Culture
Culture Editor: Katelin Pompa – xzgw@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu
(Zoom) While Zoom provides an alternative teaching platform, students would rather be in a real classroom instead of a virtual one.
Students prefer in-person classes, cite plethora of limitations HALEY BROWN Lead Culture Writer tbfx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP It’s no secret that online education is wildly different from face-to-face, and it is interesting to observe the opinions that students and professors hold about the changes that have taken place in IUP’s learning community due to the pandemic. Many professors expressed a huge difference in the way they teach Zoom classes compared to teaching in a regular classroom environment. It’s also no surprise that the students have expressed the same observation but from a different perspective. “I have three very different classes,” said Jean Nienkamp, associate professor of the English Department. “The technical writing class, which could be done on Zoom or online easily; a public speaking class, which I’d rather do face to face, and a basic writing class, which is meeting in the hybrid model, although most of the students are attending on Zoom.” Professors certainly have petpeeves when it comes to the behavior of students in a classroom, and Zoom classrooms appear to be a whole different monster in this regard. Some behaviors are more distracting than others, but the need of allowing a learning curve with the strangeness of a formal video-chat environment is understandable in todays time.
Culture
“Some students like to turn their pictures off and go do other things during class,” Nienkamp said. “It’s much more apparent on Zoom when people are looking off into the ozone or something,” she said. “I don’t assume that those people aren’t paying attention because some people listen that way. It’s just that when I’m in front of a face-to-face class, I tend to talk to the people who look at me. In Zoom, everyone is the same size and is equally noticeable.” However, Nienkamp believes most people are respectful of class time. “It’s just a different way of seeing students,” she said. There is also the fact that online formats make being personable that much more difficult and confusing. Reaching an audience is all about presentation, and professors have had to work twice as hard to get their students to listen and understand the material they’re presenting. In a classroom, it’s much easier to act like yourself. Though for many, speaking in front of an “audience” on a video call seems much more performative, and the pressure might feel higher in these situations. “I normally have a great sense of humor in class, but I don’t think it’s happening in front of a computer,” Nienkamp said. “I also think that moving around must help me find words,” she said. “I’ve had big gaps in my
talking where I can’t think of a word and being trapped in front of a camera makes that worse. It’s early days yet, though, maybe I’ll relax into this, and we’ll all have more fun.”
Some professors have expressed how comfortable they were with technology before Zoom classes began, so the jump from classroom teaching to online teaching was less overwhelming for them. However, Zoom can prove a challenging opponent, even for professors who are proficient with technology. “If Zoom were a student of mine, I think I would likely give him a B,” said Dr. Charles McCreary, an IUP language professor and chairman of the Foreign Language Department. “He frequently comes close to what I would really love to see him do, but then just as frequently falls short,” he said. “A case in point
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is the time-lag where responses from students in Zoom and are not immediate. If it could only be a bit faster. I am continually surprised by its sluggishness, even in ideal conditions.” Professors expressed their dissatisfaction with the Zoom platform when used for education and how much they’ve had to adapt to using Zoom as opposed to being in the classroom with their students. Some professors have had to drastically switch up the way they’ve been teaching as a result of some of the imperfections of video-chat technology. “Does it feel like face-to-face? Absolutely not,” McCreary said. “There are limitations to teaching this way that actually force me to cut down the number of activities I would normally attempt,” he said. “There are also several different types of activities that are simply impossible to implement.” An example McCreary mentioned would be a survey exercise where students need to collect as much information as possible from many different students. It is also apparent that professors miss the environment that in-person teaching could provide. The sense of isolation is apparent when looking at the rest of a class through a screen and being able to almost sense how far apart everyone is. “Perhaps most importantly, the sense of community is very hard to create,” he said. “A foreign language class works best if the
students are comfortable sharing with each other and get to know each other.” Students have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the new learning methods, but many are trying their best to keep their chins up despite the frustrations of this strange new world. This includes being more forgiving with their own learning methods. Students seem to have empathy for the new obstacles their professors face, and they strive to be patient and compassionate with their experiences as well. “[Zoom learning] hasn’t been as bad as I thought,” Liam Noble (senior, communications media) said. “Although, I would prefer inclass lecture and discussions, but I understand this is how the world is right now, and we must adapt. “All of my Zoom Classes are online this semester. I prefer face-to-face instruction, but Zoom classes are a good substitute for the trying time that we are living in right now.” Noble believes that his professors are “proficient” when it comes to his overall academic experience. “It is definitely a step up from the Zoom classes last semester,” he said. “I am glad the professors took more time to learn how to teach online.” Despite the obvious drawbacks of having classes online in order to keep every faculty member and student as safe and healthy as possible, we all must keep a brave face and get through this together.
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