Third level students report mixed results in online learning

By Sarah Slevin

Online learning has been the way for almost all third level students for the last year, but the experiences have not been the same for everyone.

Makayla Heavin (19), who worked in Cunningham’s Pub in Ballymore for two years, has spent the majority of her first year of college studying from her bedroom.

In October 2020, she had moved to Galway to study Business in GMIT, but after two months, she moved back home to from Mount Temple again.

“I felt very isolated when I was there. I’d be crying going on a Tuesday because I knew I was going to talk to nobody for three days,” said Makayla.

“I’d then come home on a Thursday to work at the weekends, and there was not much point in it all,” she said.

The isolation has been challenging as Makayla has not met any of her classmates, nor has she been in any classroom in GMIT.

“I’ve never stepped inside the college, because we were also in lockdown for the open day,” she said.

“The WhatsApp group is brilliant. But apart from that, you’re left to yourself,” she said.

The 19-year-old has also highlighted the differences between first and second semester and has felt even less connected in the latter.

“In first semester, people made sure we were okay a lot, and a lot of the classes were live, so you had structure to the day.

“Whereas this semester, 99.9pc of my lectures are recorded so you get very little interaction,” she said.

In contrast to that, final year student Sean McCabe (22) from Ballymore has felt the benefits of online learning and recorded lectures.

“It actually suits me better for my course – they record the lectures so you can watch things over again and take it at your pace.”

Sean has been studying Maths and Education in NUI Galway and said his course works well online.

“For me, having everything there and doing it in your own time and being able to look over it – I think it’s very handy,” he said.

Sean acknowledges that there are certain things missing with online learning.

“When you’re there in person, there is more interaction and in tutorials that does help, but on the whole, I think it’s better online – even though the interaction is nice.”

Unlike Makayla, Sean has been living with friends and other students in Galway this semester.

Although being in a house with five other students has its challenges, the social benefits outweigh the negatives, he has found.

“When the six of us are trying to study, it can be tough. But when the library opened back up, it was better.

“If that had stayed closed, it would’ve been a disaster, no one would’ve got anything done,” he said.

With limited capacity, students have been setting alarms for 11.58pm in order to go online to book seats at midnight for the following day.

There have also been mixed feelings in terms of college fees.

Both students said that it is not ideal to be paying the same fees as usual despite not getting to use any college facilities.

However, Sean expressed understanding for the fees in terms of the work being put in by his lecturers.

“I’ve seen it from the other side – when I had to teach online on placement – and it’s actually quite hard.

“You probably end up doing more work than in the classroom because you are trying to get things uploaded and prepared, and you’re on your own with little interaction,” he said.

Makayla, however, has not been impressed with the cost because of the experience she has been getting.

“I think it’s a joke that I have to pay €3,000 to look at a computer screen at home,” Makalya said.

“I paid for my own college this year, but I needed help from my mam because I’m obviously not able to work now, but I’m also not able to get the Covid payment because I wasn’t working enough hours or making enough money to ‘need’ it, as such,” she said.

Although the government did give many college students €250 payments, she said, “I just don’t think that’s good enough at all.”