As we get closer to the end of the year and are still continuing remote learning, the issues surrounding the use of Zoom platform are becoming increasingly clear. While it does provide a solution to education during a global pandemic, remote learning isn’t quite the same as attending school in person.

Schools are facing different problems that they usually would not have, such as connection issues. More people in each household are using the Internet at the same time, which can result in a slow Internet connection. A slow connection can cause students to miss their Zoom meeting, which directly affects a student’s learning experience.

In some cases Internet servers are overwhelmed by the demand. I myself had to “skip” a whole week of class because AT&T was down, and it’s not like I could go to a friend’s house to take my courses. My teachers sent the assignments to me via email, and I finished them at my own pace. I found this really effective and easier since I could load the assignments with my phone data, which is something I can’t do with Zoom. Since students often are bored at home, they might as well get the assignments done as fast as possible and have the rest of the day to enjoy themselves and do other things.

I would prefer a class format that would not depend so much on Internet use. It would be better if classes only required assignments and had Zoom as a backup resource for when students had questions or the teacher wanted to talk to the whole class. This would be more effective for students than sitting through a lecture. Students would also be able to get more rest as they would not have a set time to wake up.

I think the school has been handling this situation very well and have been very understanding of students’ personal lives and home issues. But I think having access to assignments, instead of required daily Zoom meetings would more effective for next year if the school activities don’t resume as normal.