Students listed down the things that they will miss about distance learning after the pandemic task force approves limited face-to-face classes in higher education institutions under Alerts Level 1, 2 and 3.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Wednesday approved the proposal of the Commission on Higher Education to start conducting in-person learning for all programs.
Previously, only medical and health-allied degree programs have resumed physical classes, as well as those requiring in-person training like engineering.
IATF-EID said that all degree programs are now allowed to conduct limited in-person learning provided that the indoor venue capacity is at 50%.
There should also be no opposition from the respective local governments.
In addition, classes will only be limited to fully vaccinated teaching and support staff, as well as inoculated students.
The implementation will be done in two phases.
Phase 1, which begins in December, will give universities under Alert Level 2 the option to conduct physical classes.
Phase 2, meanwhile, will begin in January 2022 and allow universities under Alert Level 3 to conduct in-person learning.
The National Capital Region, which is home to several higher educational institutions, is on Alert Level 2.
Classes at the tertiary level have been largely under a distance learning setup since March last year, when the government declared the enhanced community quarantine due to the threats of COVID-19.
The most popular mode is online classes, where students virtually meet with their teachers through teleconferencing platforms and conduct activities with the help of the internet.
Some teach students through modular system where printed learning materials with lessons and activities to accomplish are delivered to students.
After the IATF greenlighted limited physical classes among college students, some shared they will miss several things about virtual learning.
A Twitter user said that she can no longer avoid recitations when in-person learning resumes.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA wala ng takas sa mga recitations, char,” she wrote in response to the news.
Another student quipped of missing the instant ability to look for keywords in a document or a school reading through a command.
“Goodbye Control [plus] F,” he tweeted, referring to the CTRL + F command.
“Goodbye ALT + TAB,” another student on Facebook commented, referring to the command of switching application-level windows without the need to move the cursor.
“Basta ako ‘pag nag face-to-face, sasabihin ko talaga sira po mic ko,” a different online user quipped, referring to the microphone of laptops or headsets used in virtual classes.
The Philippines is said to be the last country in the world to restore physical classes in schools since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
