Difficulties of distance learning
The switch between in-person school to distance learning has had its positives and negatives for both teachers and students. COVID-19 has had an impact on all of our lives. For teachers and students this involves the switch from learning in a classroom to learning online.
I interviewed French teacher Mariya Snaznia and English teacher Jenna Pridmore about how distance learning has been going for them. Both spoke about technology issues.
Snaznia stated one difficulty was “not being able to provide to struggling students” due to the distance environment. Having technology issues can be a big problem in this environment and they are not always an easy fix, causing students to fall behind. Pridmore discussed how she has to learn as she goes to figure out what works best. Just like students, teachers are also still figuring out how to navigate distance learning. It seems that most teachers are in a trial and error phase to find what works best.
There are some positives to this new style of learning. Pridmore mentioned how she is getting to learn so much more about technology and other resources besides a pen and paper. These online skills are also helpful to many students as we are living in a digital age where computer knowledge is critical to many jobs.
“Online school gives me more access to helpful resources at any time. When I don’t understand something I can look it up right then and there rather than just sit there not understanding,” said junior Nolan Slader.
Having access to the internet at all times has proved beneficial to both students and teachers when it comes to learning.
Managing this new style of learning has also been difficult for students, Slader said. “My education is more focused now on passing, studying through this online format is so difficult. I’m not able to enjoy the class. If it were in person, I would be able to enjoy it more instead of stressing about passing it.”
Other students and myself share similar ideas about how school seems nonstop. The constant workload many have been facing have blurred the lines between a relaxing home environment and a stressful school environment. It seems that most students are being given an overwhelming workload and many, myself included, are struggling to focus and keep motivation.
“Distance learning has caused a lot of unnecessary stress, not really having any motivation to do anything. It is harder to learn with distance learning. Retaining any actual information is hard as well as there is barely any teacher learning and that is what is most effective. The piled up homework and deadlines are also a big stress factor,” said junior Kikie Liu.
Many students share similar ideas about the stress the constant workload has given them. School now seems to be less about learning and more about getting assignments done.
Though distance learning has its perks for both students and teachers, it seems that both groups prefer the structure of a hands-on environment. Both teachers and students agreed that it is important for schools to stay closed in order to protect public health. But the new system of online learning has greatly affected students’ ability to learn.
Distance Learning is way more difficult because I have no social life at all, I have had NO contact with anyone other than with my household, doctors, and my teachers. I have not even had any contact with friends even virtually. I am also having a more difficult time trying to get all A’s and I still DO NOT accept anything less, EVER! I still can’t afford to get a B. I can’t take it not having any contact with anyone other than my teachers and household members and doctors anymore.
I agree that distance learning is more stressful than in person learning. We don’t get to learn in the ways that we were taught our whole life, so it’s hard to learn in a whole new environment. We have all these distractions around us and it’s really hard to stay focused and on task with doing our homework instead or sleeping or watching tv.
I agree that there are positives and negatives that come with distance learning. I mostly find distance learning to be negative because of the stress of looking and still in front of a computer most of the day.
I agree with Jack Cornetit because he is spittin’ some fax no cap. I think that online school requires for students to be more responsible because they aren’t under the influence of the teachers telling them what to do.
I agree that there are positives and negatives but there is a lot more stress involved because it is more up to the individual to complete their work
I believe there are positive and negative aspects in distance learning. Obviously technical issues and new learning experiences will challenge the students. This new environment might give us a different perspective of learning and what we might do in the future after we graduate.
I agree that there are positives and negatives but there is a lot more stress involved because it is more up to the individual to complete their work
I mostly have positives during distance learning because I don’t have to talk to people but the worst part is the amount of homework we get. I spend entire days doing homework sometimes.
Yes I agree although I love being home, it’s just not the ideal learning place, at least for me. I can never focus at home and turning in my assignments creates so much stress yet I still have no motivation and continue to procrastinate.
I agree that distance learning is more stressful than in real life school. It’s hard to focus in class with being at home with many distractions. The work load is also more than we have normally and it’s hard to enjoy our weekends. Most of the time our weekends are filled with work.
I agree that there are many difficulties with Distance Learning. There can be difficulties with the internet, which isn’t even within the student’s control. There’s also a lack of motivation from the students. School doesn’t feel “real” when it’s online.
I agree that online learning proves difficult for students. Self studying and not physically being in the class feels different in a unpleasant way. I feel it’s hard to focus and easy to procrastinate, and then cram just before the assignment is due. I would much rather prefer to be on campus but we have to make do with what we have.
I agree with this article because having to adjust to learning online has been difficult and making sure to balance the work load has been a difficult task. And it is true that it is not just the students who are struggling it is the teachers and staff too so I totally agree. We are having to make sure we balance the work load and get assignments in on time. This article is right it’s not about learning but more about getting work in on time. There are many struggles and we are all learning how to adjust and get things in on time.
I definitely agree; at the beginning of the year, while I wasn’t keen about distance learning as a whole, of course, as I wanted to be able to go back to in-person instruction, I was happy that I didn’t have to wake up for zero period or leave the house on cold mornings. But, I didn’t expect the challenges of keeping up motivation and focus during distance learning, especially the feeling of doing work to just to complete the assignments and the blurring between time at “school” and at home.
I agree that online learning is stressful and the amount of work is at times overwhelming. I also find myself worrying about deadlines and not focusing on the underlying assignment material itself. However, I am pushed to practice time management and making daily agendas for myself, both positives.
I agree that school has been a lot more stressful online and falling behind is really easy because the work load can just cause lots of stress.
I agree, I’m worrying more about turning assignments in before the deadlines rather than actually learning. The lack of motivation really makes it all worse.
I agree with you that there are so many difficulties with distance learning. With the switch from in-school learning and online learning since the spring, I know it has been really hard on a lot of students. The stress and workload is and can be overbearing sometimes. It does depend on what type of student you are. Some people procrastinate and some are eager to get their work done.
Although there are a lot of ways we can benefit from distance learning, I didn’t realize at first all of the ways it could go wrong. I can relate to having little motivation and then stressing about getting things done.
Even though distance learning is different, I think that it is a good time to learn new technologies that might prepare us for the future.
I agree with the amount of stress that distanced learning has caused since classes aren’t as enjoyable which decreases the amount of motivation we have, on top of the merged home and school environments.
Online learning has been very hard for me. However, staying at home has allowed me to have more time to practice my guitar.
While distance learning will help students with gain online skills that will help them in the future, I also think there are many negatives and the workload can be very overwhelming at times.
I can definitely relate to this. Initially, I was looking forward to the freedom that distance learning seemed to offer; however, I’ve noticed that it has been much harder to keep up with the workload. Staying focused and motivated while being away from an actual school environment can be challenging at times, but we’re all learning to adapt to this new style of learning.
I agree with the statements being said in “Difficulties of distance learning” because Internet is crucial for distance learning. It’s hard to be motivated sometimes and everyone’s just trying their best.
I do agree that there are many difficulties when it comes to distance learning, but it depends on the students. Some students work very well independently, while others not so much.
Distance learning is far better than in person when everything works well, however technology issues can make it a little more difficult than in person.
This truly emphasizes the struggles of distance learning; I totally relate with striving to meet the 11:59 deadlines rather than learning, great to know I’m not alone! Great piece of work!
Yes, I totally agree that both students and teachers prefer school in real life rather than distance learning. Like this article said, it has become less about learning and more about turning in the assignments on time.
Distance learning has positives as well as its harsh negatives. I believe this applies to students, teachers and even staff or parents as well.
The Difficulties of Distance Learning has been immense for most students. Students’ attention span including mine has been at an all time low. It’s been hard to focus since we aren’t in a classroom environment and instead in our own homes where multiple people lead their own lives.