Classes Among Corona: Zoom

In so many ways, our lives have been drastically changed by COVID-19, and this is perhaps exemplified best in my life by education. My high school closed all the way back in March -- we lost our prom, baccalaureate, graduation, and so much more. All of that is to say, I've been partaking in Zoom classes for a while now. But I wasn't prepared for the difference between high school and college classes, even on the same platform. Really, I wasn't prepared for the reality of classes in college amidst a pandemic, and in a lot of ways, I don't believe any of us -- professors included -- were.

I have five classes this semester, which is fairly typical, and only one of those is in-person, which is less 

Each class has a designated link for 
Zoom in Canvas.

typical. One of them is a hybrid class, so every other week, I have two in-person classes, but I know many individuals -- my roommate included -- who do not have any in-person classes. And this isn't specific to the University of Kentucky. My girlfriend attends Middle Tennessee State University, and she, too, has no in-person classes. It's a strange dynamic and one that has drastically altered my approach to my education. I never expected to be planning around so much technology; I certainly never expected to log onto Canvas and see a specified link for Zoom on each of my classes -- including one for office hours to even discuss topics with my professors. 

And while many students may prefer this method (after all, so long as your professor doesn't require you to turn your camera on, you can take class in bed, in your pajamas, while eating snacks), it does come with its own problems. For instance, with so many students relying on the WiFi on campus in order to attend and complete their classes, when the WiFi does fail, it can be more than disastrous. I've already missed one class this semester due to this issue, and another class due to issues with Zoom itself. Which brings us to another point: Zoom can fail, and it isn't simply students relying on the program to work properly at every necessary moment. In many cases, businesses and many other essential services are relying on the video communication program, as well. And while Zoom isn't the only program being used (my sister's high school is instead utilizing Google's video communication services), Zoom is the one most associated with the current pandemic and the one most commonly employed.

In some classes, breakout rooms 
aren't even used. Discussion occurs 
mostly through chats.

Beyond technological malfunctions, issues with communication and certain class styles arise. My hybrid Honors class has certainly given me a good baseline of comparison for this. I specify Honors classes because they are more likely to induce a discussion-based class style, although this style isn't specific to Honors classes. Oftentimes, it's much harder to form connections to classmates and professors alike when the only time one is seeing them is through a computer screen, and even some of my professors have highlighted their regret in these regards. I, for one, find that discussion in class feels much more natural and human than over break-out rooms in Zoom. During the first week of my hybrid class, which was online, I didn't feel like I was connecting to my peers in any real way, but after a week in-person, I felt as if I were forming genuine bonds with the people in my group. It was a strange realization, but this more than anything has opened my eyes to one of the most prominent issues of hosting classes in this way.

In my second Honors class, though it is in-person completely, group work is often done over Zoom, as there are few places to congregate and complete such work. Last week, we were assigned small groups to research and create a presentation over different ecosystems in Kentucky. My group was assigned streams, and though I feel we did well when we presented on Monday, it created an odd energy. All of the work was completed over Zoom, and we each had different areas of research to comb through and put together in digestible pieces for the presentation in Google Slides. Then, we joined back together on Zoom to run through it together. Although this solved any issues and helped us complete the work successfully, again it felt less like we were making human connections and more like we were simply going about our business together in a very forcible way.

Lastly, the very structure of certain classes makes teaching via Zoom very difficult. One of my

My first guitar assignment
uploaded privately to YouTube.

requirements for living in the Creative Arts LLP is taking an arts course, and so I decided to try an Intro to Guitar class. I'm very grateful for how patient the instructor is with us, as I'm certainly a beginner, but the constraints of Zoom are often frustrating in such a class. Though we break into smaller groups for our Guitar Labs later in the week, even demonstrating our playing in a small group is difficult. Many times, microphone quality can be poor and camera quality too insufficient to allow him to see and hear our playing well enough to give feedback and correct us. He does his best, and this is very well in many regards, but other times it's simply an aggravating situation. Likewise, our assignments are videos of us playing certain snippets of songs, and thus must be recorded and uploaded privately to YouTube -- just another example of how technologically skilled we must be in order to succeed in our newfound educational environment. 

Education as it stands is a strange new world, and we are just beginning to explore this uncharted territory. For many, the new style puts them at a disadvantage, and for others, it can be as simple as a minor annoyance -- but one that inhibits their ability to learn. In any case, however, we are striving to meet the demands of this pandemic and the restrictions it has placed upon us. And we are succeeding in so many ways. This is merely one more test of our own resolve.