A look into students’ lives amidst the lockdown

Opinion analysis by Rhea Haddad, Staff Writer

May 16th, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted numerous activities, and education is one of the most affected sectors. It is hard to picture how this pandemic would have looked like had it happen ten years ago. In fact, technology and most particularly communication technology, has made considerable progress over the past few years, giving us a much-needed relief in these challenging times. As of March 2020, many universities around the world had to move their traditional classrooms to online platforms, requiring both students and professors to rapidly alter and adapt. 

From getting ready for a new day on campus and attending university lectures, to scheduling meetings with professors and coffee breaks with friends, the lockdown has completely changed students’ traditional routine. “I’m waking up 5 minutes before my class and attending my 8 am class straight from my bed” says Alain, an Economic senior at the Saint-Joseph University (USJ). Cedric, a 3rd year engineering student at the American University of Beirut (AUB), had a quite pleasant experience with online learning as his professors implemented adequate techniques to deliver the best possible outcome.

Many students from universities from all around the world agree that e-learning courses are a reasonable alternative when it comes to unforeseen events such as the current pandemic. In fact, it has allowed students to keep up with their classes and proceed with their educations. “Hadn’t it been for online courses, a lot of us would be left with an insufficient educational and academic background to be promoted to the next class,” says Diane, a Medical student at AUB. Additionally, it is undeniable that these special circumstances enriched students’ lives by presenting the university experience under a completely new perspective.

Nevertheless, while online classes can be deemed an appropriate and adequate alternative, they are far from being optimal. Virtual classes can arguably never replace conventional classrooms filled with beautiful minds and can never become as engaging, enjoyable, and authentic as actual classes. Diane highlights that she “would never trade traditional classrooms for an online degree; not now, not in a million years.”

Although it is desolating to admit, electricity and internet issues still constitute a significant burden to Lebanese students. It is therefore not a surprise to see that this brings more tautness to students who had to switch to distance learning. It is the case of Thalia, an art and design student, who due to the special circumstances, could not access her university’s resources and material and had to create purely digital work. She believes that although being a stimulating experience, it came with numerous restrictions and limitations and hindered one of the most important aspects of her major.

There are also diverging opinions when it comes to examination methods. While Nadim, an engineering student at Boston University, and Cedric, found their exams to be effective since their professors did not use disturbing proctoring tools and focused on a deep understanding rather than blind memorization, many students had unpleasant experiences. Besides worrying about the exam in itself and connection issues, several students found themselves easily distracted by pop-up notifications and family members and could not get a sense of how their classmates were performing. 

Across the world, students faced similar examination methods. Architecture and art students had final presentations on Zoom. They were asked to use the screen sharing option to demonstrate their projects before receiving feedback from their peers and professors. Rhea, an architecture student, describes her experience as being “stressful and unpleasant”, nervous that everyone was tracking every command and movement she was doing. 

Medical students were asked to access “Respondus”, a software that prevents shifting between tabs and allows proctors to monitor students’ cameras and microphones throughout the exams.

Although universities endeavor to limit and control cheating during online exams, the methods applied proved to be somehow inefficient as technical issues were frequent and students could easily use other devices to access their courses’ material.

On another note, Alain and Jacques, both USJ students, support their university’s decision. In fact, USJ have taken a stance against online exams so far, as the Lebanese Parliament has yet to vote a law to validate the exams done online and believe that this could harm the reliability of their diploma. 

‘Tough times call for tough measures’, and unusual circumstances call for even tougher measures. Although being a decent alternative for these difficult times, distance learning is far from being ideal. If technology allowed students and teachers to bridge the gaps resulting from social distancing, it has created a larger disconnection between them. Campus life can never have any virtual equivalent and human interactions must always remain.