Prompted by the global-scale virus is a series of upsets that brings a much-needed standpoint to online education. With the recent strings of events, college students are left with no other choice but to DIY their university diploma by a Google search.
Lack of digital connectivity, technological divide, retraining teachers, and adopting new systems for students are some of the key narratives needed by the school authorities in shifting their gears to suit the learning population, warranting college students to act as experimental models to find out whether these variables can be addressed. This makes it seem as if they are obliged to run as soon as the starting pistol is fired so that others would know if it’s safe to walk during this time of uncertainty.
The pursuit of learning at this point isn’t a matter of “love for learning” anymore. It now becomes a question of being a regular or irregular student, graduating on time or dropping out, and getting out of college as employable or unemployable.
Ateneo de Zamboanga University reopened its classes amid the pandemic last June 2020 for the Intersession classes and is now set to start the academic year this 10th of August. The university reengineered its brand of Jesuit education to a Responsive, Independent, Guided, Holistic, and Technology-assisted learning to guarantee the quality of Ateneo education the AdZU was and is still known for. But just like any other off-campus schemes, the RIGHT learning wasn’t exactly RIGHT.
RESPONSIVE.
The conduct of online classes appears to be the only viable solution to assure the continuity of learning in this pandemic, yet this situation also unearths the gap between luxury and necessity.
Students who possess insufficient resources for online learning is bound to be left behind whatever the case may be. Needless to say that the “new normal” education is mainly self-learning, the Internet—providing a vast source of learning resources—now becomes an essential requirement to keep pace with, or even go beyond, the lessons. Unfortunately, those who are underprivileged do not have this luxury. What also needs to be emphasized is that some of the students currently residing in their respective provinces tend to go outside of their own homes to boost their data connection and resolve their signal issues every synchronous session.
As much as the university is concerned about the monumental shift to online education, the administration also needs to look back on student-related distress and experiences. The continuity of education at this time sure does provide employment for both teachers and utility workers. Though this is a noble cause for the opening of the school this academic year, it’s also worth noting that not all students can afford the current tuition fees given that the pandemic has rendered several unemployed. It seems that the only compromise to arrive at is the reduction of miscellaneous fees based only on the necessary funds to ensure the operation of the school and to sustain its employees.
INDEPENDENT.
For college students, it goes without saying that they are expected to learn more independently, with teachers only acting as facilitators. But where do we draw the line of this independent learning? Though adjustments were made in redesigning instructions to ensure self-paced learning competencies to some extent, the asynchronous-synchronous set-up poses a problem in guaranteeing maximized learning.
A 3-hour single synchronous session per subject per week is not entirely productive for students, contrary to adding more meeting days with lessened number of hours. In fact, with the limited average attention span of a university student, having to sit for hours is tedious, making it both physically and mentally draining. Among other issues, some teachers have also been deviating from the provided schedule. As much as students commit to attending the scheduled synchronous sessions, teachers also need to stick with the allotted time as there have been a series of online sessions that went undertime or overtime. It is quite unfair to pay a hefty amount of tuition fee, using your own resources to get by, and struggling to balance survival with student responsibilities only to know that the class is dismissed before the bell even rang.
As for asynchronous learning, this set-up is not altogether efficient for skill-based courses. Aside from its disadvantageous backwash on the learning style of certain students, it also declines a student’s capacity to learn soft skills, which is much needed in the work setting. To address the deficiency of online education for students skill-wise, the school can arrange a scheduled visit to the school’s laboratory facilities; dividing the class into groups, limiting number of students in a group, providing necessary support in terms of laboratory activities, and all these while following the local and national Inter-Agency Task Force health protocols.
GUIDED.
The AdZU faculty inarguably aims to guarantee future graduates to be a cut above the rest, but it seems like certain teachers skipped the “G” part in AdZU’s RIGHT learning. The “G”, which is Guided, supposedly tells that teachers and formators must provide the necessary guidance, support, and encouragement to ensure the development of learners. It has been called to attention that some of the teachers would pass the burden of teaching through reporting for the entire period, checking attendance during synchronous sessions despite signal fluctuations and rotational blackouts, reducing the allowed number of absences from 5 to 2, handing out unnecessary requirements that do not supplement the subject, and even giving unreasonable time for students to comply with their requirements.
Given the existent stress we are all facing caused by the pandemic, it’s only considerate to be more empathetic rather than forcing burdensome impositions on students. The administration must always ensure that teachers are in the RIGHT track, evaluating, if not once a month, once per session the status of AdZU’s online education.
HOLISTIC.
The administration hasn’t stalled so far in its goal of providing a holistic education. It has stayed true to its mission of delivering virtual formation sessions, masses, and counseling to manifest cura personalis. But perhaps a little more magis wouldn’t hurt.
Those who are unable to secure themselves their own gadgets and a stable internet connection need the support of the university to at least help fill in the deficiency. Load vouchers and learning packets, either printed or stored in a flash drive, are just some of the provisions the school can give.
TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED.
It is apparent that the only way to move forward with the “new normal” education is through the assistance of technology. While this may seem efficient in reducing the possibility of virus contraction contrary to face-to-face classes, the burden comes in with the lack of technological resources of some students.
Among these problems, the absence of implementing the use of uniform platforms raises the issue of deficiency of device storage for students who only have their mobile phones as means to attending an online class. Having to download ZOOM, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Moodle, and whatever applications different teachers may require only means that these students may have to uninstall other non-educational applications to make room for the aforementioned. But not only the students struggle with regards to E-Learning applications. Access to premium accounts, such as with ZOOM, becomes a necessity for teachers as it ensures the extended use of services of these applications, providing a boost in online education.
At this point, academic freeze may be the most humane solution, but it isn’t exactly a holistic one. It is a mere compromise for the state’s incompetence and lack of concrete action against the pandemic. In this actual unfortunate situation we’re in, the least thing that can be done is make this online education work, and the only way to achieve that is to narrow the gap between the administration and its students.
Despite the several concerns raised via El Consejo Atenista’s Help Desk throughout the Intersession classes, the school administration deserves to be lauded in its attempt to secure the continuity of learning amid the pandemic. But then again, in this time of great peril, what the students need is an administration heedful of its grievances.
