Lessons from the Screen: Reflections on Online Learning Experience

After living up my education in Senior High School for two years, it was time to level up and move on to bigger and better things, which is College. I know that it will not be easy as usual, but I said to myself that I am ready. Ten months ago, I imagined walking through the gates of my university when the first day of school arrived. I felt so excited for the change I am going to face because I believed in what my teachers said, that my whole future lay ahead of me. It really feels like I am a protagonist of a film, then suddenly a big news stopped my momentum. The COVID 19 pandemic that took the world by surprise. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning or online classes, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Just like in the movies, this scene happened in my head - emotionally zooms in on me, loud screams inside, horror music plays in the background, sound effects of radio and television, then a text popped up - “2020: Online Class Edition”. In online class experience essay I will reveal this topic. 

“I remember the good old days” (Toy Story, 1995)

A lot of people were so affected by the abovementioned crisis, especially us, the students. However, the new modality of learning continues the school year despite the difficulties experienced by both learners and educators. The so-called New Normal creates a great adjustment to each of us. To say that it does not feel like a regular class is not just stating the obvious, but it is also considering the possibility that this will not be productive at all. I would probably say, “normal classes may have been difficult, but having friends makes it so much more manageable and less stressful.” Unlike in online classes, I feel more comfortable and learn more easily in a familiar, traditional classroom situation in face to face learning. Hence, we also have the opportunity to connect with, problem-solve, and network with other students from a wide range. We, the students are able to physically see the work and are able to use our technique for our learning needs. All of these were the opposite of what we experience in online classes, and we gained a lot of unfamiliarity in this new system that makes it more difficult to adapt. Therefore, the new mode of learning really impacted the concentration of every student for their academic performance, we basically lost track because we are not fully ready with this kind of way to acquire knowledge . These impacts made us think about all the what ifs that gives us more comfortability. Nevertheless, Normal and New Normal now have two different meanings, but one thing is for sure, just like other people, we really miss the good old days.

“Different things can be sad” (Lady Bird, 2017)

Although the world seems to have ground to a halt because of the novel coronavirus, students proceed their study through online learning using different platforms via the internet and some schools applied the modular form of blended learning. In connection with that, one of the instances of students’ challenges during online classes is that most of us do not have enough resources, technological advancements such as computer, laptop and mobile phone, to adapt with this new mode of learning. Most part of our community does not have stable internet connection, and it makes the online classes not conducive for students. Just like from my experience, whenever we have a google meeting, wherein we discuss through a video call, I barely understand the discussion because of poor connection that makes the voice of my teacher unsteady. My case is not enough to describe the whole situation, let us think of those students in isolated areas where signals are unreliable most of the time. With this new mode of learning, a lot of students worry about their performance at school, they do not have the resources that they need to compile the different schoolworks. Thus, engaging with new technology can be both sad and scary. Our mind fills with disquiet about online classes. Therefore, we need a lot of adjustments and more patience. As a student, it is very hard to cope up with this new system, and it greatly affects our academic performance. This means, different things can be sad - just like students who strive hard to adapt in online class.

“Just keep swimming” (Finding Nemo, 2003)

On my end, online learning has affected me personally because I found myself turning in some assignments weeks late. It was not because I was having trouble, it was because I had no motivation and drive anymore. And for the past few months, it makes me sound and act like a tired robot. Yes, this mode of new learning has its own advantages, such as less time to prepare in the comfort of our home, not having to wake up early and a lot more. Despite all these benefits, there are downsides of this new way of studying. For example, I have many responsibilities at home, such as cooking meals, monitoring our small business and doing other household chores. All of these greatly affect my performance during class hours because I need to multitask, being a student and being a child. Hence, it is harder for most of the students to have any motivation when doing school assignments. Why? Primarily because we are surrounded by all these other temptations and distractions, like our phones or other electronic devices. I know it is up to us, students, to be responsible when doing schoolworks and setting aside our personal stuff. But studying at home with a lot of bafflement makes us unproductive, and it greatly affects our mental health because we have no classmates beside us to talk about our struggles. If you look throughout the social media world, you will see a lot of status, posts, tweets about having mental breakdown of students. Some part of the country reported that there are young students who committed suicide due to stress from piled up activities and works in the online classes. Consequently, the presence of classmates and educators helps each student to cope up with the situation especially in our academic performance, because they are also the ones that remind us to keep swimming.

Conclusion

As a freshman college student, my online learning experience has not been great but also not too bad. I can say that the environment at home is different from the workspace that students have at school. Inside our classroom, we experience the quiet academic atmosphere to do schoolworks, while in our household, the surroundings can be loud and cause students to lose the drive and concentration. Whenever we are in a classroom, we feel much more prepared to learn, but at home we feel like it is very difficult to understand. So basically, there are big differences between face to face learning and online classes, and the impact of new modes of learning in students’ academic performance are most likely negative. Although, in my case, I did not experience walking through the gates of my university when the first day of school arrived, I am still thankful that I am still dreaming. Now, the best thing we can do is fight our battles, adapt the new system and act like a protagonist of a film. These online classes are just like our favorite movies, we experience downfalls but at the end of the day we can get our happy ending. In conclusion, this scene will appear - gracefully zooms in, someone closed a laptop, sound effects of wind, upbeat music plays in the background, a group of people smiling, then a text will pop up “We will back stronger”, then fade to black.