{"id":28634,"date":"2020-04-18T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=28634"},"modified":"2020-04-17T22:39:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T03:39:44","slug":"austin-peay-state-university-professor-jiang-li-strives-for-student-success-even-using-zoom-in-a-closet-at-his-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2020\/04\/18\/austin-peay-state-university-professor-jiang-li-strives-for-student-success-even-using-zoom-in-a-closet-at-his-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University professor Jiang Li strives for Student Success, even using Zoom in a Closet at his House"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – When Austin Peay State University (APSU) moved spring classes online in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis, Dr. Jiang Li not only had to move three classes online, he had to move his office into a closet at his house.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University professor Dr. Jiang Li works in one of the closets at his house. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cThe only thing where I\u2019m struggling a little bit,\u201d Li said during a Zoom call from the closet as a child\u2019s squeal pierced the air in the background, \u201cis I have my small, very confined space in this closet with these toys stuck behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Li, the graduate coordinator for APSU\u2019s Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, isn\u2019t the only professor in the house. His wife, Dr. Ling Wang, is Austin Peay State University\u2019s coordinator for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and is teaching three classes for the Eriksson College of Education.<\/p>\n

Li and Wang have the added challenge of keeping their now homebound 4-year-old twins, Kevin and Kerina Li, entertained during the work day. Kevin and Kerina\u2019s preschool closed in response to the coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to balance the time so we can take care of the kids and just find the time to put them to sleep, feed them, take them outside,\u201d Li said. \u201cOther than that, we\u2019re just teaching online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018My kids will pop up\u2019 <\/h3>\n
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University professor Dr. Jiang Li talks on Zoom from one of the closets at his house. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

The children present another challenge to Li: uninterrupted Zoom calls during the day with his graduate students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually have to meet with students after putting the kids to sleep after 8:30pm, although I have done a few during the day,\u201d Li said. \u201cWhen the kids are running wild outside, they kind of interrupt me and I need to stop to calm them down or to find another activity for them. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, during the day, I told my students, it\u2019s hard for me to schedule because my kids will pop up,\u201d Li added. \u201cBut after we put them to sleep, it\u2019s pretty quiet, the whole house is quiet.\u201d <\/p>\n

Li said some of his Zoom sessions with his graduate students go from a scheduled half-hour to an hour and the sessions can last until midnight. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see students making progress and their continued efforts to achieve their academic goal at Austin Peay State University,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n

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[470center]<\/p>\n

\u2018They have the ability to succeed\u2019 <\/h3>\n

Li teaches three senior-level undergraduate classes and two graduate classes \u2013 data mining and a capstone system development class. <\/p>\n

One of the senior classes and the data mining class already were online. Moving the other classes fully online was relatively seamless, and Li dusted off 70 instructional videos he made a few years ago to help in the data mining class. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I set up my class, even though it\u2019s face to face, I had all the components for the online teaching ready,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Although some of the undergraduates have asked for project extensions, none of Li\u2019s capstone or data mining students (about 20 students) have complained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe if they made it this far (capstone-level work), they have the ability to succeed,\u201d Li said. \u201cThey\u2019ve already had some pretty tough classes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know they have their own family issues, but they are very focused,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

To learn more <\/h3>\n