Screen-weary biology student tackles online labs and fatigue

Camera-off hides groggy morning look, but nothing helps with back-to-back class schedule

By Xailia Claunch
Editor

The fall semester is more than halfway done, and nearly all of Washtenaw’s students have been taking their classes remotely. Adapting to this new normal has been anything but easy, but students are doing their best to create methods of distance learning that work for them.

Among these many online learners is Noah Neff, a biology major at WCC who now attends classes from his home in Dexter.

Neff’s new classroom, like many other distance learners, is his bedroom. He attends most of his classes on his bed or at his desk. Neff said his choice of location “depends on how well I was able to motivate myself out of bed.”

Two of Neff’s science classes this semester include biology and chemistry, both of which have online lab components. His chemistry class has designated lab times, but biology labs are asynchronous, meaning he can do them on his own time.

Neff finds his science lab difficult to do online. “They can be really hard to understand, especially for chemistry,” he said.

However, he appreciates the asynchronous schedule of his biology labs.

“When it’s asynchronous, I actually find that a little more laid back. I can kind of do it at my own pace and schedule stuff better,” said Neff.

“With the synchronous stuff, I have really long periods of just basically constant class. I go from bio to chemistry, get a half-hour break, then chem lab.”

Living in Dexter, Neff sometimes experiences shifty internet connection.

“I had one time when Zoom just wouldn’t let me log into class one day, and I was just like ‘welp.’ Thank God, none of my classes have mandatory attendance, it’s just highly advised,” he said.

“My professor was understanding. I just emailed him the situation and he told me I was good.”

Neff said the back-to-back classes and Zoom calls can be exhausting.

“My eyes get fatigued, I get real close to falling asleep sometimes,” he said. “It happens more than I’d like to admit.”

Tiredness is a common theme in Neff’s life as an online student. Some of his classes begin as early as 9 a.m. He typically wakes up around 8 a.m.

His evening classes are much easier on his sleep schedule, Neff explained.

“My English class on Wednesday class starts at 6 p.m., which I really appreciate,” said Neff.

There are times when Neff pulled all-nighters in order to make it to his Zoom classes.

“There have been nights where I realized I wasn’t gonna be up in time for class if I went to bed, so I’ve literally just gone nights without sleep. I just break out the caffeine.”

A common dilemma unique to online students is the question of whether or not to leave their camera on during class. Neff is a camera-off type of guy, he explains.

“My chem and bio classes are so early in the morning that I look like hell,” he said.

For Neff, the adjustment to online classes and quarantine was a little different for him than for other students. Before starting college and picking a major, he spent four months in Montana as a trail worker, with no stable transportation or housing.

“I liked working with my hands and was told about it and thought it could be fun,” Neff said. “And I didn’t really have much direction after graduating.”

“A whole big group of us would be moving around between hotels, Airbnbs, and campsites,” said Neff.

“Quarantining and doing school online has a lot fewer frightening moments, but it’s less interesting and social. When I was in Montana, I was traveling around with a group of like 10 other people, all living and staying together. Now I’m outside a lot less, for obvious reasons.”

Instead of outdoor adventures, Neff now fills his free time with Netflix, video games, and reading. Despite his restless schedule, he plans to finish out the full school year online.

“I’ll be continuing classes throughout the rest of this year. I definitely prefer in-person for science classes, but for English and math, I kind of prefer them online. It’s the lab components that really suffer when they’re online.”

The Voice contacted several science lab instructors for this story, but received no responses.

Get stories like this delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter, The Loop.

Comments

comments