How Students are Responding to Online School
Photo by Cora Kuhlenbeck
Due to COVID-19, Hamilton is closed for the rest of the school year. Students will continue learning online from home. After almost a month and a half of online school, how exactly are students responding?
According to a recent survey, 50% of students responded that they are doing more work at home than they would be doing at school. Along with this, 44.4% of students said that they are getting more homework than they would be getting if they were still at school. Interestingly, about 50% of students responded that they felt less stress than they felt during normal school. So, although half of the students who responded to the survey feel that they are doing more work and getting more homework than usual, many students are feeling less stressed than they would be at school.
This is likely because the environment of one’s own home is much more relaxing and comfortable than the environment at school. Also, having more free time could be helping students feel less stressed. Ella Chevalier, a junior, said, “I have so much more free time than before. I used to have only a couple of hours of free time each day, which was often spent doing homework. Now, I have almost the whole day. Although sometimes I get a little bored, for the most part, I can always find things I can be doing. It is nice to have time to relax, watch TV, read books, and do other fun activities that I never would have had time for before, like going on a bike ride or painting.”
As for homework, even though around 44% of students said they were doing more than they would be if they had a normal school day, around 33%responded that they were doing less, and around 22% said they were doing significantly less homework. “I have way less homework; it’s typically just incorporated into the day’s school work,” commented Sarah Onysio, a junior at Hamilton.
Online lessons are now being pre-recorded or filmed live by many teachers. Over 72% of students responded that they are required to watch online lessons for their classes. These lessons can take up a lot of time, and might have to be paused or rewinded in order to take notes or do practice problems. Brooke Hartman, a Hamilton senior, commented, “I feel like I spend a lot of time doing homework and pre-recorded lessons but I’m not getting a lot out of them. It kind of feels like a waste of time because after I’ve done all of the work I don’t retain any of it.” Another student said that she misses, “being able to easily ask questions when I’m confused.”
Formally assessing students has proved to be another challenge of online school. 50% of students find online quizzes and tests much easier than the ones at school, and nearly 40% answered that although they have had assessments, they don’t feel “real” because they are usually treated like a homework assignment. Chevalier said, “I think that online tests are easier because they are often shorter and modified so that you can use your notes. This partially makes up for the difficulties that occur when learning the material relatively on your own.” However, Onysio disagreed, saying, “I think online tests are harder. I can't focus as well when looking at a screen and would much rather have the physical paper in front of me. Plus, there are a ton of distractions at home. There is typically less material, which makes it seem easier, but it's very hard to zone in while looking at the computer screen.”
Along with the challenges of testing students, cheating on online assessments is very easy and tempting. When asked if they thought that students cheated on these online tests and quizzes, over 66% of students responded yes, and a little over 33% responded maybe. A lack of specification could also be the cause of cheating. 11.2% of students said that their teachers never told them whether or not notes were allowed. However, it seems that many teachers accept that the usage of notes is ultimately unpreventable. Over 44% of students said that notes are allowed, and over 27% answered that notes are sometimes allowed.
Over 60% of students responded that their teachers have been sending them reminders and checking in frequently. By communicating to students what they need to be doing, teachers are trying to help students stay motivated. When asked if it is hard to stay motivated and work hard during online school, half of the students responded that it is challenging but not too hard, and over 44% responded that it is extremely hard. Only 5.6% responded that it is easy. “Without teachers around watching me, it’s hard not to just pick up my phone and watch videos instead,” said Hartman.
A shocking 77.8% of students responded that they were either learning less or way less from online classes than they would be in the actual classroom. Chevalier said, “I feel like I am learning enough to complete the assignments and tests, but I don’t feel like the material is sticking in my brain as well. We definitely aren’t going as in depth as we would have in school.” Onysio thought a little differently, commenting, “It really depends on the class. [In] my classes where it's more building on developed skills like Spanish, I feel like I'm learning and remembering things, but in classes where I'm trying to learn completely new concepts like physics, I feel like I'm learning until the test and then forgetting everything.”
School has been cancelled on Mondays in order to give students a day to catch up on work and study. Over 70% of students answered that it is helpful to have these days off. One student commented, “I appreciate having Mondays off and I feel like I am able to better recharge for the week.” Another student said, “I don’t think I needed an extra day off, but it is nice to have a day just in case I need to do extra studying.” However, one student responded, “It's good to have an extra day off, but it doesn't help lessen the [work]load because many of my teachers don't release homework until the day of or late the day before.”
As for feelings towards online school, only 22% of students answered that they wanted to go back to school, while a mere 5.6% actually like online school. The remaining majority of students answered that they have “mixed feelings” as to whether or not they want to go back to school. There are many pros and cons to online school that cause these mixed feelings.
There are, of course, many cons to online school. “My least favorite part [of online school] is being by myself for most of the day instead of being with friends and classmates at school,” said one student. Another student said that her least favorite part of online school is the fact that her senior year is cancelled. One student commented, “I don't like having to spend the whole day doing homework and watching lessons.” One student even said, “I’m starting to feel claustrophobic just sitting at home doing work all day.” Most students said that the biggest thing they miss is their friends or teachers.
However, there are also many pros of online school. Faith Rabideau, a junior, commented, “I feel like I'm learning, but with all of the busy work in class cut out.” Along with this, 11% of students said that they spend just 2 hours doing online school, while about 50% of students only spend about 3-4 hours doing online school. Another pro could be more sleep. Over 40% of students answered that they have been sleeping in for 3 or 4 more hours than they would be on a normal school day.
Overall, online school may not be everybody’s ideal way of learning, and there are definitely some major challenges. But we can try our best to look on the bright side of this tough situation and focus on the positive aspects of online school!
