After 4 months of having classes virtually I have come to the conclusion that e-learning is not all that bad. When I first began the school year in August, I thought this was the worst thing that could ever happen to me, but really it’s been a saving grace. 

E-learning has helped my grades so much. With more time on my hands my grades have been through the roof. During in-person school I was always juggling 50 things at a time: school, the paper, sports and other after school activities. But since everything is online I have been able to focus more on school, while still being able to play the sports and participate in the clubs I love. Honestly, I have never understood math more than I do now. I can sit and focus on what my teacher is saying in a live lesson and I can go back and watch the videos they post on Google Classroom after. 

Besides my grades sky rocketing, e-learning has allowed me to become a more independent and driven learner. I think we all know it takes a lot of effort to stay focused in class when you can easily turn your camera off or pretend you are paying attention while you play video games or watch Netflix. You have to want to learn and get better at what you are doing. It took me awhile to become self driven, but once I did I found that e-learning was a lot more enjoyable then before. After I decided I needed to focus more I started putting my phone in my desk drawer so I couldn’t see it, this helped squash the temptation of me picking up my phone and scrolling through my for you page on Tik Tok during class. 

During e-learning many of my teachers have become more creative for tests. I am a person who hates formal multiple choice tests. I have struggled as a test taker all throughout high school, but this year my teachers have been testing me in different ways. A lot of my teachers are using unique written responses like reflections, projects or even essays to test us instead of using formal multiple choice tests. This has made me enjoy learning the material more because I don’t have to focus on what score I need to get on a multiple choice test to get an A in the class. 

Also, come on who doesn’t like not having school Fridays. I absolutely love having asynchronous time on Fridays to do my assignments so I don’t have homework over the weekend. I find myself being the most motivated on Fridays to get my work done. After I do my work in the morning, I always take time to myself in the afternoon. After spending an average of 10 hours a day on a computer (a total of at least 40-50 hours a week), my eyes and brian are fried from the crazy amount of screen time. I like to take a break from my computer and do something for myself. When it was warm I would go outside for a walk or do a workout in my backyard, more recently I have been reading for pleasure and doing at home workout videos from Youtube. 

Personally e-learning has been a great experience for me, but there are plenty of things I wish were different. I wish I could walk the path with friends, see my teachers in-person and participate in all the clubs in a normal way. And sure I feel like I spend way too much time at my computer during the day, but e-learning has given us a chance to have a consistent schedule that feels semi normal. Though it is not a perfect system, I’d say it’s been alright!