students criticize online learning as inadequate | Voice of America

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Online learning has been woefully inadequate during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020-2021, according to college and university students interviewed by VOA Student Union.

Domestic and international students at U.S. colleges and universities have said the pandemic that closed many schools in March 2020 has disrupted their lives and impacted their academic performance. And e-learning, while touted by e-learning companies, has not lived up to the hype, they say.

Students say they are desperate to return to learning on campus. They indicate that living in dormitories, socializing, and building relationships with faculty and mentors are essential parts of the college experience.

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Frozan Tahiry is a rising sophomore from Afghanistan who was accepted as a freshman at Wagner College New York starting in fall 2020. But she never made it to campus, instead completing her first year. first year online course at her home in Kabul.

“In Afghanistan, the blackout was a huge problem that stressed me out. I had to make a back-up plan in case I lost power, like getting solar system generators. And the poor Wi-Fi connection was another problem. I missed five minutes of class to start, and throughout the class the connection was on and off, ”she said.

“I feel like I lived in two different worlds but neither of them correctly due to the time zone differences. My day and night were completely out of sync. I took my classes at night and slept during the day, so it disrupted my life, ”she said.

For her, learning is not limited to academics: interaction with peers is also important.

She does not know her classmates because it was not necessary for the students to keep their cameras on during distance learning.

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“I couldn’t have dinner with my family because I was in class. And I couldn’t see them in the morning because when they got up I went to bed because I stayed up all night to attend class. online, “Tahiry continued.

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She said she hopes to come to the United States to resume her classes in person in the fall semester of 2021.

According to the Inside Higher Ed Student Voice survey, in partnership with College Pulse and supported by education company Kaplan Inc., nearly half of all students (47%) rated their educational value as “fair” or “Mediocre”.

“When the pandemic started it was very stressful because we had no idea what was going on with COVID and how dangerous we were, so nothing was pleasant,” said Jack Morningstar, a senior rising to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which moved off campus in March 2020.

“Having access to Zoom and other platforms was helpful getting through this time, but it was still difficult,” he said.

Even more frustrating was Morningstar’s return to campus in August 2020, and after just a week of classes, the university announced that all undergraduate courses would be transferred online due to a COVID outbreak. It grabbed national headlines as UNC’s 30,000 students, including 1,254 international academics from 79 countries, were forced to return to distance learning.

Normally a motivated student, Morningstar said he doesn’t care and care as much about his studies.

“It wasn’t a very good learning environment,” he said, admitting that during online classes he was often on his computer scrolling through Facebook.

“I feel more pressure to participate in person because there is more responsibility. You speak in front of many people, while online you are looking at your computer screen,” he said.

“And I would definitely participate more when the classes are in person.”

Nawal Khrram faced a similar situation, staying at home in Pakistan, feeling isolated and studying online for the 2020 freshman fall semester. She arrived at Trinity College in Connecticut in the spring of 2021.

“I had no social life during the first semester because I was studying online and was not aware of opportunities such as clubs and organizations that students are involved in,” Khrram said.

Even when she came to the United States and lived on the Trinity campus, she continued her classes online because the college didn’t offer her classes in person.

“I really felt the need to talk to my classmates and discuss certain topics with them. I am majoring in political science, so my major relies heavily on discussions and debates on political issues,” a- she declared.

“Although we had small breakout rooms on Zoom to participate in class discussions, this was not the same as traditional in-person classrooms.”

Natahsa Nash, a rising junior at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which makes online learning difficult. She said she felt isolated in her college dorm. In contrast, with the in-person lessons, she found ways to stay engaged as she was interested in the material and in class discussions.

“Online learning was not the same, even though I left my dorm and put my computer outside. I felt very disengaged because of the format itself,” Nash said.

The hardest thing was losing your support system.

“I usually get support going to public places with background noise. I need to be with friends because I get a lot of energy from social activities. So I felt very low on energy and low. bad mood, and it was really hard to find the energy to do homework, ”she said.

Nash’s social life was hijacked by COVID, but she said she could still see some of her friends on campus and have meals while sitting six feet apart.

She hopes that the next semester will see a return to normal.

“People like me who have problems with online learning would need a few years to understand all the new strategies,” she concluded.

Despite these negative experiences, educators in the United States are betting on the future of online learning. According to Business Wire, the online learning market in the United States is expected to grow by $ 21.64 billion between 2020 and 2024, fueled in part by COVID.

But Forbes magazine predicts that online college education will not go beyond traditional learning and will remain “more of a backup than a daily alternative or competitive replacement.”

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