Worries of moving to online classes

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many colleges and universities across the nation are closing their community learning spaces and suspending any face-to-face interactions until further notice. Because of this, many classes for college students are beginning to become available online for students to continue learning remotely instead of having to expose themselves to possible contagion. For some, this may seem like a great idea, but for many students and faculty members it is a mad dash to get everything in order to prepare us for online classes.

For many students in the College of Education, Nursing & Health Professions, their classes are discussion based, and require experiential, hands-on practice with people. Same with anything that has to do with a lab or engineering. In these disciplines, there simply is not an adequate online substitute.

As you can tell, classes that literally require you to discuss or work with others in any way will run into some logistical issues. Not to mention the traditional midterms, exams and quizzes that professors will now have to upload online. How will they prevent cheating? Online classes make it basically open notes, leaving the professors to worry about whether or not their students are actually learning the lessons. It really would hinder a student’s education overall if the courses were limited to an online basis. Especially with internships or maybe even student teaching, how will those classes take place if the universities are sending students home? What about the students whose homes do not have access to wireless internet?

There are so many concerns that are circulating due to the slight possibility of going remote. With spring break coming up, students are confused as to whether they should pack their things and head home until further notice. For international students, or people who have work or student visas, how will the university accommodate, if they CAN even accommodate these students? Personally, I am a visual learner. I prefer when professor’s lecture in person with powerpoints. It forces me to concentrate and focus on what is actually being said.

Yes, online classes can benefit everyone in some ways, but the level of learning and understanding I get from in class discussions and lectures is no match. I am hopeful that within the next week, the university will come to a full decision before we return from spring recess, and answer all of the concerns students may have with the outbreak. As frustrating as this situation is for everybody, we must remember that whatever the University decides to do will be in the best interest of the overall health of its community. It is just uneasy not knowing what lies ahead of us.