Since the pandemic, DU’s faculty has transitioned to Zoom. While some classes are now taught fully in-person or in a hybrid format, most classes are solely online to restrict the number of outbreaks on campus. As a result of the sudden format change, professors have faced a variety of challenges.
Johnny Ramirez, known as Profe Johnny, is a professor with the Media, Film, and Journalism Department and a community activist. He is only one of the faculty at DU who needed to adapt to be successful at online teaching.
Ramirez describes online teaching as an art because it is difficult to engage students. “How do you get it so students feel they are not just staring at a video?” said Ramirez.
As students sit in back-to-back lectures online, the hours add up. Students are spending a number of hours each day on Zoom depending on the course load, in addition to time exhausted on homework, meetings, clubs and socializing. This can cause students to feel overwhelmed and exhausted, contributing to what is known as Zoom burnout.
A 2019 Harvard University study addresses the negative impacts of excessive screen time on students’ well-being. The researchers found that a good night’s sleep is crucial to proper brain development.
HMS researchers have shown that using blue light-emitting screen devices like smartphones or laptops before bedtime can disrupt sleep patterns by suppressing the secretion of the hormone melatonin.
It is recommended that college students get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. However, a study by the University of Georgia found that, on average, most college students get six to seven hours of sleep per night.
Student’s increased screen time, due to Zoom, is causing them to retain less sleep. The lack of REM sleep can contribute to illness, stress, and hinder students’ ability to learn as effectively as they once did. This is why some professors have altered their teaching agendas to benefit student’s needs.
“One of the strategies I use is monitoring how much screen time students have,” Ramirez explained.
He has learned to scale back the amount of online work given to students. When he assigns documentaries or discussion posts, he tries to split up work so students still have the same energy as they would in person. Describing his classroom as a community, Ramirez wants his students to use their voices on Zoom to create a productive and captivating discussion.
“With or without their cameras on, I want students to feel like this is a place to hold free discussions just as it would be in person,” described Ramirez.
DU is now recovering from a spike of COVID-19 cases that occurred when students returned to campus after spring break. Their progress in decreasing the number of cases is visible, as the school is now at “Level Blue.” This means, “virus prevalence is low on campus and low to moderate in the surrounding community, and conditions on campus are well-controlled with strong testing and supply chain capacity.” They have also started rolling out vaccines for the general student body.
Considering DU’s strong efforts to control COVID-19 cases, it is only natural for professors and students to wonder if education will go back to normal in the future. However, this may be wishful thinking. Ramirez explained that the university has learned how to utilize online classes to its advantage.
“What the university has learned might limit certain resources…right now, it has become popular to hire more visiting professors to save money,” said Ramirez. While the trend has been going on for some time, he believes it has accelerated with online instruction.
With unanswered questions hanging above everyone’s heads, this instructor suggests the university begins hiring full-time professors. For educators, it is easy to get frustrated and disappointed with teaching during a pandemic. Trying to put the best foot forward with their health, relationships and education can be a lot to balance. However, one thing Ramirez remains thankful for is his students.
“In many ways, students have shown grace during the pandemic…They have been really supportive and helpful,” he said.
Ramirez’s students have shown him emotional understanding, and he hopes that all of us continue to treat each other with thoughtfulness.
Although Zoom helped bridge the gap between COVID-19 safety protocols and continued college education, it has consequences. Ramirez, like many other professors at DU, has faced trials with how to accommodate students in an online environment. Zoom takes up a majority of the student’s time from studying and attending classes. Thus, this causes an increase in stress and fatigue. For now, the university remains online, but as DU continues to make progress towards a healthier campus, we are getting one step closer to fully in-person classes.
