and possibly create study groups. This site would include collaboration within the class and would also give students the chance to choose if they wish to take notes digitally.