By Trinity Lam

Virtual learning, online learning, synchronous learning, e-learning. They all really mean the same thing: learning on a device. This new reality has shocked quite a few people, and for everyone, the effects vary. There’s the good, bad, and ugly (bad involves the direct effects of virtual learning on school and ugly is the side effects of virtual learning). So let’s start with some of the ugly:

  1. Limited face-to-face communication. Speaking to someone in person vs. online are two incredibly different experiences, and the online experience is something that the general population is tired of. Talking to someone in person is more interactive, because you get to see their facial expressions and you can talk without being disrupted by technical difficulties. Unfortunately, that’s our reality today. 
  2. No team sports. One reason why some people were looking forward to high school was so that they could try out for teams. There are many benefits of sports in high school such as meeting new friends and getting involved in the school community! However, with virtual learning, that aspect of high school has been altered. So, if you want to play sports this year, take advantage of the Phys. Ed classes offered and the school’s virtual running club. 
  3. No Muskoka Woods trip. Muskoka Woods was an experience that the Grade 9s were looking forward to this year. Muskoka Woods had a reputation of being super awesome and really fun! Some of the Grade 10s stated that it was a great experience and they were able to meet many new friends! Muskoka Woods was an amazing way to start off the first year of high school and get to know your Grade. Unfortunately, there was a change of plan with Covid-19.  

Let’s move on to the bad:

  1. Open book tests. Open book tests may seem great now, but in the future when school is back to normal, open book tests will no longer be common. So as much as you enjoy relying on your notes, try to study as much of the content as possible, so you can develop effective study habits that will help you in your future endeavours. 
  2. Lack of collaboration. Virtual learning can come with many issues such as lack of collaboration with peers. Even though there are many ways to collaborate with classmates virtually, it can be hard to feel comfortable talking in a breakout room. We need to remember that we are all experiencing the same situation with virtual learning and try our best to communicate with one another. 
  3. Technical problems. Many issues can arise on Google Meet such as microphone/camera problems and also wifi issues. Virtual learning requires a lot more patience and we need to keep this in mind while we are experiencing technical difficulties. 

Finally, we’ve gotten to the good stuff:

  1. You can go to school in your pajamas. The phrase “going to school” no longer consists of waking up, changing, eating breakfast, commuting to school, putting stuff in your locker, then going to class. Instead, wipe all of that out and replace it with: Wake up, open your computer, press a couple buttons, and wait for the rest of the class to join. That takes about 5 minutes (10, if you take a while to get up and 20 if you keep hitting snooze). Getting to school is much easier now! You can sleep right ‘till the last minute, because school is just a few steps away!
  2. You can’t miss homework on sick days. If you really don’t like missing class for fear of missing lessons or homework, this is right up your alley. When someone, for any reason misses class, they usually end up also missing either a lesson, a test, or the assigning of homework. See, the good thing about virtual learning, is that you won’t miss a beat of the lesson!
  3. More freedom while in class. If it’s a nice day and you want to go outside, you can bring your device out to your backyard or front lawn and get some fresh air! Being able to walk around in class instead of the traditional setting, allows students to feel more awake and engaged. 

All in all, virtual learning has a variety of effects on different people, but with the vaccine coming out, we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel! Stay strong, Titans!