This story was written for my JMC305 Multimedia course. The story was published on this website my group members and I created.
Like professors, students also struggle to adjust to remote learning during the pandemic.
While first-year students began college with this online format, others had a chance to experience in-person learning and the traditional college environment before moving to an online learning schedule via ASU Sync.
Alicen Adolf is a second-year Forensic Science major at ASU. Her first year was at the University of Arizona, where she lived in the dorms and had in-person classes until late February/early March.
“I honestly hated my first year because I was stuck in Tucson,” Adolf said. “But I had better focus in my in-person classes than I do now, so the classes were much easier to do.”
Currently, all six of her classes, including one-credit labs for specific classes, take place via the online platform Zoom. Adolf is taking 14 credits this semester and she explains how her motivation is lacking.
“It's definitely harder to put effort into the class with it online,” Adolf said. “The content for my Organic Chemistry class is hard as it is, but not having in-person lectures is making it more difficult to learn the material... I think it’s hard to have motivation when it doesn’t feel like things are going to get better.”
Although Adolf said that she feels lazier, she admits that there are some benefits to online classes, like being able to eat breakfast during lectures and waking up a little later than she would when she had to physically get to class. However, Adolf believes that remote teaching can be improved.
“I wish my professors would understand that we don’t need more work to do just because we're not in-person,” Adolf said. “I think students are already used to having to reach out if they are struggling with something. The idea of accommodating students is newer though, so I think instructors could do better to try to adapt to the new teaching style.”
Many students share similar feelings about how their professors could improve and how online learning is lacking. First-year Laura Ornelas is a secondary education-English major and feels that online learning creates a barrier between students and teachers.
“Doing stuff through Zoom and breakout rooms is so boring sometimes,” Ornelas said. “I also feel like, when it’s online, it’s harder to talk to your professors because we don’t have that student-teacher connection, like if you were to see them all the time and feel comfortable going up to them after class to ask questions.”
Ornelas feels that professors need to accommodate students and their learning needs, but that students should also make an effort to communicate and use their cameras when they are comfortable doing so.
“My education professors are very understanding, but I have one teacher who doesn’t understand that some people don’t feel comfortable using their cameras or their microphones,” Ornelas said. “Last semester I had a teacher that, if there were a lot of people who had their cameras off, would say ‘lots of black screens today,’ basically making people feel guilty and I just thought that was very wrong.”
On the other hand, first-year student Abeer Alsaeed says remote learning has been a great change of pace. Alsaeed is a psychology major minoring in sociology who takes 15-16 credits each semester.
“It’s definitely not as hard as I thought it would be. I love online classes because it gives me more time in my day,” Alsaeed said. “I’m able to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as do homework in between classes, rather than running around campus from class to class.”
Alsaeed sees the brighter side of being able to attend classes from home, but says professors could be more understanding. She explains that most of her classes don’t accept late work and that teachers should be more lenient in that aspect. Regarding in-person classes returning Fall 2021, Alsaeed doesn’t plan to make the transition.
“I think, for some classes, learning is better online, but for my math classes, I sometimes wish I could have one-on-one help,” Alsaeed said. “However, I don’t plan on returning to in-person classes at all. Online learning works better for me and makes my life a lot easier because I’m able to work and focus on myself as well as do school.”
Quarantine and remote learning may feel comforting to some and isolating to others, but it’s important to remember that no one is alone in this pandemic, regardless of the impact it has made. According to a recent Google-form survey of ASU students, 64.3% of students say that they have classes completely online and, while only 7.1% say that they enjoy online classes, 85.7% of students say that they enjoy online classes sometimes.
ASU professors have office hours and it is critical for students to touch base with them when students have issues with their classwork, health, etc. Furthermore, ASU has many, easily accessible resources for students during this pandemic, such as writing centers, ASU Tutoring Center Youtube channels, academic success programs, and counseling services. To find more information and other, available resources, check out ASU’s Academic Resources web page.
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