Both students and professors at Morningside College have found remote learning and hybrid classes challenging.
Courtney Hoogland, a senior psychology major at Morningside College, found remote learning extremely difficult. She says the most difficult part of remote learning was “Almost every class was on a different platform and some ended up having no direction at all.”
As for hybrid classes Hoogland says “Things are better now, as long as clear instruction exists, I can remain motivated.” Hoogland likes having more free time and still feels as though she’s learning a good mount. Although hybrid classes are an upgrade to remote learning, they are still not as good as a pre Covid world.
Most colleges made the shift to remote learning last spring due to the coronavirus. This semester some colleges are still practicing remote learning, and some are utilizing hybrid classes. This shift has had effects on both students and professors.
As for professors, Dr. Jeff Zink, associate professor of economics, thinks the most difficult part of remote learning for him was “The shift to a completely asynchronous mode of teaching and learning. I had to make and edit videos, tweak the essay portion of my exams, and try to be available for students.”
Dr. Zink also had to deal with public schools in the district making the same shift, meaning he had kids at home while trying to teach. “My wife and I had to home school in shifts. She had the morning shift while I worked, and I had the afternoon shift while she worked.”
Although last semester was a struggle because professors had little time to prepare, Dr. Zink thinks with a little help remote learning could be improved. “For some of the things I need to do, some additional software would be good. An art program with a sketch pad would be very helpful for me. And although I have not used it, the ability to record portions of lectures is a good thing.”
As for hybrid classes Dr. Zink likes that there is a little more flexibility. Students and professors have the ability to work when they have time. On the other hand, Zink said “Additional tech investment are required up front to make hybrid classes work well. IF this is not available, both fully online and hybrid classes really work against students that do not have access to the necessary technology. Shifting from one format to another is not easy.”
Dr. Zink is right, students all over Morningside campus feel stressed. They feel like all the odds are against them and they are not getting the best education they can. Senior accounting major Morgan Todd said “I feel like I’m not grasping the concepts in my fully online classes and learning from home during hybrid classes is difficult.”
Another senior, Grace Russman said “The hardest part about remote learning is keeping myself on task and remembering to do my homework. I feel like I’m more attentive in class than online, so I really don’t like having half of my week online. It’s just an excuse for me to not go to class or not pay attention since it’s hard to be involved when you’re staring at a screen for up to two hours.”
Although professors and administration are trying, Morningside students feel they are being robbed of the level of education they deserve. Students don’t blame Morningside- it’s not their fault we’re in a global pandemic, but they are frustrated, nonetheless.