UD students speak about their online learning experiences
UD students share about how they feel remote learning is going, photo of computer courtesy of Pickpik.
Matt Schubert
Contributing Writer
It has been over a month since the University of Dayton has switched to online classes and students are still adjusting to the change.
Many students said that online classes are not as effective as in-person classes, but there have been varying reactions to the switch.
The format of the online class is one factor in how effective the online class is for students, said senior environmental biology major Marigrace Moses.
“Zoom works better,” Moses said. “Otherwise, there is no motivation to read lectures or get your work done on time.”
Some classes are sending lectures through PowerPoint slides or are having students do forums after reading lecture material, Moses said.
Despite the difficulties, some students are doing better this semester than in the past.
“Bro, I’m learning nothing, but this is going to be one of my highest GPAs,” an anonymous senior at UD said.
The student said that the lowest grade they have right now is a B-, but it will ultimately depend on the final in that class.
Other students have found that their classes are harder.
Moses said that it depends on the teacher, but it is harder to have discussions online.
Discussions challenge students to understand, and without them it is harder to grasp the material, she said.
One student who has had a mixed reaction to the new online format is senior mechanical engineering major Elliot Ambort.
“It is more challenging to absorb the material because you don’t get to ask questions,” Ambort said.
But discussions are possible over zoom.
One professor has been using the breakout room feature of Zoom so that students can still have discussions and they have been helpful to complete in-class assignments, Ambort said.
One thing the students agreed on was that the professor’s use of technology is important to the success of online classes.
One teacher did not even have an Isidore prior to the change in a class format, Moses said.
The way teachers have been giving assignments has also been affecting the way that classes are being done.
The anonymous student said that they have been collaborating with other students over text or call during tests to get a better grade.
There are downsides to collaboration though.
The anonymous student said that they were recently taking a test, and they were responsible for one of the questions.
“Everyone got it wrong because of me,” they said.
Online classes have other drawbacks, too. Classes go from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. some days and looking at a screen all this time gives severe headaches, the anonymous student said.
Students said there were still some positives to online classes.
Ambort said he hopes that UD moves to more online learning in the future that allows them to do online classes during extremely rough weather or record lectures when a student is sick.
All three students said that there is nothing that can be done to improve online classes in their current state, and with limited news on the future of the pandemic, it is still a possibility that classes will be online during fall.
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