Discourses of Flexible Learning in Internet Memes

Christian Gil D. Carta, Faithrazel N. Ilustre, and Khareen B. Culajara* 

Department of Arts and Sciences University of Mindanao Digos College Roxas Extension, Digos City

*Corresponding email: khareen_culajara@umindanao.edu.ph 

Abstract

Memes, known for their relatability and shareability, were commonly observed within the social media landscape. In the context of COVID-19 and the flexible learning setup, internet memes depicted social commentaries that were contextually relevant to the students’ learning experiences during the pandemic. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted to shed light on the discourses of flexible learning in the internet memes generated in 2020 to 2021. These memes were classified into themes to arrive at an organized understanding of how flexible learning was defined and communicated, the perceived tone of the memes, and the underlying issues related to flexible learning. Results revealed that these memes described flexible learning as full of external distractions, emotionally taxing, resulting to information overload, and telling of mismatch in student assessment and outcomes. Though the perceived tone of the memes was generally humorous, they reflected various issues concerning student learning in academic preparation and enthusiasm, low retention power in learning, lapses in instruction materials, unmet desired competencies, and poor time management among students. The study highlighted the ubiquitous nature of memes and their various communicative roles in the current digital culture and provided implications to review and uncover current learning conditions, pedagogical styles, and the underlying issues in flexible learning embedded in these memes. 

Keywords

blended learning, COVID-19, flexible learning, internet meme, meme.

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