Open SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2019: Rockland – Natalia Lubarsky

Natalia Lubarsky is an Instructor of Economics in the Business Department of Rockland Community College.  She joined the college in 2015 after a long career in international banking. Ms. Lubarsky holds BA in Economics and MBA from State University of Finance and Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia.

“I started teaching online few years ago, and currently teach two disciplines online.  Thanks to the college eLearning Center efficient training, I learned how to utilize various online tools and to develop my first course. Currently I teach two disciplines as full semester courses and one – in Flex Format.”

“Teaching online is both challenging and very rewarding. It requires use of variety of instructional strategies and materials that are user friendly and systematic.  At the same time, it feels great to observe how students discuss issues, support or correct each other, and arrive to a right conclusion. It seems that some students feel more engaged during online discussions then they would be in a real classroom.”

“I truly enjoy our class discussions and learn a lot myself from my students. Our students are amazing, and I admire them for being determined to complete education despite all hardships. In addition, teaching online has given me a deeper understanding how to best present and organize my face to face classes.”

“I am happy to be a part of college’s drive to expand its borders and to provide an education to non-traditional students who work full-time and have families and therefore unable to attend face-to-face classes.  As our students become busier and live further away, I believe that an online education will continue to grow, so that in the future they will be able to graduate by taking all required courses online.”

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