Online Classes Review
By: Mallory Johnson, Reporter
Like many other students, I have had to do online classes due to COVID-19. At the beginning of quarantine, I only had two weeks of online classes because university semesters go until April. These classes entailed lots of Power Points and teaching myself my courses. All online finals had time limits to guarantee academic integrity. I also signed up for a summer class called Understanding Feminism that entailed three hours on zoom from Monday - Thursday, from July 6 - July 23rd. I really enjoyed this class, because it was a small class (eleven people), had no testing at all, and I loved my professor. Plus, the due dates were flexible, the assignments were simple, and easy to understand content. The only part that I didn’t like about the classes was the early mornings, along with the time zone difference because it is a Brandon University class. The class ran from 9 - 12 Brandon time, but 8 - 11 Saskatchewan time. The class included long Zoom calls with reading breaks, and Power Points and recorded lectures were available online.
I am fully online for the fall, and so is my good friend, Brittany Dancsok. Brittany also attends Brandon University, and is majoring in Physics and Astronomy. I interviewed her about her thoughts and experiences with online classes. I asked her what her classes were like online, and she said “They were alright! Since there was only two weeks left, some of my classes weren’t really transformed into efficient online learning. Instead, some of my professors just gave us the information for the rest of the class and we had to take it upon ourselves to read through the information and learn it. However, a couple of them took it upon themselves to start Zoom lectures or record videos of them explaining the information, which definitely worked better for my learning style.”
Next, I asked her if the transition from in-person to online classes was smooth, and she said “Not really. It was a big change. But I understand that the professors were also experiencing this change, so they were dealing with these problems just as much as we were. I feel like the transition was pretty difficult. I’m looking forward to actually starting the year off with it online, since it will be a lot more organized and prepared.” Finally, I asked her how her classes and labs will go in the fall. She said, “Everything is online. Including my labs. I think it will be difficult to complete my labs through this method, but I’m interested in how the setup will be. I think I will know by the second week whether I enjoy it or not! As for classes, I pretty much know what to expect: zoom lectures in place of actual in person lectures. This won’t be much of a change from usual, but I think my wifi signal is definitely going to be a bit of an issue.”
Although online classes are a big change, I know that it is what’s best for everyone’s health and safety during this global pandemic. I am hoping that semester two is in person, and I can return to campus, residence, and friends in 2021.
(Photo Credit: Jolene Osztian, Photographer)
