As we move towards remote learning, we enter new uncharted territory, both for students and faculty. The outbreak of  COVID-19, caused schools all over the world to close, urging students to stay home and practice social distancing to flatten the curve of cases and deaths. Students now are continuing school remotely through a variety of virtual platforms, one of them being Zoom.

The schedule at our school changed, with classes starting at 9:00 am and finishing at 2:15 pm. So far, the classes have gone very well. However, I do not believe students will take remote learning as seriously as they would with normal “in-person” school. Many students stay in bed and in their pajamas during class,  which is not a very good environment for learning and can make students easily distracted. Students should be at a desk with their class materials, ready to learn. That said, the school did send out an email of general guidelines for Zoom that include not sitting in bed and being properly dressed.

Another problem I see is that many students use their phones while in class, since the teacher can’t see them. Since the classes are already cut short, and teachers do not have as much time with students as they did previously, I think students should devote their time to learning and paying attention, as they are still going to be assessed on the material presented. Students are also able to log onto their classes online and are free to open another tab and do things for other classes or not school-related at all, as the teachers cannot see what students are doing in their computers and if they are really paying attention. Some students also do not show up on time and think teachers won’t mark them late or absent. Many also may think it’s okay to be late; that it is not “real school.” 

We have a great opportunity in our hands that we should take advantage of. We should make the effort to take the situation seriously, as we don’t know how long we will have to attend online school.  All students should take remote learning seriously because it may the sad reality of our future.