My Remote Classes

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Penn has officially transitioned to remote classes for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. While this news is undoubtedly devastating for students, especially for seniors, I instead want to talk about how our online classes have been so far. 

Most Penn courses use a platform called Zoom, which is a video chatting software. Some larger lectures with multiple sections have started recording each class, and then students can take notes on their own time. These conditions are not ideal for learning, but I appreciate the efforts that my professors have taken to maintain as much normalcy as possible. 

In one of my classes, which consists of student presentations each week, one student will share his or her screen on Zoom, and present a powerpoint remotely. In another one of my small group biology seminars, students can “raise their hand” using a Zoom feature if they have a question or comment. Since both of these classes are small (approximately 15 students), our Zoom sessions work out very well. 

In my journalistic writing class, we had been working on long-form pieces following some sort of topic in Philadelphia. Instead, our professor has asked us to write something about how coronavirus is affecting each of us separately. 

The biggest change for me was independent study. All of the labs on campus are closed other than those doing coronavirus research, meaning that even if I wanted to conduct experiments I could not enter the building. Instead, the Biology Department provided us with several alternative options, such as writing a research grant or a review paper. Although I would much rather spend time in my lab, I will still gain a lot by reading literature in the field related to my projects. 

Ultimately, while online classes are not the ideal scenario, in the situation that we are living in today, it is important to practice social distancing in order to prevent a rapid spread of coronavirus. I sincerely appreciate all of the support and effort that my professors have put into our classes this semester. 

- Kaitlyn B.