Do you feel remote learning has left you feeling stressed, depressed and lonely at times? Well, we spoke to several students studying for their finals for their undergraduate and master’s degrees and you may not be alone!
Belonging to a generation practically married to their electronic devices, the initial concept of online lectures and seminars wasn’t something that fazed many of them. “Initially, the idea of virtual learning was something that I was very excited about. It seemed like the answer to every student’s prayers, being able to study from the comfort of your own home,” explained Marwa Houdef, studying an MA in Journalism at Roehampton University.
However, a year later, the same students who seemed excited to give virtual learning a go are now reminiscing about pre-covid times when on-campus teaching was taken for granted. “I miss what used to be my dreaded hour and a half journey into university. I also miss being able to interact with others in group work and asking questions in person,” added Miss Houdef.
Kafi Zafar, a BSc social science graduate from UCL, reflecting on a similar journey, tells us, “I was the type of student who enjoyed [sitting] in the library with my peers and spent the day studying together. [Taking] regular breaks outside of home was something I struggled with as I felt like I lost a lot of focus at home.”
From school staff and pupils to university professors and students, we’ve all had a tough time navigating our way through remote learning, implemented to avoid further academic disruptions. Anxious students pressurised universities to make sure hands-on support was provided to students at all times. However, things did not go as smoothly as expected. “I was in the last few months of my undergraduate degree, and it felt very abrupt, […], and there was a sense of no one really knowing how to handle the situation. We weren’t prepared to move learning online, and some older staff definitely had trouble adapting,” Miss Zafar adds.
With the global pandemic forcing authorities to shut almost everything down, including educational activities, many universities chose to continue to teach specific courses online to ensure the safety of staff and students. However, while this decision meant students would be at less risk of developing the virus, it also meant working from home and compromising on equipment and resources required for assignments. Often, students felt they’d been left alone to figure out issues regarding access to class readings and equipment to complete major assignments. Ebony Ximines Parke recounts several challenges she faced as a full-time student and mother of two. She explains: “Being [unable] to go to the library to use the equipment wasn’t great for any of us. Especially as we [weren’t] even compensated for all the things we missed out on. We still had to pay for our course and basically received a quarter of the benefits of doing a masters.” Miss Houdef also added in this regard, “Lack of communication really impacted my understanding of the assignments and overall learning. A simple miscommunication or unanswered question had such a huge impact on the quality of my work.”
Virtual learning a negative impact on mental health?
A staggering proportion of students have felt their mental and physical health deteriorate due to virtual learning. For the most part, to stay indoors locked in one room for hours on end without a real conversation or break left students lacking the will to get work done. In one sense, knowing there isn’t anywhere to go made procrastination all the more enticing, leaving students stressing more and getting less done. “I think being at home really demotivated me, and I pretty much left a lot of my work last minute. I think that everyone’s mental health was tested due to Covid, and that also has a big part to play in how we did our assignments and the amount of energy we had to do our best,” adds Miss Parke.
Other students said:
“I miss the environment of being in class and being able to see people. Being a literature student, a lot of our classes used to be based on bouncing ideas off one another, and that was something I noticed we were lacking virtually.” (Munahil Nasir—BA English Literature & Creative writing student.)
“I think staying motivated was very hard, as I had university to study and focus on [in] my room at home, [a place where I would] relax and unwind.” (Kaafia Ahmad—BA Journalism student)
“It was a struggle to separate study life from personal life because the assigned classwork had been mixed with assignments and readings. Due to the amount of work [that needed to be done], there was [hardly] any time to go out for walks for weeks. Staying indoors all the time affected my mental and physical health.” (Sarosh Ahmed—BA German Literature student, QML)
Feeling isolated and disconnected.
Students who started their degrees during the pandemic highlighted some of the lesser mentioned problems like not being able to meet and bond with fellow students. “My class is extremely diverse, and I would have loved the opportunity to meet them all in person,” said Miss Houdef. Unfortunately, with lectures mainly conducted in online environments, most students felt shy and uncomfortable speaking up in class or switching on cameras – another issue depending on living arrangements and other personal factors. “The space to study in a suitable environment is what was more important to me. There are six of us […], so I had to sacrifice precious space to squeeze in a desk dedicated to university work,” Miss Zafar explained.
However, by far the worst aspect of virtual learning was that students had to miss out on the social aspect that makes for a memorable university experience. The fun in meeting new people and taking part in college and society events is what every graduate lives for. Therefore, this academic year has been quite different in many ways – with social events cancelled and graduation ceremonies postponed, we have seen students silently made to sacrifice it all.
Speaking to us about her experience, Miss Nasir commented: “I managed to experience 1.5 years of university before the pandemic. Being on campus, meeting friends for a coffee before class. All the things that I loved about university were suddenly no longer there.”
Similarly, Miss S Ahmad sharing her experience, said: “I missed the interaction with people and the casual conversations you would have with professors and classmates. Virtual learning has negatively impacted my university experience in the sense that it was very mentally straining. There was too much workload as one had to put in double the effort to understand the module content.”
So why opt for a postgraduate degree amidst a global pandemic?
While speaking to postgraduate students, we were intrigued to know why students may have opted to go for higher studies amidst the ongoing Covid crisis. Here is what some of them said:
“I personally chose further studies as we were unsure of how long covid would last, the job market was a mess, my BSc was very broad, and I didn’t want to feel like I wasted a year doing nothing. When I applied, I was still home on furlough, so I wasn’t even sure if or when my store would reopen and if I would have a retail job on the other side of it at all.” (Kafi Zafar)
“I wanted to master something I enjoyed, and it also would’ve been better for me to get a job with a masters backing me up. It’s getting harder and harder to get a good-paying job these days, and I wanted to really do everything I can.” (Ebony Ximines Parke)
“If it were not for the pandemic, I probably wouldn’t have considered doing a masters. I knew that the job market was not likely to be hiring since most of the world was going into lockdown. I knew that postgraduate studies would keep me busy and would also benefit me in the long run. Without having continued with a postgraduate degree, I’m sure the impact of the pandemic would have been much worse on my mental health.” (Marwa Houdef)
So as we’ve all experienced, the pandemic has affected individuals in many different ways. But it is especially saddening to see how arduous the journey of hundreds of university students has been over the past year. Figuring out how to get work done with limited support at times has made understanding simple tasks harder than ever. Though teachers have tried to support their students throughout this period of uncertainty, the fact remains that virtual learning can never make up for the experience of in-person teaching. As we gear up for covid restrictions to lift later this month, we’re hopeful that next year’s academic year may be back to normal, with students benefitting from safe face-to-face teaching and learning the way they had always imagined.
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