Online Learning

[K.Smithy]

Hi K.Smithy,

Sorry, it took so long to reply to your response - I was busy with online school and giving feedback to many ATAR Notes users, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for providing us with those resources! Especially since the QCAA website is so confusing to navigate. How has your experience with online schooling been for you? Is there anything that is challenging or easy for you? And if so, how would you "change" the system of online schooling to fit your individual needs?

Have a great week

Darcy Dillon.

No worries at all! Thank you for making this thread, it was a such a great idea and I'm sure it will be very useful to many QLDers
My experience has been ok. I feel like I have been super productive, yet I feel like I have done nothing at the same time (realistically, it is because I have so much more time to fill now and I'm not filling every waking hour doing school work - which is for the best ). I think it has just taken a bit of time to get into the swing of things.
I would say that the most challenging aspects of online learning are: not being able to see my friends and teachers and getting out of bed in the morning (my sleep schedule has been all sorts of messed up the past couple of months). Some other challenges includes getting work done for subjects I just don't enjoy (*cough* study of religion *cough*) and subjects like English where the teacher hasnt actually told the class what we are meant to be doing.... I think the easiest thing about online learning is how much time i have on my hands... because i'm not getting distracted by peers I am able to get my work done really quickly (and then comes the feelings of not being productive because I know I can fill all this extra time with the U3 revision I so desperately need).
If I could change the system of online schooling in any way, it would be to have zoom meetings with teachers (even just once a week). As much as I am an introvert, I really do miss the social interactions that I had at school. I miss a lot of my teachers (they're all legends and the coolest human beings on the planet). Additionally, it is just really hard to teach ourselves about DNA and genes (especially when we've never gone this in-depth into it) and special relativity (as much as I love it).

How about you? How are you travelling with the online learning? Do you prefer learning at home?

- Katelyn

[s110820]

Hi Katelyn,

No problem -- I'm glad that this forum helps. And I totally agree with what you are saying about the online school experience -- whilst I do feel extremely productive one moment, I feel like I have accomplished or finished anything the next. And it's true, change doesn't come easy but that's what life does -- it throws obstacles in our way to prevent us from going where we want to go or being who we want but the only way to get through these obstacles is to run through them. Yes, I know it's a weird analogy and that in a more literal sense, it wouldn't even work but mentally, it works.

Our main purpose as humans are to adapt to change. Since the beginning of evolution, that's all we did -- we changed our characteristics, our appearance, our identities and our outlook of life in order to survive. And while early on during evolution, these changes would make sense due to the rapidly changing environment. But nowadays, change isn't necessarily useful anymore. Probably because we never get anywhere, physically or psychologically, if we change ourselves for the sake of being accepted. So, say goodbye to change, and say hello to iT's aDaPTaTiOn tImE! (Side note: I was trying to reference Paul Dillon's iT's wAtEr tIMe!).

So, my advice to you is to adapt to your new situation and the environment - ditch unhealthy expectations, crazy doses of caffeine and an unlimited subscription to stress. But adapt to both your situation and your environment by experimenting what works and what doesn't work for you. If getting up at 5:30 in the morning isn't your cup of tea, then don't drink it (or wake up that early). If sleeping in energises your brain and your soul, go for it! Make your sleep a priority. Make your health a priority. Make interactions with your friends and family a priority. Make looking after your mental health a priority. Do whatever makes you feel on top of the world. Because someday, we may not have this "opportunity" of balance between work and health again.

Sorry, I kinda went on a bit of a tangent but yes, I definitely agree that getting work done for the subjects that I really don't enjoy that much because of its heavy content and learning style  (*cough* general maths and biology *cough*) is definitely a challenge in itself. But perseverance and resilience always win the "race" to "fREEdOM" for another week until another massive pile of work is put on our shoulders again. And while I don't do Study of Religion (and I can definitely understand why you don't enjoy it), I can help you with English because it's actually one of my favourite subjects (I actually have three favourite subjects but that's not the point). I honestly don't know why but I have this weird obsession with editing and proofreading assignments for some reason?? Like it honestly "loWkeY" feels like a caffeine addiction??

Anyway, I also agree with you (again) with the fact that there's literally no one to distract us anymore (parents, siblings, pets or friends on Zoom calls "nOT iNcLUDeD"). The fact that we, as a cohort, (me not included) honestly don't have any more excuses to go on some non-existent tangent anymore would definitely scare everyone into some sort of existential crisis. And same, I really do need to work on some Unit 3 revision like a LOT. The fact that I just realised how I have so much revision to do has honestly just crushed my fantasies of being an ultra-productive Hermione Granger clone.

And yet again, I also agree with you about the Zoom meetings as well (mine are like "tWO to tHREE tIMeS a wEEK" and the non-existent balance between the "loWkEY" lectures and the work set is pretty much "nON eXisTeNT"). I kinda classify myself as an ambivert, to be honest. There are times when I'm "confident" around people, which is pretty much me when I'm forced into uncomfortable social situations. And then, there are times when I'm the complete opposite -- where my energy is sourced from taking a well-deserved break from the six-hour-long conversation I am continuously living pretty much every weekday. When I'm so "flat" (incoming phone battery analogy lol) of energy, the best option for me (after I've finished doing my homework/study for the day of course) is to hide in the safety of my room and binge-watch episodes of Doctor Who whilst drinking herbal tea (yes, I'm that type of child). But of course, it would be different for everyone.

To (finally lol) answer your questions about online schooling, I would definitely say that I'm going "oKaY" I guess. Like, I love how I have the option to rest/have a well-deserved cat-nap throughout the day or after three Zoom meetings back to back. But of course, I chicken nuggets at the school canteen day. I miss my school library so much (I am honestly just metaphorically "sOBBing" thinking about it). I miss being able to hide in the school library. I miss every single book in my school library. I miss all of my teachers who I love dearly. And I honestly miss like the "atmosphere" of school to be honest.

And I definitely agree, teaching ourselves something as complex as DNA and genes (or the hUNgArIAN aLGoRiTHm in my case for General Maths lol) is definitely not something I'm looking forward to. But I think my attitude towards learning at home really depends on what type of subject I'm doing. For example, for me, the subjects of English, Modern History and Literature are extremely easy for me to learn and to "teach myself" at home because it's honestly all about "tHoSe mInDmAPs" and "thOSE essays" and "tHoSE sHaKEsPeARE plays" that literally give everyone nightmares - except for me, because as I/the Eleventh Doctor says: "sHaKEsPeARE iS cOOL" (Sorry, I'm trying to be relatable lol). But I'm definitely going to struggle with teaching myself the heavy content subjects of General Maths and Biology to be honest.

Wow, I just read this response back and I honestly did not realise how much I wrote lol, but I hope this (kinda) helps though

Have a great week,

Darcy Dillon.