The Perks of Online Learning

We are going to be stuck in this cycle of online learning for a while, so we might as well find the good in it.

Online learning has its challenges and we hear about these challenges every day through social media. There are major challenges such as access to resources or lack thereof and concentration issues. I feel as though there are some perks to online schooling, however, and so I wish to share with you the perks that I have discovered during the past two weeks of online learning.

The first is that I can increase the playback speed of my online pre-recorded video lectures. I have this one English lecturer who “um”s and “ah”s her way through lectures at a painfully slow rate. In this case I like to slightly increase the speed of my lectures, not so much that she sounds like a chipmunk but just fast enough that the lecture is less painful. I can’t do this in physical lectures so it is a blessing to have figured this out. The second perk is that I can make my own schedule. Sure, some lectures are live and so I have to attend them in the allocated time slots but some are pre-recorded and pre-uploaded so I can access the content at any time I wish. This is especially useful when I have class clashes. I can do the one class in the allocated time slot and the other class beforehand. I also don’t have to travel to classes on different sides of campus because I can access them all just sitting at my desk. I also don’t have to walk to school (although I do miss those walks tbh), cutting my travel time down to zero. I can eat during class which is a blessing during classes that take place around lunch and breakfast time. I can have a full meal just sitting at my desk in front of my classes. The final perk I have noticed is that I can do things like playing my ukulele or baking in between classes as a break. I wouldn’t have been able to do this while on campus so it makes a nice change.

These are the perks that I have noticed during my short time being at online university. I am not otherwise able to enact these perks on my physical campus so it makes for a nice change of scenery/pace. Feel free to comment any perks of your own in the comment section!

Stay groovy.

-Birdie

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Keeping Up with Uni Work

Online learning is a moment.

I realised today that I had totally miscalculated and so missed 1 hour of a 2 hour class. It’s not the end of the world as it was an introductory class but I think that it serves as an example of how confusing all of this online work can be. If this kind of thing were to happen in a test setting I would honestly die (emotionally). I’ve made triple sure of not missing anything by writing down all of my test and assignment dates on my mum’s calendar. Let’s bring her down with me why don’t we? Just kidding but for real, it’s good to have an extra layer of protection against the possibility of accidentally missing something.

The worst thing about this whole confusing scenario is that it’s no one’s fault. There’s no one to blame. Lecturers are doing the best with what’s available to them and the university heads must be so overworked at this point. I can’t even blame myself because I am doing all that I can to be organised. I have THREE different journals for Pete’s sake! The lack of anyone to blame for this confusion just makes the situation even more frustrating.

Online learning has the perk, however, of being able to be worked from at one’s own pace. Except for obvious deadlines, I can centre my lecture schedule around any time of the day that I want for the most part. Narrated slideshows are often uploaded the day before a lecture so I’m free to do them in the morning rather than the afternoon if I so wish. The only immovable aspect of online learning are the online discussions and live classes. This kind of perk is something to consider when analysing the pros and cons of online classes. Maybe online classes won’t be so bad after all…

Keep learning!

-Birdie

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First Day of Online University

I’ve only had two classes today but somehow I am beyond exhausted. I have no idea how or why but I just am.

Today has been really great in the sense that I had an official goal for today, like set classes and work that I had to do. I really missed that, as crazy as that sounds. I guess that I’m exhausted because while I only had two classes, I had a bunch of work that I had to do relating to those classes and other classes. It was such a good day for productivity, I am SO stoked.

It was really weird to take part in classes online. It more about discussion forums rather than zoom meetings, we don’t do those thank the gods. Let’s be real about online uni though, it’s kind of super stressful. I mean there’s no one there to keep you on track and you’ve got to stay super up to date in order not to miss anything important. Not to mention that I’ve got to do this for 5 classes, not just one. The whole process is just insane and hard to keep track of. Hopefully though, this only lasts for a couple more months. Wait. That’s not a good thing.

Be that as it may I am grateful that I can get any schooling done at all. Like, I actually have the resources to learn online? That’s like the definition of privilege. I think as much as I’d like to complain about online learning in terms of data costs and keeping on top of things, a little perspective goes a long way. I feel as if I keep having to remind myself of that but its a good exercise. Here’s to hoping that coronageddon does not last too long.

Good luck, y’all.

-Birdie

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Online Learning

Since I don’t have actual uni to look forward to, I have to settle for online uni.

I for one, am nervous for online uni to begin. I guess my fear stems from the potential for missing out on certain tests or tasks that would cost me marks because of missing a single email. This is a very real fear for me. I also feel that all the fun of university has been snatched away. This is a reality, though that keeps us safe and so I am somewhat grateful for it. Online learning will be an interesting opportunity to observe whether or not I thrive in online schooling compared to physical schooling. At the end of the day I’m just grateful for online learning to rescue me from potential boredom and lethargy. At least it helps me to differentiate between which days are which.

I have received online schedules for three of my subjects so far which being out of five subjects, makes me wonder when the rest of my subjects are going to let me know WTF is happening. I’m sure though, that those organising the subjects are under a lot of pressure right now and so I appreciate what they are able to let out. I just want an end to this grey area.

There are some perks to online schooling, however. I can listen to music while doing my coursework, I don’t have to walk to uni everyday and I can do things at almost my own pace. That is a plus. It just feels so strange that I won’t be able to go back to physical uni until around September (at least, that’s what people are estimating). I feel as though I’m losing half a year of my university experience and that just does not compute in my mind. Let’s just hope that online schooling works out for me.

Stay groovy.

-Birdie

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