The COVID-19 pandemic is still very active and many college students have begun or are preparing to begin their first full semester of online learning. With lessons learned from last semester, schools and students are trying their best to make this semester of online learning as productive as possible.
In May, Fresno State decided that its fall 2020 semester will be online only for all students attending in the fall. The State Center Community College District (SCCCD), which is the college district for Clovis Community College, Fresno City College and others also made their fall semester virtual for all attending students.
The only students allowed on SCCCD campus’ for the fall semester will be those taking classes that require face-to-face interaction on a very limited basis. Fresno State will have approximately 1,000 students on campus for the fall semester.
Students now have to adapt to a new way of learning in order to not fall behind in their studies and finish their degrees on time.
Cali Peang, a senior at Fresno State studying Multimedia Production, said that one of the hardest things of working online is doing projects, because a lot of them involve people and being outside.
“The idea of working in my own home and not really doing anything outside of that is probably one of the hardest things for me,” Peang said. “I’m more of a hands-on kind of person and I would rather actually experience working with equipment and working with other people.”
Another student with difficulties with online learning is Rafael Reyes, a recent graduate of Clovis East High School who is attending Clovis Community College and majoring in Computer Science. Reyes said he finds it difficult to concentrate during his lectures because at home there are many distractions.
“I do not like distance learning…I would rather do classes in person,” Reyes said. “I’m at home and I easily get distracted so I have difficulty watching all of my lectures and trying to take notes and also do all of the assignments.”
Reyes mentioned that with his classes being asynchronous, he had an easier time navigating through his course work.
Regular students aren’t the only ones needing to adapt to online learning, students with disabilities and special needs are also trying to make this semester work.
Jacquelyn Rubalcaba the Disable Students Program and Services (DSP&S) Director for Clovis Community College said that a lot of accommodations made for students in the program are still being provided, but it also depends on how the teachers are teaching the classes.
Rubalcaba said that students who use the course management system Canvas might not need a lot of accommodations, but if they are doing Zoom sessions or other types of instruction then they might need more help. Rubalcaba also mentioned that teachers and staff are working together in order to serve the students better.
“We always have to work together, but even more so online. DSP&S has to reach out to instructors and vice versa,” Rubalcava said. “It’s a brand new system that not only we (staff) are navigating, but also the entire institution.”
Rubalcaba mentioned that emails will be sent out to instructors and students so that they know that they are able to use accommodations. She also talked about Accessible Information Management (AIM), a new system that has taken DSP&S fully online.
AIM makes student files more accessible online for the entire district and will help DSP&S keep track of students in the program more easily. The program was implemented in January and was a huge help when they had to go to online instruction in March.
Rubalcaba also said that staff and teachers are learning technology as they try to implement it and that everyone has been very understanding during this time.
“We (teachers and staff) are trying to support each other the best way,” Rubalcaba said. “We didn’t have guidelines for a lot of what we are doing now, because prior to this (pandemic) it was so different.”
Accommodations have also been made for regular students who might find themselves not knowing how to utilize some of the tools needed for the Semester.
Each SCCCD college has their own individual COVID-19 pages to help students with tools and information to get through the fall semester. Fresno State implemented a master plan to help students during online instruction and has a web page with links to academic instruction, events, tech support and other useful information. Fresno Pacific has a web page with information and a special message from the President of the University Joseph Jones.
One common link in all of the institutions was the implementation of psychological services for students who might help dealing with all the changes.
Clovis Community College psychological services intern Victoria Williams said that moving to online learning has increased anxiety, depression and stress in students.
“If there is a presenting problem, for example if a student comes in having anxiety it’s usually exacerbated by COVID-19.” Williams said. “It’s always good to reach out, whether it is a mental health professional or a significant other, family member or friend, you don’t need to be lonely in your loneliness.”
Williams also mentioned that there also was a decrease of students inquiring about psychological services. She said that they are still taking appointments via teletherapy and Zoom sessions.
Fresno State senior Josh Lancaster said that last spring it was tough to finish out the semester, but he hopes this semester will be better.
“I expect at least a little bit more preparation, because last semester it (the pandemic) blindsided us,” Lancaster said. “One of the hardest parts (last semester) was teachers were having to scramble and get online…the teachers were caught off guard and some of the course material didn’t translate well to online.”
Even though Lancaster is optimistic, he is also realistic and thinks online learning is not ideal for him since he’s major is Multimedia.
“We have to get degrees in things that maybe we can’t really just learn online,” Lancaster said. “Fresno State offers a lot of resources that I depended on frequently…It was just so much easier to be on campus and now we really are going to have to be self motivated.”