Student Spotlight: Online Learning Experiences In The Wake Of Covid19

The ongoing Covid19 pandemic has caused Universities across the world to shut down their campuses, and most students have been sent home. Collegify spoke to 2 students to explore their perspective on online classes. We wanted to understand the changes this shift to online learning has brought about in their schedules, what unique challenges they are facing, and, most crucially, how they are balancing their personal lives with the range of assignments, responsibilities and goals in college.

Bhavesh Prahladka, Computer Science, UIUC

1. How is online learning going for you with your university?

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign had marvelous online resources even before the start of the pandemic. Therefore, transitioning to an all-online method of learning to replace in-person instruction hasn’t been that difficult. Many students were used to completing their coursework online through websites such as Compass and Moodle (Websites created by the University of Illinois) and Zoom (Professional video conferencing platform), all of which were being used before for a considerably large number of courses. Our university has also made things easier by giving the students an option to opt for pass/fail credit as opposed to the traditional grading system. The only difficulty I heard was from students involved in classes that required a compulsory laboratory session such as Physics or Chemistry. However, my viewpoint might be biased because of my major, Computer Science, which keeps me attached to my laptop anyway.

2. Walk us through your experience so far? What is a typical day like studying online?              

Personally, I try to stick to the previous schedule that I had made for this semester, completing the assignments methodically as I was doing before. I have a habit of putting down all of my tasks on Reminders and assigning particular days to them, repeating some of the assignment reminders like weekly homework and other projects. The only thing that sometimes becomes a bit bothersome is attending classes at 1 in the morning. Although, all the lectures are recorded in real-time, and some instructors have made slides available with embedded audio files, listening to a professor lecturing in real-time has always proved beneficial for me. I think that if one optimizes his/her schedule, then online-learning leaves a lot of time at your disposal; however, productive utilization of that time is entirely subjective.

3. How do you utilize your time here? How are you self-learning to enhance your skills?

As discussed, I like to stick to my original schedule, completing assignments like I did back at U of I. Presently, I am sleeping late trying to attend discussions and lectures in real-time, so my day starts a bit later than usual. Most of my time goes into completing the assignments that are due weekly or studying for weekly quizzes. I am also a course assistant for one of the CS courses, so holding virtual office hours also takes a considerable chunk of my day. All of my classes are still being conducted online, none mandating participation, but I like to attend them anyway. There are several resources that the university has made available so that the students can grasp the concepts taught in class by themselves. E-books and recorded lessons play a crucial role for me. Since they are available online, I have the flexibility to access them at my own convenience.

4. How do you keep in touch with your friends from college?

I think that now the way I communicate with my friends has replaced the way I used to communicate with my parents. Their presence on different kinds of social media has made it a lot easier to keep in touch whether they are currently in the U.S., India, or any other part of the world. My core group of friends and I try to schedule a video conference through Zoom, Skype, or facetime at least once a day discussing assignments in CS, how our self-quarantine is holding up, or just talk in general about our daily activities. We have several Whatsapp groups to the point that it sometimes becomes irritating. I think that in some way, our communication has increased and evolved with us being separated and not being able to meet each other in person.

5. What’s your future plan? 

My preference would always be a mixture of online and in-person classes for proper optimization of my schedule, since both impart vital skills. In the near future, I hope that I can stick to the plan and not get swayed by the distractions that are around me. As for the distant future, only time will tell whether the upcoming semester is going to be affected by the present conditions. Currently, it does not seem like there will be any changes with regards to the beginning date of the Fall semester, but because things are changing so rapidly, it is tough to say something with full confidence. I know that many universities have postponed registration timings for next semester. Still, in my opinion, it is only a measure to compensate for the increased online activity and to give the students a buffer to select their future classes with more diligence. I certainly hope that everything comes back on track, and the new freshman class gets to enjoy their first semester with complete freedom like we did.

Siddhant Bagri, Computer Engineering, HKU

1. How is online learning going for you with your university? 

Online learning has had its pros and cons for me. I think the university is doing everything possible by conducting live lectures and later uploading those recordings online for asynchronous access, and giving extra time to work on assignments. This has enabled me to watch lectures at my own pace and revisit topics if I want. On the other hand, I do face internet issues here and attending live lectures becomes a problem. Also, the environment at university is very different and I'm not quite accustomed to studying that intensively at home. 

2. Walk us through your experience so far? What is a typical day like studying online?

I've been learning online since November, so it’s been a while. It has been immensely frustrating at times to not be able to go back and live the life I dreamed of in high school. Sometimes it feels like precious time is being taken away from me for no fault of mine. But I've made my peace with things and I try to be positive about the situation around me while making the best of tasks at hand. A typical day would include watching lectures for the first half of the day and working on assignments afterward. I am also working part-time (remotely) like I did in Hong Kong. 

3. How do you utilize your time here? How are you self-learning to enhance your skills?

A lot of my time goes into studies since, personally, I have to expend extra effort in understanding and learning things this way. Managing time was also a problem initially, but I think I've gotten better at it. I've made a routine that I try to follow which includes time for exercise, family, work, and studies. But I do break away from it occasionally to take a breather.

4. How do you keep in touch with your friends from college?

Again, we're all in the same boat since November, so it's just been Whatsapp conversations. We did try to plan a vacation together, but those things never really work out, do they?