Universities across South Korea have temporarily shifted to remote learning on short notice due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Professors have been informed to conduct distance teaching -- at least -- through the end of March. Students are slowly adapting to online classes after colleges officially started on March 16.
In two weeks, mixed responses about online classes hit Everytime -- an application used by students to arrange timetables. One of the top-ranked comments was about how “professors were just as lost as students were.”
As expected, students had to deal with several technical difficulties on the first day of online classes. Glitches abounded, with some school websites suddenly going offline due to surging traffic, students facing blank pages and professors’ voices dropping out. Many online classes were disrupted, sending both professors and students scrambling to find a quick fix.
A student on Everytime uploaded a post calling for a tuition refund, considering the trouble-laden classes. Some said that problems with classes are understandable, but paying the same amount as for in-person classes is unfair to the students.
One sure thing is that nobody saw the shift to an online platform taking place this quickly. Students and professors are trying to adapt to online classes, but it appears that it will take some time longer before things are stabilized. Please check out the video to see how Korean students are confronting online and livestreaming lectures.
