The Virtual(ly) Struggling Student

by Alyse Bailey

High school students across Wood County are struggling with the current schedule for online schooling. Students from Parkersburg South High school were surveyed on their liking of the apps Teams and Schoology. Results of these show that students are struggling with current rules forced upon their way of learning. A change in rules of usage of Teams would improve students ability to learn and obtain better grades.

Schoology is a well-liked program by students. They have the ability to message their teachers with any concerns, view all their work and when it is due, and most importantly, finish their work without being forced to multitask. When surveyed if students enjoy using Schoology more than Teams, 79% of students said yes.

Jerenie Sands, PSHS junior, says her least favorite thing about Teams is “Everything” and her favorite thing about Schoology is “Being able to do my work by myself.” These results show that students are more comfortable completing their daily work without having to log onto Teams for 45 minutes. Students want to be listened to and for people to know Teams lowers students productivity levels. Overloads of work have become a problem for high school students. Students are assigned work over day that will take them a good chunk of time, while still having to sit in a 45 minute class period where they do not have the ability to complete their assignments because they need to be listening. When asked if it is difficult to multitask on Teams, 79% of students said yes. These students struggle to work on their assignments when they are also needing to take an active part in class. This schedule has brought upon more work for students than we have when in person for classes. PSHS sophomore, Ryan Richardson, says “It is difficult being in a full class period just to get an assignment due the next day.” If Teams meetings were only mandatory either one day a week or for a shorter period of time, students would feel less stressed and more comfortable learning.

Many students are already facing the mental impacts of not being able to spend time with their friends and take part in their favorite activities/sports, and the dread of sitting all day listening on your iPad just to spend your whole night completing your assigned work does the opposite of helping our students during these tough times. Like everyone else in the world, our students' lives are filled with stress. Helping and listening to students would show that the people who create our learning rules value students’ comfort, mental health, and quality of education.