While having classes online is the safest approach to schooling right now, not all students learn best from it. Because of this, it can become easy for students to feel discouraged and as though learning is being lost. Even through this, the students of California Baptist University can still find ways to make online easier while at home.
Katie Dvorak, senior business administration major, agrees that learner in person is a more effective way for her to retain information. “In person has the competitive peer environment which I think most of us prefer,” Dvorak said. “It always makes me work harder to learn the material in specific skill courses.” For Dvorak, it is easier for her to be able to have those one on one conversations with her fellow classmates, and her professors. While this can be done over various live streams, talking in person can be preferred by many students when it comes to needing clear and constant communication.
Shekiah Warner, senior intercultural studies major, finds online can actually be more distracting than in person. For many fellow Lancers, this is something which they can connect with Warner on.
Being at home does not mean the distractions of home life become less. “It’s been a difficult switch going from summer into school without any of the definitive back-to-school thing, such as moving into my dorm or attending classes in person,” Warner said. “I also find myself more constantly distracted than I thought I would be at home.” But even through these difficulties, Warner still focuses on the positives which come with online, such as spending time with her family and friends who live in her home town.
While it can be easy to focus on the negatives of not having classes in person, the positives must also be looked at as well. Both Dvorak and Warner have been able to find their own from this situation.
“God’s definitely provided a lot of opportunities for me to do things my heart’s desired for a long time,” Dvorak said. “Things that I would not have been able to do if I was living on campus. Such as being able to live with my best friend and spend way more time with my fiancé than ever would have been possible.” Even though time has been taken, it has also been given. Though not everyone is with who they thought they would be right now, the time spent with those who are have become more precious. Warner has even come up with her own ways as she does it from home. “One big tip I have been working to implement is to get ready for the day,” Warner said. “It’s easy to only appear ready for the day when you’re being seen through a small screen in a class of thirty other people. But I find it helps me feel more prepared and attentive when I am fully dressed and sitting at a desk at home, as opposed to being in my pajamas and lounging in bed.”
Start your day off with a positive attitude. Make your bed, get ready for the day, sit at a desk with coffee and a notebook nearby. A clean environment is also important to healthy learning. Even making the outdoors your classroom is a great way to mental health up, while continuing to reach your degree. Keeping school at home as close as you can to school in person will help make this year a success. Starting each day with positivity and a healthy study space can make online easier for those who prefer in person.
