Adjusting to Life During COVID-19: Virtual Schooling

December 22nd 2020 By: Cheryl Bennett

2020 was a difficult year for everybody, the year came with many new challenges, especially related to learning. Due to the COVID lockdowns, we were switched to full online school at the beginning of 2020. There are many struggles that come with virtual school but for everybody's safety we needed to learn to adapt to the learning style. We were given the choice this year to go back to school part-time or do virtual school, many people chose to go back. I chose to go to school for the first quadmester, which was nice because we at least got to see our friends and school staff that we had not seen for a while. The switch from going to school every day, having face to face conversations with teachers and seeing all your friends, to sitting at a screen all day watching the teacher teach while you are not there, and not seeing friends daily can make it difficult to adapt. Personally, I was nervous about switching to virtual schooling because I did not know what to expect. I didn’t know if I could learn properly over a screen as concentration is a huge problem when you are not physically in school. Honestly, now I prefer virtual schooling. After you put effort in to learning online it gets a lot easier. Plus keeping myself and my family safe is a bonus. It has troubles but it also has benefits. Sometimes being in school is just so over-whelming for me and stressful to know I must wake up and leave my house. Being in the comfort of my own home while learning is very calming for me. I know not everybody can have the same experience as some may share rooms, or not have the technology, or generally have loud chaotic homes which is why for some students in person learning is the better option.

When I first began virtual learning, it was a challenge for me to concentrate. I would be paying attention but could not really get anything until I started putting everything down around me, phone, music, tv and other distractions. Virtual school may feel more optional, I just needed to realize this is the reality now for schooling, it is either this or you fall behind. Personally, I have been more motivated in school recently than ever in my life, but for a lot of my friends online schooling gives them no motivation so they end up struggling to complete work. It really depends on the person and mindset you go into it with. I know anybody can do it and succeed, it just takes some work to adjust, since life has been drastically different lately. A number of technical issues also come with online learning. Things like Wi-Fi or device issues can disrupt a whole school day. Sometimes teachers have technical difficulties as well, since this is all new to everyone difficulties are inevitable. This is the reality for now, so we must deal with virtual learning and understand everybody is trying their best.

Although virtual learning may be frustrating to some people, it is necessary for safety and to help stop the spread of COVID. I can see that teachers sometimes take different approaches to certain things. For example, group work is not so project based and presentations are not like they usually are in regular schooling for group activities. In my experience brainstorming ideas in a breakout room or just doing little discussions during class are more enjoyable than doing projects with others. It is difficult to fit group work and participation activities into virtual school. The teachers definitely have to be creative. I spoke to some of my friends about their experience with virtual school and the most common thing I heard was that it is difficult to concentrate at home because of all the distractions. All of them said that motivation was the most challenging thing with virtual school since you are not physically going somewhere, virtual schooling can feel optional, which then affects attendance and marks. As well with materials, you have learning tools at school at your disposal meanwhile at home you can only use what is available.

Overall, I think that both virtual and in person learning can have their benefits. In 2020 we had many obstacles specifically learning related because of COVID-19; therefore, we have not had much of a choice over doing virtual learning. It may have been difficult to adjust to but we have all learnt new studying techniques and I'm sure everybody will be more grateful for the privilege of in school learning when we return. I think that making the choice of virtual schooling always available, regardless of COVID-19 would be smart. There are many people who cannot attend school because of countless of reasons and students should have the choice of registering for online education or in person, since they both have their conveniences.