Six takeaways from the semester of Zoom

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AL.com sports writer Michael Casagrande lays some wisdom on my Sports Writing and Reporting students. In a “hybrid” class such as this, students are assigned on a rotating basis to attend in person or by Zoom.

AL.com sports writer Michael Casagrande lays some wisdom on my Sports Writing and Reporting students. In a “hybrid” class such as this, students are assigned on a rotating basis to attend in person or by Zoom.

With the end of in-person instruction on Friday, we have answers to some fraught pre-semester questions about educating college students in the middle of a pandemic. Or at least I have drawn some conclusions, starting with: It’s not as preposterous as it once seemed. And the apprehension I wrote about in August is not so severe anymore.

Here are my top takeaways after 14 weeks of this most bizarre of semesters. Others on UA’s campus might disagree, of course. But some reflection is warranted because here and at other universities, we have to do this all over again in January.

1) The classrooms are safe

Students and faculty wear masks. In classrooms, UA allows only the number of students who can socially distance. Others join by Zoom. Really large classes have gone completely to remote learning. Students (at least to my knowledge) stay away if they’re ill or if they know they’ve been in close contact with someone with the coronavirus. UA’s positive tests are not coming from classrooms.

2) Masks ruin everything

It’s well understood in education that in-person learning works best. But those studies didn’t include wearing a damn muzzle as a test variable. Putting on a mask is vital these days, of course, but lectures and discussions really suffer without facial expressions. Teaching is half performance art, you know. Also, students aren’t known for projection and enunciation when they speak. Sometimes I have absolutely no clue what a masked student said. Considering the improvements in remote teaching techniques, it just might be educationally better to put everyone on Zoom and lose the masks.

3) Some parents are wrong about their kids

UA and other universities, especially those still charging full tuition as UA is, have tried to ensure a certain (even if minority) percentage of in-person education. That hasn’t stopped some parents from complaining that too many classes have moved to online. Certainly some students feel disappointed and perhaps educationally disadvantaged. But in “hybrid” courses that allow a choice between classroom attendance and videoconferencing, many students choose to stay home. Every time. The kids don’t want to go to class as much as some of their parents think they should.

4) Students don’t cheat

Not a revelation. The average weekly quiz score for the first seven weeks of my course with more than 200 students went down (about half a percentage point) from the spring semester with students in classrooms to this semester with students mostly on Zoom. The only anti-cheating measure this semester is the very non-foolproof requirement (uh oh, that was an ill-advised confession) that students must remain on camera during the test. A rare few likely have used unapproved references outside of camera view. But I do not understand the professors around the country who use oppressive surveillance software that monitors students’ head and eye movements during online tests. Nice way to put a torch to your nurturing and collaborative learning environment.

5) UA didn’t get all of it right

Early on the university assumed the best about its students – that they’d obey rules and refrain from the usual large social activities. Results were Hindenburg-like. The early-semester coronavirus case count drew national attention. UA ramped up public warnings of discipline, including suspensions, for students who violated restrictions, and in fact followed through. Many universities that opened their campuses were criticized for naivete about the predictable behavior of college students. Fair point. Students deserve blame, too (some of them, anyway). They were easy targets of news media and social media. I’d only point out that their incautious actions don’t make them any different from half the adults in the country.

6) College football season was a mistake

More than 80 Division I football games have been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, and many others went on with reduced rosters. Sources of exposure are everywhere, of course, but it’s implausible that college athletic departments have managed to create the only kind of large gathering that is safe, especially considering vulnerabilities such as virus detection time lag and spectators who ignore rules. If everyone’s protective protocols were foolproof, Florida State wouldn’t have cancelled its game against Clemson three hours before kickoff Saturday. And a half-dozen Temple players wouldn’t have been removed from the locker room shortly before that kickoff.

Many of the unplayed games so far this season stemmed from too many players in precautionary quarantine. Still, add up the athletes around the country who contracted COVID, plus the coaches and support personnel who did, plus the spectators who did. They weren’t all asymptomatic. And early research indicates that even after recovering from COVID, some number will suffer extended health consequences. Of course, you can’t add up the number of athletes. Many universities, including UA, don’t publicly report it. Because heck if they want you to know how badly their decision backfired.