By: Joseph Honeycutt
MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Students didn’t return to campus from Spring Break March ’20. Instead, the University of Montevallo resumed classes online to protect students and staff against the spread of COVID-19.
For some students, this meant vacating residence halls on campus and moving back home. Nicholas Kearley, a senior majoring in Mass Communication, shares his experience.
“It was tough,” Kearley said about moving out. Things like packing and arranging help were difficult on such short notice.
Relocating wasn’t the only challenge to come from the emergency switch to distance learning for Kearley. Becoming familiar with new technologies used presented new struggles too.
“I think it took a while for the professors to do it as well,” Kearley said about the transition.
“I think all of us probably did it at some point, it’s very easy to do something else with the class going on in the background,” Kearley said about becoming distracted during online class.
“It was easier to be there on time,” Kearley said about the advantages of attending class from home. Access to class recordings at a later date is something he also finds helpful.
Not all online classes are created equal. Kearley found mathematics was “more difficult to learn through watching videos than it is going in and doing examples.”
“I should spend this time how I like it because I don’t know if I’ll get time like this again,” Kearley recalls. Playing video games was his way of passing extra time last year.
It wasn’t all fun and games though. Kearley missed the fellowship from his fraternity. Campus safety protocols prevented his fraternity from meeting.
Kearley is happy to be back on campus and looks forward to graduating spring ’22 with a degree in Mass Communication.
Vallo Vision News 