This is why I am no longer excited to attend classes from home due to Covid-19

“Last sem best sem”, my seniors often say before they graduate. But I am having mixed feelings about my final semester in university.

After the Ministry of Health upgraded its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition from Yellow to Orange in February, my university implemented e-learning for classes with more than 50 students. For those with fewer students than that, it is up to the lecturers whether they want to continue classes as per normal or implement e-learning.

Despite my classes having fewer than 50 students, my lecturers decided to conduct online classes as a precaution.

My first reaction was one of excitement. It was nostalgic, albeit in a morbid sense, because it brought back memories of me staying at home in Primary 2 when the severe acute respiratory syndrome hit our shores and schools were closed.

Staying at home meant I no longer need to wake up early for classes and go through the drudgery of the morning commute from my Woodlands home to the National University of Singapore campus in Kent Ridge.

I could also use fewer surgical masks, now a precious commodity, since I do not interact with anyone except the family.

So how have my classes gone?

Some of my instructors inserted voice recordings onto their lecture slides before uploading them on our learning portal. 

So besides reading the contents in the slides, we could hear them explain and elaborate on some of the key points.

Other lecturers took to delivering “live” web lectures using lecture recording software such as Panopto.

This means that those who miss the classes could still go back to listen to the lessons. But either way, my classmates and I couldn’t ask questions on the spot whether it was a live lesson or playback.

According to some friends, their instructors used video conferencing software such as Zoom to conduct classes.

Mine did not, but it does not bother me too much. Zoom requires everyone to be present at a specific time but for forums, we have more flexibility.

I hear that for Zoom, the instructor can even find out via an in-app function if you are paying attention.

I guess there are pros and cons for each system.

In a module with a presentation component, I voice-recorded myself giving the presentation and inserted audio clips into the PowerPoint slides, before uploading the file on our learning portal.

My classmates would type out their responses on an online forum for the post-presentation questions and answers (Q&A) instead of a verbal exchange. Following that, our instructor would wrap up in the forum with her comments.

This arrangement suits me well, as I have never liked “live presentations” which can be nerve wracking.

Furthermore, I will not be caught off-guard by questions hurled at me. I can think through my responses before typing out on the forum, instead of replying immediately in the classroom.

It has been almost a month since I have been on e-learning. The novelty has certainly worn off and I badly miss the social interaction with my classmates.

As a political science student, having fiery class debates and arguments is a norm (sans the throwing of tables and chairs). It feels different discussing the ideologies of Plato and Marx across a screen or with written words on an online forum because it lacks the cut-and-thrust of debates.

Besides, the workload appears heavier when you are required to type out a forum response with a minimum word count of 175 words rather than just talking in class. Expectations change too — I could get away with a less comprehensive but impromptu comment in class but on the forum, people expect a more thorough response since I have time to think through.

In their emails to us, my instructors also lamented about this less-than-ideal e-learning arrangement but acknowledged that they were left with no choice given the severity of the virus outbreak.

I guess it is true that despite how technology has been a boon in facilitating online classes and telecommuting, it cannot totally replace face-to-face interactions.

Dr Geraldine Tan, principal psychologist and director of The Therapy Room in Orchard Road, said in a recent news report that not everybody can adapt easily when working from home.

If one does so for a prolonged period, one may start to feel isolated and lonely. Dr Tan also pointed out that some need a physical demarcation of their workplaces and homes to operate well.

"Some need time and space to 'cue' their brains for different tasks. They need more structure which they may have already set up at their workplace," she said.

This is quite true for me.

I learn better from my professor and classmates in the seminar room than from lecture recordings in the comfort of my own bedroom.

It is harder to be disciplined studying at home because I will procrastinate and start the day late, since there is no need to wake up early for morning lessons. At home, the environment is also more laidback as compared to school where I could see many others doing work and be socially pressured to follow suit.

My friends face other problems too. I do not have examinations but for those who do and had theirs cancelled, they are replaced with alternative assignments or increased weightage on other assessment components. They now face greater pressure to perform better for these assignments.

Due to technology, learning is not hampered by the coronavirus outbreak. But I still miss my actual classes and have no idea how long this “new normal” will last.  Hopefully, the situation improves soon so I can return to campus for the “last sem best sem”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sean Lim Wei Xin is a fourth-year political science student at the National University of Singapore.