Online vs. In-Person: Safe or Sorry?

Sophomore Sumedha Kethini and junior Davyn Jones are both students at Jerome, but in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, they’re living very different lives. When given the choice between participating in the Remote Learning Academy, a 100% online option for students to learn from home, or hybrid learning, an option that allows students to do in-school learning two days a week and online the other days, Kethini chose RLA and Jones chose hybrid. As the first quarter of this unprecedented school year comes to an end, it’s clear that Jerome students’ experiences have been heavily influenced by this choice.

For some, that choice was an easy one. Jones explains, “I chose hybrid instead of online mainly because I learn better in a classroom, and getting out of the house is more fun than staying in.” For others, however, there were outside factors to consider. “I chose online because my parents told me it was safer. I wanted to do hybrid at first, but a week or two into school when the cases started going up, I agreed with their decision”, Kethini shares.

COVID-19 isn’t just a concern for those who chose online. Jerome requires face coverings and social distancing for kids attending in-person school. Although this ensures a level of protection inside the school’s doors, Emerald Campus raises an entirely new question over the virus’s potential spread. Jones is enrolled in three IB classes at Emerald, meaning he exits and enters both campuses multiple times. As he puts it, “I’m in contact with people at Jerome, then go to Emerald, come into contact with them, and then I come back to Jerome. I do feel like that may cause a concern, but it’s inevitable for different schools to be mixing.” The low occupancy, however, provides some reassurance. “It’s usually pretty empty at Emerald, so there’s not as much of a worry that I’m staying six feet away from someone," he adds.

RLA students undoubtedly face lower risks in terms of contracting Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean online learning has been a breeze. Kethini elaborates, “Staring at a screen for 7 hours straight, that’s a big disadvantage of online learning, even if it only happens one day a week.” Wednesday is the one day of the week when both A-day and B-day hybrid students are at home, which means it’s the day teachers get to meet with RLA students. Mandatory online meetings are held through platforms like Google Meets and Schoology conferences, where students check in with their teacher and ask questions. But some believe a student-teacher relationship just isn’t the same through a screen. Kethini recalls, “In Chemistry last year I used to ask my teacher 2-3 questions every day. Now, I barely ask questions unless they’re super important.” Jones still being asynchronous three days a week, he relates to this feeling. “It’s a lot easier to talk to teachers face to face and communicate back and forth rather than waiting for the next email.”

As for the asynchronous experience, there are mixed feelings. On the one hand, Jones points out the efficiency that comes with online learning. “On asynchronous days, I have more freedom to get my work done faster.” Kethini agrees, “I like having my own schedule and working on my own time. One of the best parts of online learning is you can choose to do whatever work is most helpful to you.” However, the bad habits of distraction and procrastination seem to be common themes. The shift towards technology is partly to blame. “All of the homework is on a computer instead of paper and pencil, so it’s hard to do the work without going on YouTube and getting distracted”, Kethini says. Jones calls asynchronous work “a game of catch up," falling behind and struggling to get work done before the next in-person school day.

Overall, students have some requests for teachers. When asked what change would be beneficial to his learning, Jones responded, “More awareness of office hours. Some of my teachers are pretty transparent about when their office hours are, but others aren’t.” While Jones wants something from teachers, Kethini wants to give teachers something. She responded, “I would ask all of the teachers to set up a page with an anonymous feedback form because I have so much feedback to give to the teachers about online learning.”

Fortunately, students generally seem to be happy with their choices. For Jones, the duality of hybrid met his expectations. “I’m happy with my decision because I like the variety, that’s why I chose to do Emerald and why I chose to do hybrid.” Although Kethini’s choice wasn’t entirely her own, she’s satisfied as well. “I’m actually really happy my parents made me do online learning, I don’t regret my decision.” In the end, that satisfaction is what’s most important during this unique new school experience. Because in a pandemic where distance and disconnection have come to define learning, happiness is what every student needs.

Update: On Monday, November 30th, after news that Franklin County had reached a public emergency status regarding the spread of coronavirus, Jerome began a new 100% online learning format in which all students are required to join “live stream” Google Meets for each of their classes 4-5 days a week. RLA and hybrid students, despite their initial differences, are now integrated and learning together once again. It’s uncertain when or if Jerome will return to the RLA/hybrid model this school year, but while it lasted, it was up to Jerome students to decide whether they were safe or sorry.