Hours spent bent over a computer, typing and revising and submitting. Zoom meetings providing the only form of human contact. These are the shared experiences of millions of college students this year, including those at LBCC.
This new reality has presented challenges for teachers and students, but there are upsides to virtual and online classes. For some teachers, they’ve led to innovation in learning. And the increased availability of LBCC classes, teachers, and tutors—which are now accessible basically anywhere with an internet connection—has allowed some students vastly increased opportunities for learning.
“The virtual classroom takes away from being able to do group projects and group assignments…there’s not as much potential interaction,” said Steven Merge, an LBCC communication instructor.
However, he added that “there are benefits, and the first one that comes to mind is that because classes are recorded, my students can go back and rewatch themselves and see what they’re doing really well and what they could improve in.”
Chris Riseley teaches English at LBCC. “I do think that there is a hierarchy of effective distanced-ed strategies, and above that is in-class face-to-face teaching,” Riseley said.
He also described a way that this time has allowed him to innovate in teaching. Rather than assign a textbook for his Shakespeare class, he let each student annotate a portion of the text they were reading, creating their own textbook based on resources they’d been given and individual research. In reference to that project and innovation generally, he said, “Any [teaching strategy] that’s super effective is going to stay when we go back to teaching face-to-face.”
LBCC student Krista Fortenberry had a different perspective on the shift.
“I absolutely love it,” she said. “I’m a single mom of two, so being able to do this all virtually gives me more opportunities since I don’t have to drive anywhere.”
She also pointed out another valuable resource that has emerged from the distanced strategy: online office hours and tutoring.
“The biggest help for me has been the tutors, that you can just get to them online instantly. Whenever I had a question, if a teacher wasn’t available, I could just get to a tutor online.”
Riseley had a similar take on availability to students.
“I expanded my office hours pretty much to infinity,” he said. “If you’re my student, you get my personal cell phone number and you can call me nine to five, Monday to Friday. This is the only way I get to have great conversations with every student.”
There is a significant difference between “virtual” classes that involve Zoom sessions and “online” classes that are even farther from regular learning. “I think real-time meetings are essential,” said Riseley.
However, both teachers agreed that virtual classes still leave something to be desired. Riseley said, “There’s a level of learning that happens in a real-time classroom that even Zoom can’t help,” while Merge specified that “the drawback of the virtual class is that it’s harder to stay attentive and involved...there’s a lot of distractions for students.”
The LBCC community has adjusted to a new reality, and switching back, however much many might want it, will have consequences.
In the return to in-person instruction, school officials should consider what—or who—might be lost in that process. As Fortenberry said, “I hope that if they go back to in-person they keep the virtual part of it. The only reason I was able to come back to school was that it was virtual. I love it.”
