Students and Faculty Speak Out About Ease of Online Learning

By Samantha Simmons, Broadcast Editor and Isabella Smarro, Web Editor

At the end of the Hudson Valley Community College’s fall semester, students and professors share their voices about the pros and cons of classes on Zoom. The fall semester was directly affected by COVID-19 and the college had to maneuver accordingly. 

Anna Clement, an English major, shared how she felt the semester went. “When classes were on campus, I felt more invested in the material.”

After speaking to a handful of students, the common consensus is that it was a tough semester. Whether it was due to personal circumstances or technological barriers, there seemed to always be a struggle. Clement continued. “I feel like online course professors lose a sense of how busy students are.”

Many other students agreed that it was hard to find coursework on Blackboard. Liberal Arts student, Angel Rivera-Barrett, said that it was “overcomplicated” and that he “consistently struggled” to find every document and assignment he needed to complete.

Julie Demers, an HVCC English professor and theatre club advisor, also sees flaws within  Blackboard. “…with the Discussion Board, you would like the conversations to be as natural as possible, yet it is still an assessment tool as we want to be sure people are learning content, so the balance of getting that right can be tricky,” Demers said.

Blackboard has a communication section titled the “discussion board.” This is where students can add assignments, discuss ideas and also ask questions when needed. However, issues can arise when using it.

Melissa Adams-Silva, the ASL teacher at HVCC, believed that her classes were very hard to do online. 

“My biggest con would be that not everyone was ready to use Blackboard, so I spent more time helping them with BB than thought would be needed…” said Adams-Silva.

Some also found it hard to connect with professors. There used to be class time and office hours where you could find your professors in their offices, and just through Zoom, there is a new lack of connection. Carson Simmons, a Mortuary Science major, said that he “couldn’t connect with [his] professors like [they] normally could.” This is because there were few to no in-person meetings. It was a struggle for students to get to know their professors and vice versa.

Donna Totar, the CAAT’s Assistant Director and LD specialist, says that the technical side of online classes caused many difficulties for herself and many students. “Computer glitches can be problematic for all. The face-to-face, personal connection takes longer to establish via Zoom and online learning,” said Totar who also helps students with disabilities and learning differences.

Rivera-Barrett continued. “Often, I was not even focused on learning, I would just make sure my assignments were done.” Clement and Simmons also shared this view. They felt that they were just trying to complete assignments instead of grasping what was being taught to them.

Unlike the fall semester, the school and staff were prepared to teach courses remotely. They planned on how lessons, tests, projects and finals would be administered. Some students liked the uncertainty of the previous semester because professors were empathetic given the circumstances. “I feel many [professors] were not understanding of the situation like they were last semester,” Rivera-Barrett said.

Molly O’Keefe, a Liberal Arts major, said, “I feel as though I am teaching myself certain topics, and working from home has made me lack motivation.” 

Clements said, “We have to teach ourselves a lot of the material, more than what I’ve done in the past, and then do more homework on top of our classwork.”

Another missing aspect of an authentic college experience is social interaction throughout online schooling. Simmons said, “It was hard to find time to Zoom or call with classmates for projects since we all run on a weird schedule now.” 

Kayla Conerty, a Liberal Arts major, could not understand why professors assigned group projects if meeting up wasn’t an option. “We could meet remotely, but it is hard to hold others accountable when there isn’t a place to meet at,” Conerty said.

Madison, a first-year, decided to take a gap semester this spring while she focuses on her mental health. She said that being at home and her unpreparedness hit her hard, and she needs a break. Madison also said that the social aspect that is missing was a big factor in whether she wanted to take time off or not.

On the bright side, students felt like there was more flexibility with when work needed to be done. O’Keefe said that she has learned a lot of time management skills throughout this semester. Conerty shared the same thought and liked that there were very few days where she had assignments that weren’t due at the end of the workweek or calendar week. This made it easier to continue to work throughout the semester.

Demers believes that online classes are better in some ways. Students who are more quiet or introverted are more comfortable sharing their ideas in class. “I felt they were more concise and thoughtful than if we were speaking in the class. It made them think about how they wanted to compose their thoughts,” Demers said.

Though this year felt like there were more dips in events than in the parking lots on campus, let’s hope for a great spring semester. With students and staff at Hudson Valley speaking up about their feelings, a mix of emotions is expressed. Online classes have had both good and bad outcomes, but one thing is clear, if all classes are held online, student and staff safety has been considered and taken care of.