A lot of universities and educational facilities in Malaysia have made the switch to online classes during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
While the change of landscape is necessary for the time being, some students are having difficulties in adapting to the sudden switch. So many assignments lah, stress and no internet are some of the problems that we often hear students complaining about.
To dive in deeper, we’ve reached out to some university students to share their stories and get insights on the challenges that they are facing.
Are online classes convenient and easy?
This question probably would’ve been at the back of a lot of people’s mind and pondered by many since MCO started. That’s because most of us when we think of online classes, we tend to think that it’s easy as it doesn’t require someone to be physically present in the class.
To see if this assumption is indeed true, we’ve posed this question to some university students in Malaysia. Here’s what they have to say:
Convenient, but more time demanding
“It’s a lot more convenient to remain in bed and still be able to attend classes in your pyjamas. You don’t have to move anywhere and a lot of our classes are pre-recorded lectures so I don’t have to care about the timing either and just watch the lectures when I have time.” -Abdullah, 20, an international student in a local university.
“Although it might seem more convenient compared to physical classes, but it’s actually not. Online classes are actually more time demanding compared to normal class time. This is because rather than speaking the questions or what needed to be said within the class context, we cannot do that in online classes as all comments, questions and assignments are required to be written during the session. It’s time consuming because responses may be delayed due to connection issues or the students may not be present during the time the questions are asked.” -Alicia, 21
“It’s much more convenient as we don’t have to walk from different classes that’s far from each other but it’s not effective. Face-to-face is always much more comfortable for me. Explanations via online isn’t too clear for me.” -Hasan, 21
Has the workload become more or less, when compared to “before MCO”?
With not having to attend lectures and just facing laptops, some of us may reach to the conclusion that the workload would be considerably less.
But, these uni students beg to differ and have a few thoughts to share.
No exams but A LOT of coursework
“The thoughts that ‘100% coursework meaning easier semester’ is quickly overshadowed by the extreme workload faced by not only myself, many of my peers too.” -Jason, 21
“Just because there are no final exams, the workload has been stacking up thrice as much compared to before MCO. Most of us are falling behind and we’re mentally exhausted.” -Ana, 22
“Sometimes it’s really hard to catch up cause classes happen faster and lecturers expect us to know more. My lecturers have admitted that a certain chapter which was to be taught for a month was shortened into a week.” -Cyril, 19
Based on the insights from the uni students, it can be said that the transition from physical classes to online platforms isn’t as smooth as how we thought it would be.
The pros are that students do not have to gather in lecture halls anymore, therefore reducing the risk of Covid-19 outbreak. But, the cons such as added workload and stress are some things that should also be taken note of.
Are you able to relate with the struggles faced by these students? Share your thoughts down below.
Also read: We Asked M’sians What They Miss The Most Before MCO And It’s Not All Mamak!
