Las Positas College is transitioning to full-time on-campus instruction for the first time since 2020.
Since the first case of COVID-19 broke out in China in 2019, the world of education has not been the same, witnessing an unprecedented increase of online education. At LPC, students were forced to study online via Zoom during the height of the pandemic. Though this proved difficult, given specific classes such as lab courses weren’t making smooth transitions to online forms.
Disparities in access to educational technology such as reliable internet have induced difficulties in regards to student participation with digital learning. To combat this, Las Positas provided students with laptops and portable WiFi to use for their schoolwork.
“I’m ready for in-person classes,” said Tino, a first year student at Las Positas, who hasn’t taken any in person at Las Positas since graduating from high school in 2021. Many students believe they don’t learn well online; they prefer in-person lectures.
You Kung, a Professor at Oxford University, trashed the effectiveness of online education branding it as leading to non-regulated students who are likely to show academic procrastination and increased disorganization.
On the other hand, online learning is both time and cost-effective. Karla Gutierrez, a veteran educationist at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), said they implemented an eLearning program, “IBM found that participants learned nearly five times more material without increasing time spent in training”. ELeaning provides an overview of cloud computing and storage with a self learning module on face to face courses.
While online education is a welcome development in pandemic times, more work is necessary to make it effective for students and professors.
Farai Mutiro is a staff writer for The Express.
