I am a university student and my classes have finally started for the year 2020-21.
It is definitely a very unpredictable time of the year and no one is certain about how things might look like in the coming days. As a student, I do see some positive as well as negative aspects of the current situation. Through remote learning, students have the opportunity to stay home and be close to the family, while studying at universities that are far from home, which would have required students to live on campus in the traditional scenario. It also made the schedule more flexible as the time and cost of commuting every day are deduced. Students now have more time to either study or to do things that they like.
Everyone is trying to adapt to new changes, but it might not be easy for some. Remote learning is definitely difficult for those who struggle to have a stable internet connection during class time or for those who don’t have access to a quiet study space at home. It is more difficult for first-year students who absolutely have no experience in University studying styles. All the events, orientations, and workshops have shifted to an online format, which has decreased their success rates.
The amount of users on the internet and the websites used by the universities has increased by huge amounts, which have led to the Universities’ websites crashing. This has refrained students from logging into their classes on time and finishing assignments on time. It has just been one week since my classes have started and problems pertaining to accessing online classes have already escalated. It is not easy for professors either, as the system is new to everyone and they are struggling as much as students are. However, there is still huge hope that things will get better in the future!