Do students like online learning?

On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 as a public emergency and on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was soon declared a national pandemic. As the cases started to rise, many changes to daily life happened and one was the shift from in-person learning to online education.  

Universities, colleges and other forms of education soon vouched for this change to limit people-to-people interactions and to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus disease.  

I agree that this transition was a necessary response to an unexpected crisis, but as we move beyond the pandemic, the question arises: should this shift continue? Is online learning better than in-person learning? 

Being a university student, my answer is between yes and no. Yes, because I could attend my classes from any location—whether it’s my own house or my friend’s dorm. I could also study at my own pace and make my schedule. If I’m unwell, I can still attend my classes and complete the course material without risking others’ health. 

However, I lean more towards opposing online learning. 

Ever since the pandemic hit and everything moved online, I found it hard to make friends and I became lazier than ever. Being an extrovert, I craved the feeling of a classroom where I could be around people and laugh. Most of my professors didn’t like using Zoom or Microsoft Teams. But who can blame them? Sometimes the internet would freeze, people wouldn’t talk in class conversations or show themselves. And even when students were participating, some professors had negative attitudes that impacted the overall feel of the class. 

The United States of America’s official government website says online learning does have an impact on mental health, where students experience problems with anxiety, stress, depression and other issues.  

In my case, I was one of those students. Though, I’m not the only one feeling confusion between online and traditional learning.  

Aqsa Shafi, a third-year business technology management student said she prefers in-person classes because she faces issues with time management and retaining information in her online courses.  

“My in-person class helps me stay productive due to better engagement exercises, like having sessions or activities related to classes, discussions and perspectives of people in real-time,” said Shafi.  

To make it clear, Shafi is not against online classes.  

“Online learning is effective but factors like course content, instructors and the view towards the class from a student perspective all play a role in making it more effective,” she said. “These are more important in an online environment [than an in-person one] … due to mandatory attendance requirements making up for the lack of engagement that comes naturally with students.”  

Another student, Bashir Miloudi, said that in-person classes have a stronger effect than online in terms of overall class experience.  

“In virtual learning, there is a lack of social interaction and technical problems also surface,” he said. 

When asked if he would choose online or in-person, Miloudi vouched for both options.  

Currently, Wilfrid Laurier University offers more than 250 online classes and in May, 2021, Laurier announced new updates for eLearning.  

Mary Scott was named the new director of eLearning and Paul Kleinschmidt was hired as the manager of teaching and learning. Kleinschmidt will help manage the technology used for teaching and learning. Mary Wilson, the university’s vice-provost of teaching and learning, said these changes aim to improve online learning and better use technology. 

This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 1 on Thursday, August 29.