Online School in the Age of COVID-19-- By Kaleigh West
If one month ago you had told me that we would be switching to online school for two weeks because of the coronavirus, I would have called you crazy. Yet here I am, awaiting our first day of online school tomorrow.
This past week, I have heard murmurs about us possibly going digital for a few weeks. At first, I remember thinking to myself, this will never happen. As the week went on though, I slowly began to change this mentality. This will never happen slowly turned into this probably won't happen, which eventually morphed into this might happen, and finally, on Friday, ended with this is happening.
At first, I was extremely panicked. I sat there on Friday, our day off, watching as my bio assignments began to pile up. This, on top of the realization that we would essentially be trapped in our houses for two weeks, drove me insane for awhile. Come Saturday morning, however, I finally came to terms with reality. Yes, the assignments look like a lot, but all of the assignments being posted were for two weeks, and as long as I spread them out, I shouldn't get overwhelmed.
We are about to enter some uncharted territory. The vast majority of students (and I would imagine most teachers) have absolutely no experience with online school. The first question I asked myself was whether or not we would be able to learn as effectively online as we do in school. With some research, I concluded that it really depends on the student, so for me, this remains to be seen.
One point brought up in the article I linked above gives me some hope. Al Tompkins (the author of the article) talked about his personal experiences with online college classrooms. One of the points that he brought up that really stuck with me was that online learning provides a less-intimidating environment for class participation and, more specifically, asking questions. As someone who is more introverted, this could end up benefiting me.
Most of the effects of online school remain to be seen, especially because this has all happened so quickly. Tell me in the comments what your thoughts are on online school, or if you see this at a later date, tell me how it's working out for you. I wish you all the best of luck over the next two weeks!
This past week, I have heard murmurs about us possibly going digital for a few weeks. At first, I remember thinking to myself, this will never happen. As the week went on though, I slowly began to change this mentality. This will never happen slowly turned into this probably won't happen, which eventually morphed into this might happen, and finally, on Friday, ended with this is happening.
At first, I was extremely panicked. I sat there on Friday, our day off, watching as my bio assignments began to pile up. This, on top of the realization that we would essentially be trapped in our houses for two weeks, drove me insane for awhile. Come Saturday morning, however, I finally came to terms with reality. Yes, the assignments look like a lot, but all of the assignments being posted were for two weeks, and as long as I spread them out, I shouldn't get overwhelmed.
We are about to enter some uncharted territory. The vast majority of students (and I would imagine most teachers) have absolutely no experience with online school. The first question I asked myself was whether or not we would be able to learn as effectively online as we do in school. With some research, I concluded that it really depends on the student, so for me, this remains to be seen.
One point brought up in the article I linked above gives me some hope. Al Tompkins (the author of the article) talked about his personal experiences with online college classrooms. One of the points that he brought up that really stuck with me was that online learning provides a less-intimidating environment for class participation and, more specifically, asking questions. As someone who is more introverted, this could end up benefiting me.
Most of the effects of online school remain to be seen, especially because this has all happened so quickly. Tell me in the comments what your thoughts are on online school, or if you see this at a later date, tell me how it's working out for you. I wish you all the best of luck over the next two weeks!
I kinda freaked when I heard school was closing down for the next two weeks. (Not gonna lie, I dig school.) I like the structure, how we're forced to go to different classes at different times in the day, and I learn best through lectures, so this seems like its going to be rough for me. Oh well, I guess. At least we don't have to play basketball!
ReplyDeleteI was really excited to not have gym for awhile until my mom told me that she's making me exercise with her everyday...
ReplyDeleteI think the teachers are just as nervous about this as the students because, you're right, we haven't had to do this before and we certainly didn't have much time to plan, but we're here and we can take it day by day. I think you will be just fine.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely different. At least I can get my gym grade up now.
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