With the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, there has been much curiosity in how certain classes would function with having to transition to online classes. Jones College professors have been reassuring their students that they will still have the chance to learn just as they would in class despite the new changes. Due to the variety of classes that Jones College offers, there is no doubt that some classes would have a more difficult time with the transition than others. Sophomore Caleb Pearce has been tackling the transition of his many music-related courses moving to online.
“When it comes to things such as music theory and ear training, we use a special website to work in our workbook each week,” Pearce said. “The website could be better, but it is the best we could do with the time we had.”
Music students across the world are having to adjust to the new changes to how they practice. There are bound to be issues with many aspects of online music tutoring, but with the constant support of their teachers, students are still as eager to learn as ever before. Pearce goes on to speak about how his classes function with being online now.
“For vocal and piano lessons, we use Google Meet. The audio quality is not the best but it is better than nothing. Outside of our lessons, we keep a log of all the practice that we do,” Pearce said. “ Since my instructor can’t play for me, I have pre-recorded accompaniment that my teacher has recorded for me or that I have found using Youtube that I play on my end. It can be a challenge to make sure that the music I play doesn’t overpower my singing or playing.”
Students are used to being able to simply raise their hand and having their questions answered or problem solved. With the changes to online classes, this is no longer the case.
“Our teachers serve as a resource for us and if we have questions, we can just ask them through email,” Pearce said. “There is still a lot of self-teaching. As unfortunate and difficult as this process may be, I do commend our teachers for being able to continue our lessons despite the situation.”
Taking online classes can be a new change for many students who have never experienced them before. Learning proper work ethic and straying from procrastination are two methods that Pearce advises to other students.
“The problem for me personally is that a lot of the work is available at once. It can be hard to tackle these assignments without structure,” Pearce said. “Even if we were to build our own structure, which is a task in itself, you still feel the massive amount of work looming over your head. It is imperative to stay on top of due dates with the rest of the semester readily available for us to take on.”
As Jones College students learn to navigate this great change, learning to adapt to change and reach out for help will be the key to their success.
by Michael Blanks
