As students at Spring Hill College adjust to being home with their families for the rest of the semester, they must also adjust to online classes which began Monday, March 30. President of Spring Hill, Joe Lee, announced on Friday, March 27 that the school willcontinue its online education throughout the rest of the school year. He stated, “This decisionwas made after continuous discussions with College administration as well as with healthexperts in Alabama and along the Gulf Coast.”
COVID-19 has been a large shock to our world and our campus, and students, as well asteachers, continue to adjust to online classes. Sophomore, Caroline Landaiche, explains throughtext message, “Jumping back into school after being off for two weeks has been a super weirdadjustment, especially since my first task was a test. Going from being on the Hill to Memphisso quickly was shocking and finding out that we are staying home makes it that much harder.”Landaiche is one of many students that are having trouble adjusting to online courses.
In addition to adjusting, students are beginning to realize the need for excessiveamounts of motivation in order to get homework done, study for tests, and listen to lectures.Many professors utilize ‘Zoom,’ a group video chat service, to conduct class meetings. However,video chat services like ‘Zoom’ can be distracting to students because they are not as engagedas they would be in a face-to-face classroom setting. Distractions might include things such asbarking dogs, noisy family members, the desire to be in bed, etc. With these distractions,students become less motivated and more likely to stray away from schoolwork.
In a New York Times article by Susan Dynarski, she states, “…In high schools andcolleges, there is mounting evidence that the growth of online education is hurting a criticalgroup: the less proficient students who are precisely those most in need of skilled classroomteachers.” Those who need more attention than others will have the most trouble adjusting toonline education because a classroom setting allows them to thrive by asking questions andgetting one-on-one assistance. This is one of many obstacles that students and professors mustaddress during online education.
Having dyslexia, I have found online education to be difficult because I focus better in aclassroom setting. However, things that I have found helpful when learning online are setting aschedule, finding motivation, and taking breaks. In addition, the most important thing that Ihave found is to make yourself a quiet study space. Families, including mine, can be loud andinvasive while you are trying to work. I moved my study space into our front room by puttingtwo TV trays next to each other and moving a lamp next to them. This room has become myquiet study space, and it allows me to focus on my work and avoid distractions.
Overall, students should take time to focus on having a quiet space to relax and focus onschool. This time can be extremely stressful and lonely so take time throughout the day tobreathe, video chat with friends, exercise, and spend time alone or with family.If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the pandemic, President JoeLee said in his email to students to “reach out with your ideas and questions.” Spring HillCollege is taking everything into consideration during this time and continues to pray for itsstudents, faculty, staff and all those affected by COVID-19.