When the pandemic first started, I was far from excited about having to take my college classes online. Originally, I was not a fan at all of remote learning, and I had to make a huge adjustment in order to be successful and get the grades I wanted. Fast forward to a year and a half later, and now I can’t imagine being back in person. When I register for classes, the first thing I look at now is the modality of the course being offered. Given a choice, I’d prefer to finish the rest of my degree online.
In the spring of 2020, when my classes first switched to being online, I wasn’t sure how to feel. Even though I was taking the same class I had been in person for just a month before, it was like starting from scratch in that I had to figure out a new way to study and perform well from my laptop. Now that I’ve gotten used to it and found ways to be successful online, I don’t think I ever want to go back in person for school if possible.
For me, there truly is no greater convenience than being able to take my classes from literally anywhere with WiFi. I love that if I want to go home for a week, I can do that without getting behind on anything. If my friend asks me to go on a trip with her, you can bet that I’ll be listening to lectures on the way there. I was just a freshman when covid hit, and I can barely remember what it was like being in person. However, now as a junior, I can’t imagine being tied to campus for school, and I think remote learning and work is an extremely useful thing that’s become more popular due to COVID-19.
I have a lot of friends that are the opposite of me in that they absolutely hate remote learning. For a lot of people, it’s hard to concentrate and stay focused with online classes, and some students really need that connection and community of being in a physical classroom. I’ve never had any big issues with my online learning, which makes me lucky and is why I’m going to continue if possible.
I’m a pretty independent learner, and for the most part, I don’t feel like I need that in-person contact to get value out of my classes. If I do need one-on-one time with my professor, virtual office hours have worked fine for me, and I have no problem teaching myself things or utilizing the internet for study materials. Not everyone learns the same way as me though, we all have different learning styles, so I understand those who aren’t fans of being online.
Everyone has different preferences and methods of learning, and personally, taking my college classes online is one of the best things to happen to me. For others like me who have enjoyed either working or going to school remotely, at least there’s been something good that came out of all the chaos of the past year.