Beyond typical student experiences from PCC
By Emma Chen
It is now 2:30 A.M. in China, it is dark and quiet in the neighborhood. Everyone is asleep, storing energy for the next day. Suddenly, an alarm started beeping. Followed by a yawn and some movements, a light from the computer screen lights up the room. The girl rubs her sleepy eyes and clicks the “Join a meeting” bottom, then her day begins.
This is the new normal life for international student, Runjia Hou. Hou returned to China to reunite with her family, who she hadn’t seen for over a year. Then, she started learning remotely 6,000 miles away from PCC.
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 had forced schools to close and transition to remote instruction, including students from Pasadena City College. Since classes have moved online starting in Spring 2020, students’ lives are heavily affected in different ways.
PCC serves about 29,200 students, and the population is made up of international students from various countries, returning students, and parent students. Some enjoyed the learning experience without the long commute from home to the campus and some had a difficult time balancing school work and free time.
“Not being in the U.S. is very inconvenient for me as a student, I sometimes have to wake up in the middle of the night to take a live test or lecture,” said Hou via email. “Because of jet lag, I found it very hard to focus in class. Being physically in China but living in the timeline of the U.S. is very harmful to me. Furthermore, without the commute from home to school and the recess between classes, long hours of staying at home had affected me both mentally and physically.”
However, there are also some advantages of taking online classes. For Hou, it means more time with family and friends and it is also a more economic choice.
“Once I am used to online learning, I divide my free time for learning, family, friends, and myself,” shared Hou. “In the morning (nighttime or late afternoon) in the U.S., I participated in the online lectures, then did homework in the afternoon or the following day. I also managed to get a part-time job at a cafe. Plus, the cost of living is a lot lower in China than in the U.S.”
Starting in Fall 2021, PCC is reopening some classes with in-person learning.
“It is wonderful if PCC will reopen in Fall 2021, I prefer learning in class,” said Hou. “Not being in a classroom makes me not feel like actually learning. Although getting a good grade is easy, truly absorbing the content is hard. Also, since I am planning to transfer, and it’s easier to get an A, I’m worried that it’s gonna be competitive.”
A tip for every student learning remotely is to “watch the recording of the lecture and take notes, not just complete the assignments,” shared Hou.
Other than classrooms and professors, PCC also provides services such as academic counseling, personal counseling, and tutoring for students. Many students relied on these services to be sure they are on the right path.
That is the reason why international student Ngan Hong, from Vietnam, decided to stay in the U.S., for a better learning experience.
“I chose to stay here because I can continue to study, and I can get support from the school. For example, I can still meet a tutor to help me with math, or accounting classes or I can meet a counselor who will help me make plans for the next semester. Therefore I chose to stay to help me continue to learn,” said Hong.
Although she stays in the U.S. and chooses her courses according to her own schedule, switching from in-person learning to an online course is still an inconvenience.
“My life has changed completely since I studied online,” said Hong.” Initially, I did not get used to studying in front of the laptop instead of in-person. I feel sleepy all the time when I read material online. If I had questions, I didn’t feel that I had enough time to write them down and send them to my professors. I often sit on the chair for so many hours, but I did not realize until my back hurts.”
Now that a year of remote learning has gone by, Hong has adapted and developed skills to stay on track learning with Zoom and Canvas.
“After two to three months, I started to change my lifestyle. I began to read out loud to help me awaken. I took a break here and there for 5 to 10 minutes,” she said. “My overall online learning is good because I get used to it. I can still interact with professors and classmates. I can watch recordings of lectures so many times, so I am not afraid of losing some key points.”
Before the pandemic, not many students have taken nor professors have taught an online course before. The unfamiliar system takes time to adjust and has caused some troubles, but also some funny moments.
“I have an embarrassing moment. It is my first time using zoom meetings. One time I forgot to mute myself after I asked a question. All of my classmates heard everything from my background and I tried to talk to myself out loud. I just realized I was still unmuting myself when my classmates told me to mute. I felt ashamed and embarrassed,” shared Hong.
In this case, Hong quickly realized and muted herself. For students who don’t have much experience, when they first join a Zoom room, the camera and microphone will be turned on and unmuted. This situation has also caused many incidents, with the person not knowing the whole class is witnessing.
Nancy Lizaola, a PCC student, also a mother of a daughter, had a memorable moment with Zoom.
“There was once when I was attending a Zoom lecture, my daughter brought a box of strawberries to me, asking if she could have some and dropping all of them. Turns out the camera and microphone were on and the entire class got probably two minutes of my daughter singing in the background and grappling with strawberries,” said Lizaola.
Before the pandemic, time already seemed not enough, bouncing from work, school, and her daughter. Remote learning somehow doesn’t make Lizoala’s life easier.
“Entering year two of the pandemic I’ve managed to set a daily routine that involves caring for my daughter, intertwining my school, my daughter’s school, housework, family time and play together, which I do with the utmost love. Yet, it feels like being a mom during the pandemic has been significantly harder,” she said. “Staying home to flatten the curve from 15 days to 14
months has brought some highs and some very lows to my mental health where
I am constantly reminded to keep the focus and reminding myself that
‘Nothing is permanent.’”
The CDC website suggests that “virtual instruction might present more risks than does in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviors.” By decreasing the time spent outdoors and increasing the time on screen, both children and parents are at risk of anxiety, depression, getting nearsighted, etc. As a parent-student, Lizoala’s only concern isn’t her own time spent on technology, it’s her daughter’s.
“Remote learning will have a long-term negative effect on us mentally, and physically,” she said. “This is one of the main reasons I did not enroll my daughter into [pre-kindergarten] because of the daily screen time. I did not want to add any digital eye strain. I find myself lucky enough for her not to have needed to be enrolled in school during the pandemic and find other useful academic resources.”
As the confirmed cases dropped significantly, and more people are vaccinated, K-12 schools have reopened. Furthermore, PCC is also opening some in-person classes and welcoming students to return.
“I am excited that PCC will reopen in Fall 2021,” said Lizoala. “I think that I’ve hit the end of my stay-at-home order a long time ago. As schools reopen it will take some adjustments for us at home but I am sure that we’ll manage with happy faces. Just to be in a classroom setting — that goes for my daughter and myself.”
One complaint from both professors and students is the lack of interaction and the realness of attending class when learning remotely. During most Zoom lectures, students are muted and camera-off, leaving the professor talking alone to the computer without knowing whether the students are listening or slacking off with another browser.
To avoid this situation, Luigi Yonimine, always has his camera on and participates in Zoom lectures.
“I always open my camera. I think professors like it when they can see instant feedback from the students’ cameras. So I try to keep it open at all times,” he said.
As a design major student, Yonimine actually favors remote learning. Without the commute from home to school and the time searching for a parking spot, remote learning gives him more time to work.
“My life changed a lot since all classes are online. I was having classes in the morning, mostly. And before, it felt like I had less time to do school projects,” Yonimine said. “I really like being able to have some classes online, which gives me more time to work on the projects, to google stuff for clarity while watching class. Moreover, there is no need to drive all the way to campus and look for a parking spot.”
The transition of all classes online is one of the factors that make the U.S. persevere through the worst times. No matter when PCC decides to fully reopen, remote learning will definitely still be around.
Lastly, Yonimine gives advice for all students.
“Use the opportunity to get acquainted with how all of this works. There’s a strong tendency for businesses to use video conferencing for meetings, and online learning for training. It can be a chore, getting used to using the tech. But I don’t think it’s a waste of time,” he said.
