2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 120
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online school
W
ith COVID-19 shifting many students to fully
online classes in the 2020-21 school year, it
introduced many difficulties and habits for
students to get used to. Some students had a select number
of in-person classes, but for most people, their learning was
completely virtual.
With school being online, it made college easier for some
students. This meant there would be more time flexibility,
no traveling to campus, and 24/7 access to course material
online. This saved many students who had to work jobs while
being enrolled the trouble of having to make their schedule
around classes.
Asynchronous learning, when students learn the same
thing at different times in different places, was a popular
method used by teachers this past school year. By posting
the due dates on the syllabus and making all material
accessible to students via Moodle, some students had no
problem completing their assignments at their own pace. For
more introverted students, it made participating in class and
talking in discussions easier for them.
Emma Quebedeaux, sophomore, shared that she feels
as though in-person classes push her to work harder and
makes her feel like a part of the class. She added that many
teachers have made online classes easier than normal, so it
does not benefit students’ education in the long run.
“Asynchronous school has been detrimental to my mental
health,” Quebedeaux said. “More than ever, we need a sense
of community to get through these challenging times. Social
isolation is craved by so many individuals, even introverts
like myself.”
Dr. Brett Boutwell, an LSU professor who teaches music
and music history courses, had to adapt to online learning
in his classes. He teaches MUS 1600, a general education
course, but mainly teaches music majors in the School of
Music. He had never taught online before the pandemic and
said that it was a steep learning curve. He would typically
play instruments in his class to demonstrate concepts, and
there are strong advantages to it being in-person.
“You can get some of it through synchronous zoom,
but it’s not quite the same,” Boutwell said. “Additionally,
for small courses that depend on class discussion, it’s a
little more natural to communicate face-to-face. But live
discussion can also inhibit some students from participating,
and those students may find the online environment
liberating.”
But, for some students, online learning is not as easy
as some make it out to be. Some cons include limited
interaction with instructors, less social interaction, and
technology requirements. Some individuals in college are
a part of the digital divide, whereas they lack tools like a
computer with a camera or microphone, making Zoom
classes nearly impossible for them.
With new online systems like ProctorU, an online
proctoring service that allows students to take exams
at home, it gave students a fee every time they took an
assessment from home. To allow students to have academic
integrity, it was necessary for many teachers to add ProctorU
into their curriculum.
LSU plans to return to completely in-person classes in Fall
2021, pending the status of COVID-19.