Maine's Community College System is promising to help equip some students with computers and, in some cases, internet connectivity. The community colleges plan to conduct 70 percent of classes online. System President David Daigler says students will fill out a form indicating what help they might need.
"I don't want to oversell this program - there are certain problems that the Maine Community Colleges can't solve all by themselves, and that connectivity problem is one of them," Daigler says. "But we can offer students resources as to where they can get connected."
Daigler said the community colleges did set up "hotspots" last spring where students could connect, and might be able to help students find locations nearby to get online.
And he says the community colleges are offering a course with tips for students on "how to learn" online.
"They will learn time management skills," Daigler says. "They will get an experience for what the online learning environment is like. They will understand how they communicate with the faculty member and what is involved in the online experience."
Daigler says the system doesn't know yet how extensive the need might be, or what the tech promise might. But he says there are reources from the CARES Act and other federal programs, and from the Foundation for Maine's Community Colleges.
Correction: David Daigler, not Daigle, is president of the Maine Community College System.
