144 VIRTUAL STUDENTS SCREENED BY THE BELL Over 200 students participate in remote learning in the 2020-21 year. During the 2020-21 school year, Harding offered students not returning to campus due to COVID-19 the opportunity to participate in remote learning. About 200 students elected to study remotely in the fall. Remote learning included online coursework, Zoom meetings and listening to recorded lectures. Senior John Lim chose to continue his fall 2020 studies remotely in Singapore because the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States felt too dangerous for him to return. He relayed his experience of doing school remotely halfway across the world. “Honestly, it’s been quite challenging,” Lim said. “With Singapore being 13 hours ahead of Central time, I’m technically half a day ahead. But because I’m asleep when classes happen, I only do school a day after everybody in Searcy. This made me quite confused on several occasions trying to make Zoom calls or make sure I had my assignments done by the right time.” Lim was not the only student to encounter issues with virutal learning. Sophomore Janae Bradshaw began the semester remotely, but she quickly decided to transition back to on-campus learning. “I decided to do virtual learning because my parents really wanted me to, and I thought it would be a good idea to just stay home this semester and keep working at my job,” Bradshaw said. “Unfortunately, that didn’t last long because after a couple of days of remote learning, I realized I had no idea what was happening in my classes. Just three days into my online experience, I emailed Harding asking if I could move in. I was a week late to campus, but I definitely think I made the right choice switching from remote to on-campus.” Associate Professor of Behavior Sciences Kathy Helpenstill said she was certain everyone would adjust to remote learning. However, the experience was still a lesson in flexibility and grace. “I have approximately seven remote students, and the biggest adjustment has been the internet reliability,” Helpenstill said. “We planned a few Zoom classes for the first week to help calm the chaos of the first few days, and one of the lectures wouldn’t load. The ongoing plan was to live record class, but sometimes Echo360 doesn’t capture, which requires me to re-record the lectures from home.” Despite the challenges remote learning presented, the Harding faculty did their best to provide students with an effective learning experience. “Harding has done much that makes me grateful for this experience,” Lim said. “All the professors and staff I am working with have been extremely gracious, making accommodations wherever they could and responding very quickly to all of my emails.” story by Ellie Shelton
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