Aldiena Bunga Fadhila, S.E., M.Sc., or often called Mrs. Bunga, is a lecturer at FEB UGM from the Accounting Department. This young lecturer, who taught the Tax Accounting course, took her master’s degree at the University of York, England. As a lecturer at FEB UGM, Mrs. Bunga has contributed to the world of education through some publications. In classroom learning, Mrs. Bunga always develops an applicative approach to be applied effectively and continuously, especially during online learning methods as it is now. On this occasion, Mrs. Bunga talked and shared her perspective on the online lecture activities that have been going on so far.
After participating in online teaching and learning activities for about two semesters, how is the online lecture, according to Mrs. Bunga? What did Mrs. Bunga feel?
At first, when the pandemic was starting, the adaptation was quite difficult because it was the first time the whole lecture thing had to be held online. So, that’s why some lecturers are also rushing to adjust it. That was the first point, but around the fourth month and into this second semester, I think I’m starting to get the feel and find my rhythm, and I think the students are starting to find theirs, too. Because it is a necessity during this pandemic, I feel that this is the best way to deliver study materials to students, and, in my opinion, online lectures indirectly force students to engage in real student-centered learning.
On social media, it’s often seen that students complain that online lectures are ineffective (e.g., they don’t understand the study materials). According to Mrs. Bunga, is this valid?
In my opinion, it is valid, yes, because online learning does need an adaptation. The second thing is that if students go directly into this online method, it is certainly not for everyone. Moreover, in a pandemic like this, students are unable to study with friends; they are really on their own. Even if they want to discuss something together, it becomes harder since you can’t interact directly. So I think it’s valid, what the students felt is valid. But the thing to remember here is that this condition is indeed abnormal; don’t drown for too long. Students must be adaptable and realize that they have to start learning independently; in other words, they have to transform their way of thinking, learning, and approaching problems. Students must adapt.
Next, talking about challenges, according to Mrs. Bunga, what are the challenges of online learning so far?
For students, the challenge is pretty clear: time has become limited. Interaction is limited as well. So, the biggest challenge is limited interaction, which limits communication. However, this problem can be bridged. For example, if students have questions after class, they can email their lecturers. But this is also a challenge because sometimes the lecturer has other online meetings after teaching online classes. That is indeed a challenge that we must face. Then, another challenge faced by the students concerns self-determination, specifically effort, because the effort required to complete online classes is greater than that for offline classes. And also about integrity, which has become a problem because the exams are now carried out individually; lecturers don’t have a clue whether students are working together or using online sources. Only the students themselves want to protect their integrity.
As for lecturers, our challenges are really hard. For us young lecturers, it may still be easy to adapt to technology, but for older lecturers, it may be more challenging. I really appreciate senior lecturers because many of them were completely blind to technology and are now able to use and talk about it. For lecturers, the challenge is learning this technology that we have never used before. Other than that, we are also dealing with communication limitations. And because of that, we are really thinking hard about how to provide all the study materials that compensate for offline lectures and make them as similar as possible. It is indeed challenging; for example, in the Accounting department, we need to teach calculations, and that is quite hard. Some lecturers think about buying a tablet and a stylus. Now the challenge is we have to have updated gear too.
How about the interaction between lecturers and students? Do you think that this period of online learning has become less effective?
My quite funny observation is that in the early days of the pandemic, I taught this one online class I later taught online classes because I used Webex, which was a bit heavy, so I told them to turn off the video. If any of them wanted to ask a question, they could ask it via the chatbox. I was surprised because there were so many questions; it was very different from an offline class. I was quite relieved. Maybe when students were in an offline class, they were too embarrassed and worried that their questions would be invalid or would sound “stupid”. But then, in an online class, when they were finally allowed to ask via chatbox, many students shot their questions right away. For my class, there was a meeting where I gave a learning video,o and then we started a discussion in Google Classroom. There were also many interactions and questions. Hence, I have maintained a somewhat asynchronous system to attract students who are usually a bit shy to ask questions in large forums.
So, what does an effective online lecture look like according to Mrs. Bunga? What have you applied to your online class?
Well, this experiment is still going on. So, before planning online classes for the last semester, I attended a seminar at Harvard Business School (HBS). One effective way, according to HBS, is to encourage students to do more of the talking than the lecturer during virtual meetings. Then, I tried to implement it, and it is indeed more effective in that way (in terms of conveying material that students can comprehend), rather than me giving them materials with a lot of talking and less time to ask questions. So, what I did was, I usually give a learning video beforehand, and then during the online session, there will be full presentations by students. Then we have a question-and-answer session to discuss the topic. I think it’s effective. For some relatively difficult material, I will teach it directly in class so students won’t misunderstand it. Another thing I implement is giving a 15-minute break after every hour of class to keep people’s attention.
During online teaching, did Mrs. Bunga ever experience digital burnout?
Yes, I have never felt it because the classes and meetings were all online. I have experienced digital burnout nearing the end of the semester due to the tiredness of online classes. Health problems began to appear from looking at the screen for too long. It doesn’t mean I don’t like teaching online, but the online teaching setup is unhealthy for my body.
What is Mrs. Bunga’s memorable experience while teaching in an online class?
I found that students were more active and not ashamed to ask questions in online class, especially when there was no need to go to the forums or turn on their videos; they were not ashamed and turned out to be more daring to ask questions, which impressed me the most.
Are there any unpleasant experiences related to interactions with students while teaching in an online class?
Yes, especially because everything is going online. Even before online classes, I often interacted with students, some of whom did not communicate effectively. For example, when the students sent an email, he immediately rushed to the point. There was no name or class, so I don’t know who sent this email. Now, things like that are increasingly happening when classes are online. There are lots of funny and unique ways students communicate, and I even find it amusing when I teach.
Apart from interactions, is there anything else that is not fun when teaching in an online class?
The thing that is not fun when teaching an online class is that, as teachers, we try to maintain integrity: we release exams online, but many students do not. I have tried to think of and design a method for students to use on their exams or assignments without having to ask each other. That’s the most heartbreaking thing; it’s like we’ve tried to maintain integrity, but sometimes it’s not reciprocated on the student side.
Have you ever thought of Mrs. Bunga wanting to teach the offline class again?
Some lecturers want to go oback to ffline classes again, I also have a feeling like that, but considering the current pandemic condition and the evidence from students who also turn out to be better in terms of activity in class during online learning, I don’t really want to go offline as soon as possible.
In terms of lecturers, did the pandemic conditions decrease the enthusiasm for teaching?
I don’t think so. Furthermore, I am still passionate about teaching;y when students ask questions, it makes me enthusiastic. I think other lecturers are too. In fact, online classes can create opportunities for lecturers who do a lot of work off campus and cannot attend classes. Because of online classes, they can teach in class, as these classes can be accessed anywhere and discussed through Google Classroom, ELok, and other platforms. Regarding the spirit of our lecturers, our senior lecturers are very enthusiastic about learning new technology to teach in this online class.
Mrs. Bunga’s tips to keep up the spirit when teaching in an online class
The way I maintain my enthusiasm when teaching online is by doing sports activities. When I have spare time, I spend it walking outside the house, and that’s what makes me enthusiastic afterward. This also applies to students. Even though sometimes you feel lazy and unmotivated, burst me. When you do it, you will feel happy.
Mrs. Bunga’s advice regarding learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic
For me, what is clear is that, because this is a pandemic, we have to embrace it and learn to be independent. We must be more innovative because online learning makes it easier to get bored. We must be more innovative in delivering lectures. Not only in terms of classical delivery to video learning, but you can also make online cases or debates in the online classes, so many things that will give “spices” in online lectures to eliminate boredom, and also make students understand the material given more easily and pleasantly.
Are there any messages that Mrs. Bunga would like to convey to students?
What I highlight the most is the problem of student integrity. I highlighted that there are a lot of assignment creation services on social media, which I already knew about. Still, I see that online classes are becoming more and more prevalent, and what’s worse, they’re being endorsed. That is my biggest criticism of students. Learning online isn’t just learning in general; it doesn’t matter whether you have excellent grades. We also talk about character-building and habit-formation for the future. Even now, they have mortgaged their integrity for a good grade, and then how will their integrity be in the future? Believe me, life is not getting any easier; life is getting harder. When you face difficulties, beat them all the time, so when you face something easy, you have to relax, because you are used to facing something difficult.
Mrs. Bunga’s hope for students and online lectures in the future
Students must remain enthusiastic about attending lectures and learning so that what lecturers have prepared for them is well received, and the knowledge they convey is well understood. Another hope: nothing but health. Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy, both physically and mentally. If you feel alone, talk to somebody, or come to a psychologist or SWPDC, so that your mental health is maintained and you avoid being stressed.
Reportage: Sony Budiarso/Kirana Lalita Pristy
