Yes! Or I could buy a pint, actually...
I was gonna say, it comes in pints!
I hate online teaching. It's all of the tiresome busywork of teaching without the fun of the theatrical performance in front of an audience, and the personal contact with people who have just decided that they like to think (admittedly, a minority of students at a large research university).
And really, so much more of the tiresome busywork. I normally spend about 30-40 hours a week working between my two gigs. Now it's more like 60 or more, a lot of it handling student contacts that normally could be done in a couple of seconds with a brief chat in class or office hours.
Teaching a large class on Zoom is like being the DJ in absentia for a party you can't attend. You just aren't present enough to feel the room, to see what's working, and to move the experience forward for the participants.
So much this. The people who most need a little extra encouragement tend to be the quiet ones in class, which means you try engage them as you teach. It's impossible to get people to actively participate when you can't see them.
When we started this people were saying that it would make us all see the benefits of online instruction. But I think I have learned that the in person lecture is sadly underestimated by education theorists. It's a group experience the students can't get by watching yet another video on a screen. On the little screen, we just can't compete with the alternative of cat videos, trick shots, or dumb guys slipping on ice. I don't think its the best thing for most students.
It's also not just the group experience that's lacking, but the loss of structure afforded by the system for students who don't have a lot of self-discipline (like I didn't). Having a schedule matters.
Certainly online sessions can be scheduled, but that said, one thing that has struck me is the number of students who have had their own schedules upended at home or work. Many of my students are pulling extra shifts at work (a lot have part-time jobs in health care fields), or are just having to take care of younger siblings who are stuck at home with them. Some have contracted the virus. My adult students have it even worse. Many have thanked me for not scheduling things to a strict timetable so that they can arrange their own schedules to handle other resposiblities. Meanwhile, some students who could benefit from the structure forcing them to do things at a certain time are letting things slide. Usually, when students take an online course, they have a good idea what they're getting into. This is different. Students were forced into a system that may not be the best for their needs.
This doesn't even touch on the fact that many students would never take on online course because they don't have reliable access to broadband (some faculty, too). Many only have access to publically available sources, like on campus or in a library - all closed for the duration. A phone is a terrible way to take a course.
The provost of the CT system told the press that the transition to online teaching was "seamless," which is total shenanigans. Too many assumptions were made about what resources students and faculty had available for use. We are losing students to this, and at least in Connecticut, we will be doing it again for the summer.
Sorry for the rant.