CSUMB STUDENTS ADJUSTING TO NEW NORM OF ONLINE LEARNING
SEASIDE >> Students at CSU Monterey Bay have begun to immerse themselves in their online classes that began on March 20 using a program that allows them to interact with their professors and classmates through video chat.
So far, school officials are happy with the transition, however, some students have been challenged with logistical and technical challenges in online learning.
“CSUMB students have been amazingly adaptable to the realities of virtual instruction, and reports from the CSUMB faculty have been strongly encouraging,” CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa said recently. “Both CSUMB faculty and students were called on to transition 100% of our classes to virtual delivery modes within one week’s time, and halfway through the semester. The faculty’s resourcefulness and creativity in doing so has been remarkable, and the responsiveness of CSUMB students to this new reality has been equally stunning.”
CSUMB’s Information
Technology department is also satisfied with the transition and escalation of the use of Zoom, the video conference service that the California State University system contracted with in 2016.
“The university is delighted with the performance of Zoom and how it helps CSUMB to continue teaching and our students to continue learning,” Chip Lenno, CSUMB’s chief information officer said recently. He noted that before last week’s spring break, the school was averaging between “500-800 meetings per day, with total participants between 650-1,200 per day. We have over 480 instructors actively delivering class to over 7,600 students on Zoom.”
Taking a class using Zoom
Every time classes meet, professors send out an “invitation” that allows students to access each session. After signing into Zoom, students can choose whether they want to turn on their cameras to video chat and give microphone access to the program as well.
Once each student gets past those preliminary screens, their screen becomes full of boxes. These boxes represent their classmates that are in the session. If students decide not to turn on their cameras, just their names will appear.
Anytime a person speaks, their individual box lights up with yellow, indicating that their microphones have detected sound from their computers.
When students are asked to present, they also can share their screens with their classmates. Therefore, their classmates can look at their powerpoints while they present on their topics.
However, things don’t always
run that smoothly.
Online challenges
Recently, there was a power outage in the neighborhood of Ernesto Verduzco, a senior collaborative health & human services student. It kept him from doing his assignments on time, he said.
Casandra Mendoza, a junior psychology student reported her professor had problems getting on the system. “The professor never got in Zoom. That was supposed to be the plan but she couldn’t connect it to her computer,” Mendoza said.
Additionally, some students are struggling with finding a place in their homes where they can concentrate.
“I feel that I do not have a quiet, comfortable space for me in my house,” senior Angeles Valencia said. “I wish that I could go to my local library, or small coffee shops or anywhere that is not home, but everything is closed.”
Some students have also complained that classes have been cut shorter, and there is less communication within the classroom because a lot of them feel like they’re on vacation.
Part of that could be because of the circumstances. Classes at CSUMB had been suspended for over a week as professors adjusted their syllabi and transitioned into an online community. A week after coming back, the students went on spring break.
On the other hand, other students are trying to see the brighter side of this transition.
“Online classes can give one more confidence if more of an introvert,” said senior Agustin Meza. However, he adds that he prefers in-person meetings over online courses, being an extrovert himself.
The faculty
Debra Busman, a professor in the human communication department, sent out an email to her seniors working on their Capstone Project, a final project that CSUMB requires as part of their curriculum, with encouraging words.
Busman said, “I’m saddened by not being able to continue this class in person, and I already miss you tons, but I’m committed to doing everything I can to support you in completing your awesome capstone projects.” To ease some of the stress, she also said, “My game plan is to … rebuild the course based on what is most of service for you all this semester.”
Another professor, Kelly Medina-López had attempted to teach her classes using Zoom, but she found that it would not work for the type of work she had in mind. Instead, she emailed her students saying, “Instead of synchronous Zoom meetings we will move to an asynchronous model, which allows you to work at your own pace and on your own time.” Now, her class discussions would be held online using CSUMB’s iLearn, a website used by CSUMB for students to access their coursework instead of a video call.
CSU system overview
The CSU system has been working to make the tools and the internet more accessible.
In a media call last week, CSU Chancellor, Dr. Timothy P. White said that “campuses … are loaning out iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, desktops.” White also said campuses have been loaning out hotspots to students if they have no limited access to the internet.
Angel Jiménez, a CSUMB human communication major, is one of the people who benefitted from the hotspot loans.
CSUMB loans a hotspot called MiFi, which is in partnership with Verizon
Wireless. Usually, Jiménez would have to check out the hotspot weekly, but because he had the hotspot with him when the campus was transitioning, he was able to keep it.
During the transition week, CSUMB emailed him saying he would be able to have the hotspot until August, which meant he would have free unlimited internet for the rest of the summer.
Jiménez reports he has no issues with using Zoom with MiFi.
Privacy concerns
Recently the New York Times reported there have been privacy concerns when it comes to using Zoom. According to the Times, some children’s privacy experts and parents said they were concerned about how children’s personal details might be used and some districts have prohibited educators from using Zoom as a distancelearning platform.
Another concern is “zoomboming,” which is when a meeting or class is hacked and used to transmit pornographic images, doxx others, or taunt them with hate speech and threats.
For example, NPR reported a CSU Long Beach student was presenting his doctoral dissertation through Zoom when someone decided to zoombomb it. The intruder began drawing obscene images on the screen and made several racial slurs.
CSUMB’s IT department has informed faculty of the issues and sent out links to the Zoom help page for steps to counteract zoombombing.
Into the future
CSUMB will continue to host classes remotely and Friday informed students it will continue through the summer session. “We expect all classes to continue in the alternate modality, remote learning, and teaching, as is currently used for Spring 2020,” the email read.
Meanwhile, the university continues to encourage its students to end the semester strong as everyone adapts to this online transition.