Freshman View: To Zoom Or Not to Zoom?

Freshman View is a weekly column in which Freshmen at the College answer questions posed by Upperclassmen and Alumni. This week, 24s address the merits of distance learning and whether the College should preserve an online-education format as COVID-19 winds down:

What are the pros and cons of online education? Do you see any utility in continuing online education going forward?

Have questions you want answered? Send them to dartrevieweditor@gmail.com.

Online education is hopelessly dismal in terms of fostering actual learning. In most larger classes, most students don’t have an incentive to turn their cameras on, making them more prone to distractions. Even when your camera is on, it’s just so easy to be distracted that one can’t really be expected to pay full attention. Not to mention the myriad of social roadblocks that come with online learning. Even though online learning is very problematic, I like that it gives you flexibility in a way that in-person could not provide. I can take classes anywhere I want to, and I’ve utilized that freedom a fair bit in the past year. 

I regret most the lack of experience of a college class. If I were to fall victim to amnesia, I probably could not tell the difference between online classes at my high school and Dartmouth. Unless you already know people in a class, particularly in large higher-level courses, one feels hopelessly desolate even though other people are going through the same material. All things considered, having an option to continue online is never bad so long as the proper procedures in terms of grading are set forth because we all know how rampant cheating is in online classes. However, holding total capacity in-person classes must be a prerequisite for continuing online options. 

— Ian Kim

I regret most the lack of experience of a college class. If I were to fall victim to amnesia, I probably could not tell the difference between online classes at my high school and Dartmouth.

Overall, there are good parts to online education. The ability to rewatch lectures is nice, and being all-online has ensured that pretty much all the content of a class is available to access anytime, whereas in the past professors weren’t always putting everything on Canvas. Although Zoom fatigue is incredibly real, I do also think that it’ll be a net positive in the future that everyone is at least somewhat competent with the use of Zoom now. There are definitely some instances where I’d rather just do a meeting on my laptop from my bed than have to actually go somewhere.

There are also situation-specific silver linings to online school for certain people—for example, someone who is working part-time while also attending classes. With virtual education, more flexibility exists for when and where people do their work. For some, online classes have made education much more accessible, and that’s something we shouldn’t lose sight of.

That being said, as we try and incorporate lessons learned from this time into our education policy, we can’t swing too far the other way. I don’t think it’s a huge leap to state that, for most people, online classes have been a pale imitation of in-person learning. As someone who has taken both in-person and online classes at Dartmouth, I can attest to that. Let’s implement practices that can enhance the in-person learning experience—a higher level of technological proficiency, making class materials available online, and so on—but the foundation of education still needs to be in-person, face-to-face interactions in the classroom.

— Conner Boehm

Let’s implement practices that can enhance the in-person learning experience—a higher level of technological proficiency, making class materials available online, and so on—but the foundation of education still needs to be in-person, face-to-face interactions in the classroom.

As a high school senior, I welcomed online learning during the COVID pandemic. Rather than have to wake up early and attend school, I could wake up at my own time and do the daily assignments at my own pace. Moreover, I felt that I could learn much more quickly by just reading the textbook or PowerPoints, rather than listening to a one-and-a-half hour lecture.

At Dartmouth, things are a bit different. First, classes are largely synchronous, meaning I cannot really work at my own pace. Second, online learning has endured for an entire year, as opposed to the half-semester of online learning I experienced in high school. While I am not entirely opposed to online learning, I believe sustained online learning for courses that are meant to be taught in person is bad. This is especially evident for discussion-focused courses; it is simply more awkward to have a fruitful discussion via Zoom. Also, for courses that rely on hands-on learning such as theater, it is really not the same.

I think online education should be continued as an option for certain subjects, such as computer science, where the difference between an in-person and virtual experience is minimal. However, in-person learning is definitely superior for most courses. Nevertheless, some practices of online learning, such as the posting of recorded lectures and the ability to take exams online within a time window, are good ideas that should remain even with the return of in-person learning.

— Jeffrey Lam