Reported By: Jacques Masangkay

After two long years of COVID-19 affecting everything we do, the wrench it threw into the gears began to loosen itself these past few months. Since the semester of Fall 2021, face-to-face classes are being offered again, and life has been returning to campus almost back to the way it used to be. This transitional phase of returning to normal is a huge relief to most, but it does bring concerns up as cases still occasionally rise.  

For faculty especially, classes must adhere to the rules of social distancing and wearing masks, sometimes even face shields depending on the number of students. This can lead to a handful of difficulties for faculty in handling their courses. Some courses offered by UOG take a more hands-on approach, creating a greater need for face-to-face meetings.  

These courses include those taught by Raymond Anderson, that require a lot of hands-on experience with equipment and software for students to learn more effectively.  

Anderson voiced his initial concerns of last semester’s transition back. “It was a little nerve-wracking teaching a full class when you can’t be six feet apart, so the students had to wear face shields along with their masks, and we did have some online. But on the days we were working with cameras, we were fully in the green screen room or outside.”  

Larger in-class activities were difficult to organize as everyone had to be mindful of social distancing. Grouping a large group of students in a room, or even having smaller groups of students come into class for equipment training became difficult due to the risks.  

Although lectures have somewhat become easier by simply screen sharing teaching students how to use programs like editing software did not have the same effect as it did face-to-face.  

“It’s a little easier to show Premiere or After Effects online, but it’s still not quite the same because they’re all dependent on me- if students need help they can’t just put up their hand and ask the TA, so it slows the whole class down because we would have to stop and figure it out together.” Anderson explained.  

With things on its way to go back to normal though, some professors have started to go back to fully face-to-face instead of the hybrid options students had last semester. 

According to Anderson, there are plans to continue with this transition, offering more face-to-face classes for Fall 2022.  

The general response of students to things going back to normal has been very positive. Many are relieved to be free from an online learning environment, returning to the old routine of going to campus and physically attending their classes. There is also a social aspect of being on campus that students missed in the two years of remote learning, and a sense of school spirit begins to return.