In recent weeks, several people have asked me if distance learning is effective. I’m probably not qualified to answer this question. Yes, I teach online, but the differences from class to class mean I can’t possibly give distance learning a definitive thumbs up or thumbs down. That being said, I can discuss my experiences with distance learning and the problems I’ve faced.
I teach private one-on-one-classes and university seminars (typically around twenty students). Private online lessons come very close to imitating live classes; I began to learn Czech with an online teacher years ago and still find it the most convenient method of study. I’ve discussed the benefits and drawbacks of private online classes before, so it’s the larger classes I’d like to bring into focus here.
Teaching university classes via distance learning
Students are reluctant to turn on their cameras. I can understand this; many of them have just rolled out of bed and the last thing they want is to talk on video. However, this means I can’t see who I’m talking to and don’t receive any verbal feedback, so it feels like I’m talking to myself.
Distance learning is still new so there are no universal rules. If students don’t want to switch on their camera, they don’t. If they want to type instead of speak, that’s what they do. Teachers can create their own rules, but students can easily evade them (‘I can’t hear you,’ ‘my microphone’s not working,’ ‘I don’t have a camera,’ ‘my wifi is weak’). If distance learning becomes a staple (and I imagine it will) these kinds of problems need to be ironed out – both teachers and students must know exactly what is expected of them.
During video classes, the only way to check students are listening is to ask a lot of questions. If I ask a question to the group the likelihood of a response is zero, so I have to pick a specific dot and name (sorry, student) to answer. At this point either a) the student will not respond (they’re not listening or embarrassed because they don’t know the answer), or b) I wait an age for the student to realise I’m talking to them, and then, when they finally switch on their microphone the response is: “Sorry, I didn’t hear the question,” or “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
The list of ways time is wasted during online classes is endless. I have to start each class five minutes late (otherwise late students miss the instructions and are lost from the start); I have to repeat instructions over and over; students often forget to unmute their microphone, which leads to long pauses where no one knows what is happening; students switch on their microphone but there is loud screeching so I have to waste time shouting through the noise for them to turn it off. There is also a general lack of immediacy because we can’t see each other’s gestures.
Everything takes twice as long in an online lesson; I cover half the material I would in a face-to-face class. This is important to say, because proponents of distance learning (many of whom have neither taught or participated in an online class) like to point out the time saved by not having to commute to the classroom.
How distance learning impacts student understanding
One of the most important things a teacher can give students is clarity. Clarity in instructions, clarity in explanations, and clarity around the relevance of a particular task. Unfortunately, online classes are characterised by confusion. I usually give instructions and then move students into breakout rooms. When I join these rooms to check on progress, many students have no idea what they are supposed to be doing. To overcome this, I repeat instructions several times and triple-check everyone understands. This is tedious and feels patronising: students must wonder why I explain simple tasks over and over again.
The above is one of many factors that contribute to making the classes feel robotic. It is impossible to get a sense for how a class is going because I have to stick to my script (if I spontaneously pivot on a learning point then students become lost). A huge component is absent from the learning process; a piece the psychologist Susan Pinker perfectly identified in a recent podcast:
“What happens over the internet is you get information. Information is incredibly useful. It’s a useful part of communication, but that’s not everything we get out of it. We’re mammals, and we’ve evolved to see the whites of each other’s eyes, to be able to understand and generate trust by being near each other. You move backward, the other person moves backward. You raise your eyebrows and instinctively the other person does too, showing their surprise at what you’re saying. All these synchronous little cues and acts that you’re together in communicating and receiving communicate a sense of trust. It’s very difficult for that to happen over the internet.”
Lack of human contact in distance learning
To learn, students need to be engaged. Ordinarily this happens through communication with the teacher and classmates. This is missing in distance learning, which is why so many students complain they can’t concentrate and are not absorbing anything.
Many issues fall under the ‘online classes seem very impersonal’ bracket. My own experience as a university student felt deeply impersonal, and in its current form, distance learning makes it even more so. Technology will inevitably individualise the student experience in exciting ways, but individualisation should not be the only goal – education must feel human and personal too.
Final thoughts on distance learning
Many of these issues may fall away once students and teachers become more accustomed to distance learning. I should also mention that I know other teachers who like distance learning because it allows students to develop new skills (online presentations, etc). Some say their students seem less inhibited and more communicative online (which, based on my experience seems almost impossible to believe).
Ultimately, the success of online classes depends on multiple factors, such as the study subject, wifi quality, size of the class, student motivation, and how comfortable students feel about speaking on camera – which is why it’s impossible to generalise when deciding whether distance learning is effective.