For Mark Slankard, associate professor in the department of arts and design at Cleveland State University, the transition to remote learning this spring has been relatively smooth, compared to some stories he has heard.

"It was a fortunate time in a way that it happened when it did. We were at a point where I was sending my classes off on spring break with a road map to finish up the semester," Slankard said, discussing how he thought the semester would go. "This included loaning out lighting equipment to my photography class so they could finish their projects, so they have the primary tools from our studio."

After Cleveland State announced it would be going to remote learning, Slankard provided do-it-yourself approaches for studio set-ups with materials that can be easily found in arts and crafts stores.

Slankard was also lucky because his class was transitioning from photographing people in the studio to photographing objects, still-lifes and location shooting.

While it's not the same as working in person, Slankard said that he has been able to demonstrate some techniques and show examples of them.

He said he feels every student's experience has been different, noting many had to make a lot of changes in living situations and in employment. Most of his students are familiar with the technology required for remote distancing, so that hasn't been a huge issue.

Slankard does miss the face-to-face time when he can see his students' work in progress.

"I have been able to execute my assignments pretty much as planned with minor modifications," Slankard said.

Slankard said he thinks that remote learning could be used in the future, commenting that apps like Zoom and Blackboard are good for supplementary materials. If the campus closure had happened earlier, he added, it would have posed much greater challenges.