“Do you think that you are learning effectively with online learning?” I ask my cousin, Sophia.

“No!” she responds, almost too quickly. “It’s stupid… because you’re always so distracted by other stuff and you can’t focus on your schoolwork.” 

***

Sophia had a good answer when she used “distracted” in her aggressive rant. While online education does seem convenient for its efficiency, easy use, and quick connections, it is also important to note the difficulties it can bring for students who have certain habits and come from different backgrounds. This second part of the series on the disadvantages of online education will investigate online learning’s contribution to multitasking and the digital divide. 

The One Where I Can’t Do Everything At Once 

Aptly put, online courses not only distance students from their school, they also create a strain on their motivation to complete their assignments and excel in their work. When students are on campus, they are surrounded by faculty, classmates, and other resources that encourage them to concentrate on their studies. At UIC, students find plenty of incentive in the many libraries, study halls, student centers, and office buildings that allow them to work on academic tasks and prepare for examinations inside and out of the classroom. 

Online education, however, does not provide this same encouragement when students are left to learn from home. Instead of being encircled by bookshelves and desks, they are surrounded by TVs, posters, music, and gaming consoles. 

How many times have you taken notes while rewatching Friends? How often have you attended lectures while also checking your e-mails? How often have you snapchatted a friend while reading a chapter from your textbook? While many students may think of themselves as “expert multitaskers,” proclaiming that title is more detrimental than honorable.  

James McWilliams from The Week has found that multitasking has damaging effects on the college student body. Reports show that “[s]tudents enrolled online [have] higher rates of texting, emailing, checking in with online social networks, watching videos–none of these activities related to class–while also playing video games and listening to music.” More students feel compelled to multitask because of the distractions that surround them at home. While the temptation to use a phone during class is certainly high, what affects students the most is the lack of consequence. An instructor cannot prevent their students from multitasking because they might not notice it or have any means of stopping them. 

Distractions, nevertheless, aren’t the only factors that influence students to multitask. Computer Science major Lizbeth Morales has observed that online learning can be more time consuming than traditional, in-person learning because some courses are giving greater workloads to their students. She explained, “you get a bit less homework if you’re on campus than doing online because right now, I notice how all of my classes are being [stretched] and I feel, like, there’s way more quizzes than a normal class would probably have… [This all] applies a bit more pressure onto your schedule.”

Sometimes, students feel the need to multitask because they want to keep up with the influx of work they are receiving. They will study for a test during class, prepare a presentation while listening to a lecture, or read e-mails while attending a meeting. 

Although responsibilities and stress may lead us to multitask, researchers Kep Kee Loh and Ryota Kanai have discovered that media multitasking harms our brain density. In a study they conducted with 75 participants, they noticed that “individuals who reported higher amounts of media multitasking had smaller gray matter density in the ACC.” The ACC, or anterior cingulate cortex, is the area of the brain that processes information and possibly influences conflict detection and cognitive control through gray matter, which consists of neuronal cell bodies. Participants who exhibited heavier multitasking habits showed lower ACC volumes, were less able to pay attention or retain information, could not perform tasks as well, and had weaker cognitive control abilities. 

Stanford researchers have also reached these same conclusions by determining that “frequent multitaskers performed worse [at activities] because they had more trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and… were slower at switching from one task to another… Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.” 

Being able to multitask does not make us special. It only overworks our brain and diminishes our ability to focus. It does not matter how much we think we can do; human beings are simply incapable of dividing their attention on more than one thing. 

When the WiFi’s Too Slow

Don’t you hate it when videos start buffering? You pause and then press play, and then pause again. You turn off the WiFi and reload, but nothing works. Having a slow internet is enough to make anyone frustrated, but isn’t it better than having no internet at all?

Given the socioeconomic differences that exist among students at UIC, the digital divide has become a great concern for college students and faculty alike. Accessibility to and readiness for online education has not affected all people in the same way because, “Some students and families have the means to succeed in a remote learning environment, and others do not.” 

The digital divide is the split between those who do and those who do not have access to the internet and technology. Around 88% of Americans use the internet, but not all people have the benefit of a ready, reliable connection at home because of income inequality. High-speed internet is not affordable for everyone, and what’s worse is that many have to deal with financial strain due to unemployment and social distancing.

Because of the pandemic, the digital divide has made a significant impact on lower-income students. The Research University Consortium determined through a comprehensive survey of around 45,000 students that undergraduate, graduate, and professional students of color who are low-income and working-class have endured higher rates of economic hardships than their “white and wealthier peers.” These hardships have included the loss or reduction of income of other family members, unexpected increases in living expenses, and unexpected increases in spending for technology. 

Morales expressed, “[My family was] not paying the really expensive [internet because] we never really needed the high-speed internet… When [I] started class, I started to realize that my internet was slowing down… It’s really difficult to have my camera on, my audio on, and someone else sharing the screen. It’s too much bandwidth that it’s taking… [M]y own computer is taking too much internet that it’s making it so slow.” 

If college students were still on campus taking in-person classes, they would not have to concern themselves as much about the digital divide because their school provides them with the resources they need to live and study comfortably. Lower-income students, many of which live with campus housing and have campus jobs, use the devices and technology available to them through libraries, study halls, and workplaces paid for through wages and financial aid. Online education has revealed issues in accessibility for working-class students who cannot afford reliable high-speed internet and digital devices.

Dr. Deneice Dortch from George Washington University understands that underserved student populations are not getting the support they need remotely because students are “expected to have laptops and/or tablets, but the truth is that many students borrow this equipment from libraries. Without access to these essential items, students are unable to complete assignments, participate in class discussions, or perform other activities that promote learning and engagement.”

“The coronavirus outbreak,” she continues, “has exacerbated feelings of isolation for students who already feel tokenized, marginalized, and alienated within their respective academic environments, which could make learning even more challenging than it was prior to the pandemic.” Because students are being removed from their dorms and campus buildings, the pandemic is taking away from their sources of communication and overall education. 

Many students who are undergoing financial difficulties find themselves losing access to their virtual classrooms and assignments. Some may have audio problems or struggle with uploading their work. What is truly unfortunate about income inequality among college students is that many have to choose between paying for their educational expenses or helping their families. People were unprepared for the immediate changes caused by COVID-19, so it will be especially hard for lower-income students and their families to recover from all its economic damage.