LETTERS: As we wind down the semester, lecturers will be breathing a sigh of relief, signalling the end of another testing period. After going through six classes under three courses with a total of 146 students, these are their laments. I narrowed it down to five recurring issues.
First, platforms. Some students had to delete an app just to reinstall another before their next class. Every semester, I would make it a point to hold court with students under my supervision. It's to counsel them about course registration, elective options, as well as to check on their wellbeing and to make sure that their affairs are sorted out.
Everyone chimed in exasperation on how different subjects require different platforms. So treat an online platform like you would treat a physical classroom — uniformed and accessible. I highlighted their qualms to the management so that a uniform platform could be expedited.
Second, online hours. If the class is scheduled for three hours, do they have to be online for three hours, too? This is a problem as students' data are limited. They have to be calculative on how many hours of the week's education their data plan can permit.
Also lecturers still need face-to-face online interactions for at least an hour to establish rapport, build momentum to stay motivated and to not feel that they are alone during this pandemic.
Third, the camera. Students can be very firm in what they want and don't want to do. While I accommodated their request, there were times that I had to make it compulsory for them to switch on their cameras for 20 minutes at the beginning of the class as I want to see their faces so I will not forget them.
After class, some informed me that their house is a bit run-down and couldn't show "aesthetic backgrounds". From then on, I instructed everyone to switch it on only if they want to. As a result, our chat box during classes for questions were flooded. Some were about the material at hand, the rest involved catching up with their classmates.
Fourth, attendance. Mental health really took over this part of teaching and learning. During the first Movement Control Order, everyone was excited to go online, but a fortnight after, we could see the strain from being online way too long.
My solution to this was to assure them that we are all in this together and that my weekly lecturers are recorded and uploaded immediately after, so they could catch up.
Modifying attendance helps, you can come after hours (on the same day), but make sure you summarise what you have learnt and I will turn them into attendance. The result? The attendance was 99 to 100 per cent mostly because we afforded them our trust and flexibility.
Fifth, uncertainty. As a second parent/guardian to many, lecturers were being constantly bombarded with "when will this end?", "are we going to do this until we graduate?", "what about internship?" and "online convocation?". These are the questions we have trouble answering.
Uncertainty among young adults is great. The only sage advice I could offer is to take things one day at a time. While things need to move fast, the consequences of our decision in pedagogy management, student's welfare, as well as teacher's wellbeing must all be considered simultaneously.
A. HAMID SAIFUDDIN
Senior Lecturer, Public Relations Department Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times