If the backlash against remote learning after COVID-19 forced most Emory classes online last March is any indication, students hate virtual classes. And with good reason. As one of the Wheel’s opinion editors, I’ve edited article after article lambasting online education’s pedagogical inefficiency, vulnerability to cheating and inequity for international and low-income students. All of those criticisms and more are completely justified. But I’m not sure that they’re the whole story.
My last semester, hard as it was, convinced me that the evils of remote learning are not absolute. In the fall, I enrolled in 20 credit hours, worked at the Wheel and managed a busy schedule of other commitments. Balancing all of that with my health and social life was difficult, but because of, not despite, the fact that all of my classes were online, it was not impossible. I doubt I’m the only one for whom that was true. Online classes’ suitability for those who learn well independently and need flexible schedules will not change once COVID-19 fades from view. For those reasons, Emory should continue to offer a robust array of online courses after the pandemic ends.
Had all of my classes been in person in the fall, managing everything would have been crushingly difficult. But this spring, in addition to similar commitments and another 20 credit hours of classes, I’m also interning for 25 hours each week. Had I not been a fully remote student, this would have been impossible. Because I don’t have to spend time commuting to and from my classes, internship or clubs, I can prioritize everything I’m involved in and finish my asynchronous work whenever I find it most convenient. That flexibility lets me learn independently and at my own pace, which I find much more effective than the alternative in some cases. Most importantly, I can make room for the people and things I love without quitting anything.
For me, online classes’ flexibility has been a boon. For others, it may be a necessity. I didn’t need to find an internship this semester or work at the Wheel to survive, but many low-income students do need to balance part-time, even full-time, jobs with their coursework to support themselves. I didn’t need to take 20 credit hours this spring, but many students might want to save tens of thousands of dollars by taking lots of classes to graduate earlier. In such cases, online classes could actually improve access to an Emory education — including the accompanying social scene, clubs, research opportunities and internships — for those of lower socioeconomic standing.
To be clear, I do not believe that Zoom classrooms outperform physical ones. As soon as the state of COVID-19 enables Emory to do so safely, administrators should return to a full slate of in-person classes and welcome as many students back to residence halls as possible. For most students, in-person classes are vastly superior; seminar discussions are more lively, remaining focused is easier and building relationships with professors, teaching assistants and students is much more effective. Since in-person classes require no extra technology and all students take them in the same quiet, controlled environment, they are also more equitable. Almost universally, they are superior to their online counterparts. Given the chance during a normal semester, I would probably take a mix of both.
But there is no reason why Emory cannot offer both. Even in public elementary, middle and high schools, teachers have begun to include virtual students in physical classes to great success. Emory professors could do the same. Popular classes could offer both in-person and synchronous online sections; one of my professors from last semester, Assistant Professor of Religion Ellen Gough, did so to great effect for an introductory religion course. Teaching assistants or graduate students could help run special, asynchronous online sections of otherwise in-person classes for international students in different time zones. Emory already offered some online classes before COVID-19 struck, and thanks to the last year of online education, most faculty have experience running online classes. The infrastructure and expertise necessary to give students more online options in the future exist — all that remains is to use them.
The last 10 months have taught us that offering a predominantly remote slate of classes is a poor institutional choice. In some cases, choosing a virtual course over an in-person one is a poor personal one, too. But at the end of the day, it should still be a choice. No one student’s needs correspond exactly to those of any other, and ensuring that as many are met as possible is Emory’s responsibility. Since Emory charges each of us over $60,000 every year to use its resources and learn in its classrooms (and Zoom rooms), the least administrators could do is allow us to make the best of it.
Ben Thomas (23C) is from Dayton, Ohio.
