It has been a full year since Northern Essex Community College made the shift towards online learning to fit the regulations of Covid-19.
Even though there has always been an option to participate in virtual classes, this is an entire new take on the idea. There are zoom meetings, and some professors even offer a one on one meeting time in case a student is havin gtrouble in their course.
Each student at Northern Essex Community college is handling the shift in a different way. Some are thriving, and others are struggling to keep up with deadlines.
Here is a take from a second and third year student at Northern Essex Community College.The covid-19 pandemic has placed a hold on the future of multiple students.
Second yearstudent Clara Petry (environmental science major) has had a lot of ups and downs with thet ransition to online education.
The shift to online school was abrupt, and brought on challenges and experience that she did not expect.
“While I was originally planning on spending a third year at NECC, I will now be transferring to UMass Lowell in the fall. I don’t think I can handle aanother semester of online courses. Most of the courses I need are science ones, which would b etoo challenging to take online,” she said.
After being asked if she believes online school pushes the limits for being overly challenging, her response was “I think so. Especially the tests I’ve had to take. It is harder to know what to expect on the online tests because there is a bigger workload and Ibasically have to teach myself from the book.”
This is another reason why Petry prefers taking courses in person, “Online classes come with more work, and I do not feel as engaged in what Iam learning as I would in person, especially with the science classes I have to take,” she said.
Once this student has completed a full year of online school, she has learned a few things from this experience.
“Before the pandemic, I probably would have thought that an online class would be easier and less time consuming,” she said.
She also noted that there was one pro of online school despitethe drastic change it had on her plans and learning style. “One of the pros of online school is that you can create your own schedule of when you will study and work. That is one thing I will miss about the pandemic when I may be taking early morning classes in the future,” she said.
Overall, the experience of online learning for this particular student was overwhelming and not something she would have thought she had to do at this point of her educational career.
The experience was different for third year Design major, Marie Huges.
“Virtual learninghas helped me so much. But for future plans, I have no idea. I would take more classes on film ifI could, but I have no idea for a job since the pandemic is still in our hands,” she said.
Attached with online learning comes the opportunity for zoom meetings. They can be great things for students,but also cause anxiety for others.
“I, and maybe some other people do not have zoom meetings except I have ones on Tuesday for animation. If the professor records the link, then I learn better during the meeting because I tend to zone out,” she said.
A new take on education being held virtually is the idea that it is helpful and positive.
“I focus better if I just do the work and read and watch lectures rather than a teacher telling me the lecture and not remembering it. It’s quick and easy for me, even in troubling times,” Huges said.
There has been a lot of speculation over the past year of the effect that the pandemic had on virtual learning.
Some believe that if they had to do it under any other circumstance, it would have been a better experience.
“I think it’s the same experience as this one. My ex took an online astrology class and he was getting everything done without following the exact schedule. I have never taken any online classes back then, but now I do know what they are like,” Huges said.
It is impossible to summarize what the change to online school is like for every singlestudent at Northern Essex Community College.
At the end of the day, the lives of students have been changed due to the shift, and not one person has a similar viewpoint on the subject matter.Even though the two students, Clara Petry and Marie Huges have different experiences withonline courses, it’s important to recognize the pros/cons of it, and how students have been affected
