FREDERICK MD, On Aug. 22, Frederick Community College reopened its doors to awaiting students, both online and in person. But as students tried to find their classes and collect their first assignments, they also were having trouble navigating books and online materials due to every single student trying to get their school supplies before the first day.
With the change of moving from the old Blackboard platform to now Blackboard Ultra, students are struggling to find online material as well as whether to buy a physical book or just one online.
While Atley Shafer, a second-year FCC student, was getting used to being back in school from this summer, as well as the surprising amount of increase in peers in her classes, she also had some challenges with more of the technological side of navigating her first day.
“One of the challenges I’d say was knowing if my textbooks should be digital or purchased,” Shafer said. “I read the syllabus but didn’t realize what kind of book I should get or that I could order ahead of time.”
Opening up a syllabus for the first time can be “nerve-racking” for students to have to quickly place an order in time to pick up their books. Even though students are trying to purchase their books, professors are already assigning work.
Although some professors might require a hard copy of the textbook, that’s not always the case. It is just as frustrating and confusing to try and navigate one of the many third-party sites such as McGraw Hill that professors sometimes tend to use or be drawn towards for electronic textbooks and tools.
“Some of the online textbooks being used have issues.” Shafer explained this further by highlighting how online learning systems are creating problems for students as well as professors. As professors use Blackboard Ultra, students have difficulties with trying to navigate its online systems because of technical issues.
While Shafer had more struggles with finding out which books she should purchase and Blackboard Ultra troubles, she isn’t the only one confused.
Maebree Knight, a second-year student at FCC, was among one of the many students that struggled with ordering her books ahead of time.
Knight has taken two previous classes at FCC and is a dual enrollment student working toward a degree in either structural or mechanical engineering. For her, this start to fall classes began with little to no parking spots, a “nerve-racking” start to classes as well as the main difficulty to the day: getting her books for class.
She explained that as she made the mistake of not ordering her books ahead of time, she did have the chance to order, but it had to be done in person. So she waited in line at the bookstore that morning to purchase her books before class started for the day.
When looking back on her first day she had one piece of advice to give; “Manage your time well! Early is always better.”
As Shafer and Knight were two of the students with trouble and confusion while ordering their books, they weren’t the only ones. Many students at the college had problems figuring out which books they needed to buy for classes. Once everyone realized they would need them for their second day of class they lined up in the FCC Bookstore, only to realize that many of the textbooks they were looking for were sold out.
Required books that should have been in stock were completely gone from the shelves, leaving students to use their resources and look to online options.
Even though having a physical book is nice to be able to flip through and take notes, it isn’t always required for students like Riley O’Donnell.
This semester is O’Donnells first time as a dual enrollment student where she is taking mainly required classes for her high school and FCC credits. Before class started, she walked the campus meeting many teachers and peers who were very nice when trying to find what would be her classrooms for this fall.
When asked if she had to purchase her textbooks from the bookstore for the semester, she responded, “No, cause I got online versions of the text books for free because of the dual enrollment.”
When asked how the online textbooks were to navigate, O’Donnell explained some of the few hiccups she had as she navigated her new online textbooks.
“I’d say they are pretty easy to navigate. The page numbers don’t always line up properly which can be a bit frustrating, cause I have a teacher who says you have to say the exact page number where you get it from.”
Although she has had a few rocky steps with her first time at FCC, she did say how excited she was to take on the semester with a step forward.
“I’m excited to keep meeting new people and especially all the new interesting events and stuff at the school.” O’Donnell shared.
With the chaos of the first day of school out of the way and an exciting start to the new fall semester, one question remains: When it is time to purchase books for the spring semester, will FCC have new ideas to help students navigate both online and in-person transactions, or will students once again be scrambling to find their required books?
Either way, with the first day behind, students can look forward to new classes, new friends, and new experiences throughout the fall semester. And who knows? Maybe by the time spring rolls around, finding a textbook will be the easiest part of the first day.
