Homesick is taking on a new meaning as school enters its fifth week of quarantine.
Online classes are a cause of concern for students at all levels of education, and adapting has proven difficult for many.
“The disconnect makes it difficult to feel like my work and effort matters as much as it used to,” said Ellie Prusko, a junior at Hofstra University, “I don’t feel the need to try as hard.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused nationwide shutdowns of nearly all nonessential public facilities in an effort to control the spread. Limited food access, economic recession, and medical supply shortages have been detrimental to communities everywhere. On top of that, maintaining social distancing requirements has caused schools to transition from classroom education to online platforms.
Learning through a screen is not a conducive educational experience because of the intense requirement for self-discipline, according to NC State Industry Expansion Solutions. Procrastination is even harder to avoid in an environment that students do not associate with learning.
Another problem with online education is the lack of interpersonal communication.
“Learning is hugely reliant on the ability to connect with the instructor, whether that’s in the classroom, office hours, or tutoring,” said Associate Director of Learning Design at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Patrice Torcivia.
“There’s a reason why students don’t initially opt for online education,” said Torcivia, “it’s not as effective, that’s been proven.”
It is not just students who have taken issue with the new learning format, though. Professors and educators are having to adjust, too, and that involves a unique set of difficulties.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t love about this format,” said Wake Forest University Political Theory professor Michaelle Browers, “but my biggest frustration is that we lost classroom time to ask questions.”
Browers conducts her teaching through asynchronous lectures posted online, and her concerns are rooted in the disconnect she feels from her students.
“I know students are far less likely to ask for help when it requires going out of their way,” said Browers. “I miss asking my students ‘Any questions?’ after asking them to process 15 minutes of lecture material.”
John Lovett, a Wake Forest University guest lecturer, dislikes the online format for forcing him to change his evaluation methods and exam structure.
“Open book, open note, open Internet,” Lovett said. “It’s not an honor code issue. It’s the fact that I’m not effectively teaching the way I know how, so I can’t expect to effectively assess my students with a traditional exam format, either.”
Though the disruption of college education has been trying, local schools closing has hit community members hard, too.
“I’m 13, but my homework is to read for 30 minutes, or get 30 minutes of exercise,” said eighth grader Jane Prusko. “They used to tell us that in elementary school.”
Quarantine effects mental health, too. Staying inside all day and missing out on experiences students spend their whole lives waiting for inhibits their abilities to focus on school.
“I don’t think it has really hit me yet that I won’t play in my last state championship, or go to prom, or walk at graduation,” said Seth Prusko, a senior at Ridgefield High School, “This whole thing feels fake.”
Looming concern for the future is not helping, either, and questions linger about what the fall semester will look like. Wake Forest moved its summer school sessions to online format and has begun to cancel study abroad programs, starting with all summer programs and the Dijon program in the fall. Emory University is one school that has already cancelled all fall abroad plans.
Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are two universities that publicly addressed their students with a message bracing them for another semester online.
“We’re toying with ideas on how to transition back to on campus learning,” said Torcivia, “but we can’t ask students to come back on the premise they’ll maintain social distancing. It’s too risky for an age group more concerned with their friends and social experiences than their health.”
Allie Lewis, a Wake Forest University sophomore, has expressed drastic concern about another online semester.
“I plan on taking a gap semester if we can’t go back in the fall,” said Lewis, “These past few weeks have been so difficult that I can’t imagine what another semester would look like.”
“One discussion was about A/B days,” said Torcivia, “we would try to enforce certain students only attending classes on certain days, and an alternating schedule could limit face to face encounters. It isn’t a perfect solution, and we need to face the fact that even those whose job it is to figure this out still don’t know the best way to do so.”
Technology issues are also posing problems in facilitating online learning. Not everyone has access to Wi-fi and Internet. Zoom, the video platform most schools have turned to, is not a perfect system and has come under scrutiny for privacy and security concerns.
“Technology is easy, fast, and flexible—when it works,” said Torcivia.
New York City public schools have banned the use of Zoom for security reasons, and features like camera-off options are not ideal for holding students’ attention.
“I so badly want to tell you that you’ll be back at school in the fall, and you’ll see your friends, and life will go back to normal,” said Torcivia, “but don’t count on it.”