Online learning has created abundant stress for students. Even after a year in this pandemic, students still experience frequent Wi-Fi problems as well as difficulty in differentiating work from personal time.
In recognizing students’ struggles, Geneseo hosted an online event recently “A Conversation on Student Workload in Online Courses” on Thursday March 18 to get feedback from students and faculty about how to better assist students and staff during this anxiety-inducing time.
The Center for Digital Learning partnered with the Student Association to hold this event. The event worked to discuss the perceptions, expectations and challenges regarding students’ workload, especially during online learning. Students and faculty attended to express a variety of concerns.
Professor of English Paul Schacht initiated the dialogue and its purpose. He introduced the people who would later be involved in the conversation and explained how crucial it is to be receptive to the feelings and concerns of both students and faculty.
“We want to do three things in today’s conversation,” Schacht said. “First we want to give you a chance to tell us how you’re feeling. We think that has to be the starting point for any discussion about how we can do better with student workload in online courses.”
Students anonymously posted on slides to share their feelings regarding the never-ending online workload, allowing the hosts to better gauge people’s feelings and thoughts.
“We’re going to all work together in the last part of the event to come up with some ideas. We want to come away from today not just having shared feelings and shared ideas, but [also] with some good ideas for next steps, some action steps,” Schacht said.
During another part of the event, students engaged in breakout rooms with other students and faculty members, and they collectively answered a discussion question. The notetaker from the group shared their answers to all participants when the breakout rooms closed, allowing for participants to come up with possible solutions to problems that are arising from online learning.
This event was a way for faculty members and students to come together to address concerns that can ultimately help in making the online learning experience better for everyone involved.