The ‘messy’ online classroom during COVID-19: students opening up a liminal space between being controlled and exercising agency

Figures & data

Table 1. Description of participants

Name	Pronouns	Learning environment when engaging in online class
Yoohyun	she/her/hers	Yoohyun attends online class in her own room or her sister’s room. On the desk, she has her laptop, mirror, treatment cream for acne, and make-up products so she can monitor her appearance displayed on screen.
Eunsoo	he/him/his	Eunsoo attends online class in his room, on a desk with a computer, a speaker, and headphones. He monitors the volume depending on the activity in classes. It is a positive change for him to have the ability to take control of how he spends his time (enjoying his hobbies) during the break in an online learning environment.
Soohyun	he/him/his	Soohyun feels satisfied with the ability provided by the online learning environment to attend classes in a safe manner during COVID-19. He is aware of the frequent technical issues that obstruct transmission of his voice, so he pays attention to the volume at which he speaks.
Taeeun	she/her/hers	Taeeun attends online class using her laptop. She feels that the transparent screens set between desks in offline classrooms since COVID-19 limit their use of space, while it is convenient for her to make active use of space at home when engaging in the online learning environment.
Nakyung	she/her/hers	Nakyung attends online classes alone in the living room, since both her parents are at their workplaces. She often has K-pop music on while attending class, using multiple devices.
Soyeon	she/her/hers	Soyeon attends online classes using her mobile phone and finds it difficult to switch between different screens and to access different programmes used in class.
Jeongwoon	he/him/his	Jeongwoon and his two brothers all need to attend different online classes simultaneously at home, so it is difficult for him to find a place to do so. He finds it challenging to access online platforms, and thinks the online environment limits his communication with peers.
Hayoon (Teacher)	she/her/hers	Hayoon delivers online classes in the offline classroom at school because she does not want to show her personal space to the students. She uses two computer screens, i-pad, i-pad pencil, keyboard, microphone, and camera to deliver online classes. She also decided to use her own mobile phone to access her online class and monitor how the classes are delivered, after encountering technical issues.

Figure 1. Picture of teacher’s desk in school, set up to deliver online class. Note: As illustrated in-text, the picture shows how the teacher engages in online classroom. The teacher enters the online classroom in the traditional offline school classroom, using four different devices to deliver, share, and monitor class.

Figure 2. Eunsoo’s picture of offline/online classrooms. Note: In the picture, Eunsoo demonstrates on the right side his experience of taking online social science class, learning economics graph. On the left side, it shows what he imagines of an offline class, where a teacher is instructing in front, two students are solving maths equations on the board, and other students are sitting in their own desks facing the board.

Figure 3. Yoohyun's picture of the online classroom. Note: In the picture, Yoohyun demonstrates the environment in which she engages in online classes. As illustrated in-text, she shows what she has on her desk, including a mirror, a pen, a notebook, nail polish set, and books.

Figure 4. Soyeon's picture of the offline classroom. Note: In the picture, the teacher is standing in front of the board facing students and is asking whether everyone has understood what the teacher just said. Soyeon is seated in the middle, thinking she wants to ask something but decides not to say it because she does not want to stand out. Her friends, seated next to her, are both answering the teacher that they have understood what the teacher said.