This chapter describes the my experience as the instructor for a course
rooted in community based learning theory that was forced to move online in
spring, 2020, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The course, titled
‘CASA Without Borders’, allows Arabic language students in the Center for
Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) program at The American University in Cairo (AUC)
to leave the university environment and serve the community, while also
benefiting from the experience both linguistically and culturally. This
course was disrupted by the students’ mandatory return to the US from Cairo
as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and continued remotely in an online
format. This chapter describes the CASA program and explains both the
purpose of the CASA Without Borders course and its significance to CASA
students and to the program. It also describes and reflects upon my
experience of continuing the course remotely during the ongoing
pandemic.
Bringing geography to the community: community-based learning and the geography classroom
