When school buildings abruptly closed in the spring due to the Covid pandemic, classes limped along until summer with teachers and students doing the best they could. With no end to Covid in sight as the new school year loomed, districts got serious about online learning.  As the fall semester wrapped up, The Colt sat down with students and parents to find out how they had been dealing with the pressures of adjusting to this new way of learning.

The Colt: What is it like learning online?

Lia Persichitte, sophomore: A challenge I’ve faced was not having the motivation to do the work.

Reagan Barzyk, senior: Easy. In my opinion it’s easier because I can work at my own pace.

Mark Loignon, senior: It didn’t help because I felt like I could put something off for the moment and then I never got around to doing it in the end.

Robbie Gonzalez, freshman: Sometimes it’s complicated because you don’t understand the material and when the teacher explains it you still don’t get it and it’s frustrating.

TC: How much work do you receive from each class? How long does it take you to complete your schoolwork for the day?

RB: Not a lot, there is (sic) like 2-3 assignments for each class. It takes me about one and a half to two and a half hours.

RG: Not a lot. I can finish it in the first 20 minutes of class. On my own terms, it takes me two hours to finish for the day, but at school it takes me the whole school day.

TC: Do you feel that online learning is an effective way for students to learn? Why?

Barbara Loignon, AHS parent: It depends on the student. Some students have the motivation to do well without having a one-on-one relationship with the teacher, and some students need the interaction with the whole group. Some students do well online because they feel like they can go at their own pace, while others need more structure.

TC: How has online learning affected your grades compared to previous years?

LP: My grades are worse this year because I lack the motivation to do my work, and it’s more difficult to keep track of grades.

ML: My grades have dropped because I can’t really focus at home, so it’s been hard to work on my assignments and get them done on time.

TC: What difficulties have you had with having a home environment while learning?

LP: In a home environment, there’s a lot of distractions that can take your attention from schoolwork.

RB: When the Wi-Fi goes out or the platform doesn’t work. [It is also] annoying because Bear (my dog) won’t leave me alone.

ML: Having all those distractions makes it more difficult to get stuff done during class time, instead of leaving it for later.

TC: As a parent, what type of struggles have you had with making sure your child is doing well in school?

BL: It’s not knowing where to find the information because each teacher has their own way of assigning things and recording grades and it’s very difficult to know where to look. As a parent we didn’t have to do that before because the teacher was the one making sure you’re keeping up with your work, and now I have to keep up with eight teachers each.

TC: What do you think the school could do more to improve the online learning experience?

LP: To improve the learning experience, our school could be more organized on Canvas.

ML: Simplify the platform. Just making everything easier to navigate would help a lot.

BL: Have a standard way for teachers to present work that needs to be done.

TC: Should schools continue to stay open during Covid? Why or why not?

LP: I think that schools should continue to stay partially open because it helps people who struggle to learn online while still staying fairly safe.

ML: They should stay open during Covid with regulations. I think the effect of not being in school has negatively impacted people’s grades. I know for me it has been hard focusing and doing my work on days I am home, so staying online all the time would make it a lot more difficult.

BL: I think it’s a good option for people that need that group interaction. Some students are too shy to ask questions because they don’t know how to ask, and in person your teacher can see when you’re struggling, so it’s a lot easier to learn that way.