Experience, Expertise,
Excellence:
Achieving the Ideal End for
Your Best New Beginning
Devoted solely to family law matters
(including divorce, custody, support,
and equitable distribution).
Megan S. Murray, Esq.
100 Village Court, Suite 204
Hazlet, New Jersey 07730
732-847-9896
MurrayFamilyLaw.com
TheJournalNJ.com | OCTOBER 2020 35
Zoom University
How Technology Has
Changed Higher Education
BY EMILY CHANG
For many high school students, college has been a top priority since
ninth grade. The eager anticipation to live away from home, meet
new people and embark on a new academic journey is something
every teenager desires. I, like many of my peers, was more than
excited to graduate and start this new chapter of life. But with everything
going on with COVID-19 and social distancing measures, college
is currently a gray area.
by the ongoing pandemic. Not only were the last (and best) months of
senior year stripped away, now freshman year of college is completely
different, and for some, non-existent. This past summer, incoming
freshmen would anxiously wait to hear the news of their school’s
fall semester plans. Should dorm supplies be purchased? Will there
be in-person, online or hybrid classes? Would students be sent home?
Is it a good idea to defer a semester? There seemed to be no answers.
Every college made their own decisions at their own time, and students
had no say in the process. It is evident now that each school’s
plan facilitates different results, with some more successful than oth-
many still pondering the question: is the college experience worth
the risk of getting sick?
Many schools did choose the safer route, opting for full online instruction.
Although not every student’s experience has been the same,
I personally must admit that it has been challenging taking online
it is also hard to learn new material by staring at a computer for hours
on end. While professors make the extra effort to provide one-on-one
assistance, these are certainly unprecedented times and each class
the same through a computer screen as they lack the engagement and
connection that an in-person experience would have. To make matters
worse, international students struggle with time zones as some synchronous
classes end up taking place at 3 am!
While this is certainly a struggle for me and many students, we
must be grateful for the technological world that provides us the opportunity
to learn from the safety of our homes. It truly is amazing to
have students from all over the world connect through a computer to
obtain the higher education we all deserve. Social media and school
resources further help students engage with the college community
as much as possible.
After everything the class of 2020 has been through, a slightly
different college experience with online classes is something we can
surely conquer and overcome.
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