Online learning fully decoded

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Alana Bridges, Media and Broadcast Editor

Some Online Teachers pose for a picture in their work space at the ILC. Photo by Hilliard City Schools.

I have rewritten this story four times. Why might you ask? Because every time I think I have summed up E-Learning, I haven't. As a student who is all online, meaning I don’t go into the school at all during the week, I have learned a lot. I think all students, teachers, administrators and even parents should have a picture of what life without Zoom calls or a schedule is like. Here is my insight on E-Learning and its effects on a student.

I am a sophomore who started the year in hybrid. I had very high hopes that we would go all in very soon after the beginning of the year, but I was sadly mistaken and eventually started to dislike going to school every other day very much. I wasn't happy with the constant changes in learning, weird lunches, and most importantly not seeing my friends. The only thing that got me through the days I had to be at school were my teachers and their excitement that they were not talking through a Zoom call.

A week worth of school work in online classes. Photo by Alana Bridges (10).

I entered full online learning after winter break. I did this because it was the best option for me. Saying that, I can't say all online learning is much better than hybrid learning. Though my weeks are consistent and I am doing well, I miss some of the teachers and those I did see at school. There are certain classes that are harder than others, like Geometry and

some of my electives such as Journalism. I also struggle with filling my free time. I have found little things I enjoy, like designing t-shirts and working out, but miss the social interactions I had with people. Having mentioned the previous statements, I would like to explain the biggest struggle with my online education. I feel as a student I am not being pushed in some of classes and don’t feel as if I am retaining any information. I feel all these negatives and positives have shaped a very confusing mindset on learning for me this year.

As I look back on high school thus far I realized how sad, weird, confusing, exciting and most of all important it has been. I have grown beyond belief as a person and continue to take my education seriously no matter what type of learning I am in. I think participating in hybrid and in an all online environment has made me realize how lucky I am to have teachers that care, and the ability to continue learning no matter what. As Anthony Shay once said, “Life is what you make of it, so make the best of it”.