Students Respond with Mixed Reactions to Learning Modalities

With pandemic extending to six months now, and showing no signs of stopping anytime soon, the Commission on Higher Education was left with no choice but to proceed with classes this year amidst the pandemic.

The most convenient form, that is, for those who can afford and sustain load credits for internet connections and services, is online learning. While this may not sound a good choice for many, a student can elect a different modality, and that is either modular or blended.

But are students comfortable with these setups? Do they have difficulty with each? Here is our student correspondent, Rogie Saldivar to give more details.

It’s more than five weeks now since the school opened last August 24th, 2020, and students and faculty alike are still adjusting to the new normal setup of learning. In DEBESMSCAT, three modalities are offered: online, modular and blended.

In the online learning, students get to listen and participate in online classes initiated by their professors. Submissions are also paperless and instant. Professors can also immediately provide feedback which, in theory, should support learning even better than the traditional face-to-face setup.

But the demands for load credits almost 7 days a week has pained some of the students of the college. Since the start of the general quarantine, in its many variations, many families have lost their sources of income are left with least they can have to get by.

“Naga-trabaho ako sa aga para magkakwarta kay kaiwat sani na panahon (I work during the day to save up some money because it is a trying time),” says a student from the College of Education.

The blended and modular setups, however, has provided an avenue for those who are experiencing financial constraints, to learn in this time of pandemic. Some students feel that the modular, although unassisted by the professors, have provided them the least learning they need to proceed with their education during this pandemic.

How long this new normal will last or whether this new normal is the normal we have to deal with for a long foreseeable future is yet to be known. For now, life in DEBESMSCAT and in the province of Masbate moves on.