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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE OFFERS BROAD RANGE OF ADULT EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS BY TIM WOOD
Andrea Sisino knows that for many this is likely the first they’ve heard of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The director of the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s affiliate of the 124-school nationwide network believes her program is in a better-than-ever position to be introduced to the public. “We got hit hard by COVID, we had to make some hard adjustments,” said Sisino, in her 11th year as head of the program devoted to providing non-credit educational classes and programs for Lowcountry adults 50 and older. “We came out the other side of this as a stronger, technically advanced organization, better equipped than ever to give our students the best possible experience.” When the COVID pandemic shut down in-person classes at the school’s three campuses on March 16, 2020, discussions had begun about developing distanced learning among local OLLI officials, but no official steps had been taken. “Within a month, we pivoted to serve our members. We taught ourselves and our instructors how to use
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Zoom, how to use Vimeo to put the classes on-demand,” Sisino said. OLLI staffers and volunteers also coached members on how to use the new technology, sometimes one-onone, sometimes in small groups. OLLI’s nationwide efforts were so successful that they were profiled in an April 2021 edition of the TV news program, “Inside Edition.” “We’re proud of what we achieved. Locally, we brought 90 of our programs online and then offered them on demand as well to our members,” Sisino said. As the program makes the transition to in-person classes and a pre-COVID-size participation, OLLI’s tech work has created a program able to better adapt to any individual members’ life challenges. “We have some seniors who can’t drive, some that are visiting relatives or gone on vacation and still want to take their classes, and now we can offer them an online option, both to take the class live, asking questions like they were there, and taking the classes on-demand,” she said.
