VIRTUAL LEARNING: LOW MORALE & ENDLESS TASKS

One thing that the pandemic established as a “new normal” this past year was online learning. While offering online learning was one of the reasons that Spring Hill could allow students to return safely to the Hill, the freshmen students expressed their struggles with the new learning format. 

“The hardest thing about coming to college was having to learn in a virtual format,” said Darbi Broadus. Broadus said that she had not had the opportunity to learn virtually before, but when she started Spring Hill a majority of her classes were online. “It was especially difficult when I had to take a class I had little to no prior knowledge about,” said Broadus, “things just can’t be explained well virtually.” 

In addition to having difficulty understanding the lectures, Broadus also brought up the point that virtual classes prevented interaction between not only the professor but also the students. “Being online I didn’t get any form of interaction, which made it difficult for me when I wanted to have a study group because I didn’t know the people in my class,” she explained, “you just kind of suffered alone.”

Broadus was not the only one who felt the loneliness of virtual learning. Savannah Cooke who also had a majority of online classes described her many virtual courses as “endless” and keeping her trapped in her dorm all day left her feeling as if she were at “a constant low.”