EDITORIAL: Online learning remains paramount component of education after pandemic
As we move toward normalcy, virtual learning remains important for students
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic brought many new challenges, and we all had to adapt to new ways of existing in the world. We masked up, we went on socially distanced walks, we stayed in touch with friends and family via social media and video chat. These were the realities of the pandemic, for everyone.
For students, though, that reality also included school. We were used to in-person classes with an instructor teaching, with classmates right by us if we did not understand something, and with friends always nearby with whom we could complain or stress about assignments.
The pandemic interrupted all of that — those are crucial moments and experiences that we will never get back. In its place, we were exposed to virtual courses. Synchronous and asynchronous learning became common vocabulary when discussing academics. These concepts are what got us through the pandemic and kept us on track to graduate.
Now that we have returned to mostly in-person learning, it has become evident that online learning was not as terrible as we had originally thought. Its flexibility empowered students to pursue their interests, focus on internships and manage jobs.
Certainly, an in-person learning environment is conducive to a range of other experiences that we think of when we decide to go to college, but there is something about the virtual landscape that should be taken seriously as future discussions about technology and the digital age in pedagogy happen.
For students who commute, for example, it will be easier to have a range of options: Perhaps they can manage to only come to campus twice a week instead of four times a week. For students who might be immunocompromised or with other disabilities, they will be made safer without compromising their education. For students who are busy, whether that means taking on an internship or working, virtual learning gives them the ability to craft a schedule on their own time.
Rutgers agrees — and the University is investigating how to strengthen and make more permanent virtual education options. In a recent announcement, the University has made public a council on online education. The council is tasked with providing the University with ways to improve the online learning infrastructure as a whole.
This is a smart, forward-thinking council. Students benefit from extended options. By Rutgers reimagining a blended format where the emphasis is still on in-person learning, but with solid virtual options, they are responding to broader cultural trends and meeting students' needs more carefully.
One of the most important elements of education is that it should be accessible to everyone. Sometimes, in-person learning is not very accessible. There are a range of factors that contribute to making a student thrive academically or not, or if they can even learn in a certain environment. Online learning accounts for these disparities and tries to remedy them.
By offering more virtual classes, especially more asynchronous courses, Rutgers empowers its students to make the best decision for themselves. We think that is a good thing — if we have learned anything these past few years it is that young people are more than capable of knowing how to handle things and how to make their own way. Despite these benefits, steps ought to be taken to ensure that online platforms are both as protected and as accessible as possible.
To the first point, as society becomes more digitized, the threat of hacking looms large. As we witnessed during the pandemic, Zoom rooms can be infiltrated. The University must take all steps necessary to ensure that the online sphere is just as protected as the in-person one.
Concerning the latter point, the University should take more action to ensure that online schoolwork is accessible to all Rutgers students. To accomplish this, Rutgers needs to make sure all students have access to Wi-Fi — whether by working with local and state governments, anyone enrolled at Rutgers should have some type of access to the internet, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Rutgers should also expand the laptop rentals so students can pursue virtual learning more comfortably.
Even more, students must be proactive and vocal about their needs to both the University and their own professors. Likewise, while we have discussed issues related to students at length, the burdens and challenges placed on instructors cannot be dismissed.
Any plan to move classes to an online format must also make life easier for instructors. Online classes, both synchronous and asynchronous, need to have strict cutoffs, and the instructors must be treated with the same amount of respect as any other instructor.
As we emerge from the pandemic, many things are different. The way we interact, the way we think about health, the way we exist. As a clear consequence, our education system has fundamentally changed. Rutgers is in a unique position to be a leader in this new educational age. We must continue prioritizing methods that are best for students, and a mix of in-person and virtual school seems like a solid place to begin.
The Daily Targum's editorials represent the views of the majority of the 154th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
