APTOS—In response to Santa Cruz County’s ongoing shelter-in-place order, Cabrillo College Extension has moved many of its popular workshops and summer camps to a virtual format with live instruction.
Classes in creative and culinary arts, health and wellness, home and garden, as well as Extension’s summer youth camps are being offered online. Classes include instructor-led demonstrations, social interaction with other students and more.
Cabrillo Extension staff now works from home, but say they have stayed connected to one another and to their students as they adapt to the virtual classroom.
“The conversations we have had with our students have been so personal,” said Extension staff member Rogan Rennie. “It really hit us how meaningful these classes, workshops, and camps are to people. We knew it was important to pivot quickly and offer our classes in a whole new format.”
Assistant Director Jill Gallo says that the Extension team is committed to supporting the community.
“We are all part of this community, and we know that community education and summer camps are a way to stay active, build and nurture relationships, as well as learn new skills,” he said. “So we were determined to continue offering our programs. With their inherent social interactions, our classes and camps are a great way to counterbalance the effects of social distancing.”
Extension staff says it has maintained as much consistency as possible and has continued to work with local artists and professionals to teach their classes. Many of the virtual classes are being offered by the same instructors as in previous years.
“Extension staff has walked instructors through the process of migrating our classes to an online platform. They took the time to work with me on an individual level to adjust the format and content of my classes,” said Emily Bondor, a beekeeper and educator who has been teaching beekeeping with Extension since 2016. “Overall, it’s been a smooth transition and it’s been fun to learn how to adapt to this new format.”
While some instructors were skeptical about virtual instruction because of the nature of their subjects, the experience has so far been positive for them and students alike. Melissa West, a local printmaker and printmaking instructor for Extension, says she was pleasantly surprised.
“Printmaking is a very hands-on process, and I was a bit worried that my students might lose some technical details working remotely, but they were all-stars,” West said. “In a way, working remotely led the students to come up with some really great questions and insights that they might not have had had we met in person. The best moment was on the last day of class when all the students shared their finished work. I was blown away by what they had accomplished.”
Even Extension’s popular culinary classes have moved to a virtual platform, both for the adult classes and the summer youth camps. Sean Adams, a culinary instructor with Extension, said the experience was difficult but well worth it.
“Moving to an online format has definitely presented its fair share of challenges, but the response from our students thus far has been so great,” he said. “Extension has created several new cooking classes and kids camps, designed just for this format, and I am really looking forward to our summer program.”
The Summer Youth Program launched June 15th with virtual camps, which will continue through early August. In addition, Cabrillo Extension is offering a limited number of on-campus camps during the month of July. This half-day, week-long camps are designed to keep kids safe and healthy, while affording them the opportunity to explore content such as cooking, programming, or LEGO building.
“Both virtual and in-person camps pose unique challenges this summer, but I’m so excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said Alicia Bierson, Community Education Coordinator. “Whether your child attends from the comfort of your home, or is able to join us on campus, I’m sure they’ll have an awesome time at camp this year.”
For information visit cabrillo.edu/services/extension.
