The start to A New Era of Education
The global pandemic struck the world and put us all on a tight surveillance lockdown for months. All this also led to a pause in being physically present in the classrooms. Everything that we once did face to face was now being done online through many platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc. I faced a lot of issues during this period because the whole experience was new to me and adapting to it was challenging.
When the first lockdown happened, I was very unaware of how online learning would work and I felt confused. However, as it progressed, I found confidence in myself to communicate in class but at the same time, I also felt isolated since I was all alone in my bedroom. I missed going to college every day and attending classes while also getting to meet all my friends.
One of the biggest challenges that I faced was making the shift from classroom learning to E-learning over a weekend. It wasn’t easy since I had multiple issues from the slow network connection to having to deal with a slow laptop. The best things out of this whole experience were when I saw an increase in my academic performance since I had a lot of flexibility and an increase in my confidence while interacting in group discussions. I found myself to be taking part in most Q&A sessions as I didn’t have to worry about being judged by people.
According to EHL Insights (n.d), “One way to facilitate learning is by being able to learn and study in an environment that is comfortable for you” which resonates with me since being able to customize my environment according to my needs was advantageous as I did not have to worry about anything other than the sound of my voice and this helped me improve my productivity and had a huge positive impact on my grades. Mathew Linch (2020) has mentioned how introverts take more time to articulate their thoughts before speaking, however, since online classes are not fast-paced; students have more time to think and therefore, engage more in online classes from which I can infer that I was more confident in online classes than traditional classes was due to having time to process my thoughts more. As noted by Ilias, Baidi, Ghani, and Razali (2020) “A weak internet connection can affect how quickly you can connect and participate in a class” referring to this my online learning journey was only bad because I missed out on important topics which demotivated me to study at times and this was because of poor internet connection.
This whole transition at first made me lose the whole meaning of life and hence, I would want to read this book by James Hollis called ‘What Matters Most: Living a More Considered Life’. This book covers various topics such as the concept of being happy, discovering the heart (main reason) of the matter, discovering what it means to “Live life to its fullest” and many more. This self-help book will help me feel like I belong somewhere and will also encourage me to give something back to the world. In the future, I can also improve this situation by staying active as I found myself to be stuck at home doing absolutely nothing which also led to me feeling lonely, thus, diverting my mind by doing daily workouts as I am a fitness enthusiast.
The global pandemic taught me more than what life did in just than a year! Life can take a detour at any point. Although I cannot wait to get out of my house when the pandemic is done with I'll miss it, because it not just gave me, but also allowed the world to slow down and see what we needed to improve in their true self, maybe a chance to get back on our long lost interests. I truly believe that I learned a lot from the whole online learning experience as it allowed me to understand the true meaning of 'never take anything for granted.
References:
Azleen Ilias, N. B. ,. E. K. G. ,. F. M. R., 2020. Issues on the Use of Online Learning: An Exploratory Study Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic. [Online] Available at: https://www.hrpub.org/download/20201030/UJER9-19516872.pdf [Accessed 8 January 2022].
EHL Insights, n.d. Student Resources. [Online] Available at: https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/advantages-of-online-learning [Accessed 7 January 2022].
Linch, M., 2020. Online and eLearning. [Online] Available at: https://www.thetechedvocate.org/meeting-the-needs-of-introverted-students-with-e-learning/ [Accessed 8 January 2022].
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