Online School Fatigue

Why Students Are Struggling with Online Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

While some students are back doing in-person schooling, many are working on their studies from home during this pandemic. It is of course safer for everyone to have universities online if possible—at least for the courses and programs that do not require certain labs or hands-on training. However, there are many struggles that students face when doing online schooling. Before I get into those, I would like to acknowledge that I feel very fortunate to even have the opportunity and ability to pursue my education right now. I understand that not everyone has the financial, technological, mental, or physical ability to do online school, especially during a pandemic. However grateful I am for the opportunity to continue with my studies, these online semesters have been some of the hardest I've had, and not because of the content of my courses.

One of the biggest struggles I have heard about—and experienced—about online learning is the workload. Some professors think that because everything is online, they can assign more work and readings, and have their lectures longer than they would be in a classroom. Some professors may do this unintentionally, as well. They may think, “Oh it’s just one extra video—they can fit that in.” Or, for professors who prerecord their lectures and post them online, they might not realize how long they’ve been talking for. This is due to a few reasons: in a classroom, there’s always pauses when people ask questions; there are sometimes technical issues when the professor is setting up the lecture; and, because there are other classes who need the room afterwards, there is a time-limit on how long the class can be. When a professor prerecords the lecture so that students can watch it on their own time, those cues and aspects are not there. The professor can therefore lose themself in the lecture material and go on tangents or rambles about the topic. It’s great that some professors are so interested in and passionate about the topics they teach, but those extra minutes really do add up. Something as small as assigning the students an extra reading can push them over the edge because lo and behold, every other professor decided to do the same thing.

Another reason why workloads are greater—or at least seem to be greater—is because professors are trying to find assessment methods that reduce the amount of cheating and looking-up-the-answers that happens during online school. Most professors acknowledge that for online tests they cannot control whether or not a student looks at their notes; they therefore have to assume the tests are open book. This means that the tests are oftentimes more in-depth, require more long-answer and essay questions, and take more time to complete. Some tests are take-home style, which often involves numerous essays or long-answer questions which also tend to take longer to complete than a normal test would. Some professors aren’t even giving tests right now and are only assessing the students based on term papers and assignments. While these assessments may be few in number, they often require a lot of effort spread across the entire semester, whereas a test is (without counting the studying time) a short period of time on one day. If every professor assigns a term-paper, then the students have to be researching numerous topics during the semester, while also trying to keep up with the lectures and readings, and trying to balance everything else in their lives. Of course, I understand that term papers and essays are a part of university—especially in upper-year classes, but if those are the only methods of assessing the student's learning, it can become tedious and tiresome.

In addition to workload, an issue with online learning is the self-motivation that it requires. One needs to have a lot of self-discipline to do online learning and be successful at it. Not only do you have to make your own schedule (if your classes are asynchronous—meaning you work on them at your own time), but you also have to do your work while trapped at home with all of your belongings. I know personally it’s hard to motivate myself to work all day when my desk it right next to my bed. And for me, as well as many others, it’s hard to work when everyone else in your household is also working from home. During a normal year, if a student is doing online classes they could go to a library or go to their campus (if their online course is through their local school) to work in a study room. Your home also lacks the learning atmosphere that a school has. It’s hard to motivate yourself to work all day when you’re just staring at your computer screen from your bedroom or dining room or wherever else you may be studying.

Related to self-motivation, for students with mental illnesses—like myself—it is even harder to make yourself work. (Disclaimer: I speak from my own experience of having been diagnosed with clinical depression and social anxiety. I do not claim to speak for everyone with a mental illness, nor am I implying that everyone with a mental illness experiences it in the same way as others.) Depression can affect one’s energy levels, one’s feeling of motivation, and one’s desire to be productive and work towards goals. On a bad day, depression can hinder someone from even getting out of bed, let alone complete online lectures. I know that this pandemic has caused depression to skyrocket in some and appear in others who never experienced it before. Depression and isolation never go well together, and depression, plus isolation, plus online school? Well, that’s just a recipe for disaster. Back when classes were in-person, even on days when my depression was really bad, I could make myself go to school because I knew that getting out of the house and being around other people would help for a while. But now, if my depression is bad, I’m stuck. I’m forced to stay in my house with a dark cloud hanging over me. And there’s no consequences for not doing the lectures right away because mine are all pre-recorded and posted online for us to watch on our own time. On days when I can’t find motivation to work due to my depression, I fall behind in my lectures. When I fall behind in lectures, I feel even more overwhelmed and stressed, which makes my depression worse. And on and on it goes. It’s a cycle that’s hard to break out of.

None of these struggles I’ve mentioned are in and of themselves the single reason why students are struggling, but rather a piece of the puzzle. No, one professor posting longer-than-normal lectures won’t immediately stress out the student. No, having a term paper isn’t the end of the world. No, just because a student has a mental illness doesn’t automatically mean they will struggle with motivation and focus. But each of these factors adds up. All of these struggles just keep building upon each other—you fall behind in one class so you have to play catch-up, which results in you falling behind in another; you take a mental-health day and suddenly you’re multiple lectures behind with a test next week and an essay due; you have extra school work to do so you don’t have time for self-care and end up over-stressed, which can affect your courses. Every little thing adds up during this pandemic. Every little struggle adds up for online schooling. And maybe calling them “little struggles” is diminishing, but I’m trying to get my point across. The next time you come across a student who is really struggling with their studies this year, be gentle on them. Don’t just tell them to “work harder” or “focus more”. Don’t belittle the work they’ve done. It takes a lot of mental focus and self-discipline to do online school during a pandemic.

To all my fellow students, I salute you and wish you well in your studies. And if you need to take a break from school, that’s okay, too. Do what’s best for you.

Stay safe. Wear a mask. Be kind.