Covid-19 impacted schools all around the world forcing them to create an entire new learning platforms for students in 2020.

This school year students had the decision to choose whether they wanted to attend school in person or online. Students had to reflect on the challenge involved between the two learning platforms. Each of these learning experiences have their pros and cons. Candid student feedback offers opportunity to understand a student’s first-hand experience.

Online pros and cons

Online schooling can be a great option for some students. It lets students work in their own comfort zone and offers an opportunity for flexibility. “I feel more successful with online just because I can take notes and work at my own pace, also there’s pretty good communication between teachers and students,” said Amna Botic. In addition, online learning platforms allows a quarantined learning environment. Some students may worry about contracting corona from school and then spreading it to their loved ones. If they choose to do online learning then that will eliminate the risk of contracting it from school.

Although there are many wonderful aspects that go along with online learning platforms, there are some drawbacks that offer challenges to students. As this is a new learning platform, students have to learn how to navigate through the speed bumps. Online learning differs from a traditional learning style that most Jenison students are familiar with. Communicating with teachers is not always the easiest for some students to do. A struggling student may not feel confident to email or speak out in the zoom class. “If it was confusing it could be hard to contact the teacher so I would end up just figuring it out myself,” said Jenison senior. Whereas traditional learning allows a student to approach a teacher in a more private setting, making them more comfortable.

Traditional pros and cons

Social skills and human interaction play a significant role in the traditional learning environment. Schools offer a great way for adolescents to meet new friends and interact with others. Classrooms, sports, and clubs provide a location where students can come together to help build important life skills that will help guide them through life. “I chose to do traditional because I thought school was going to be cancelled right and I wanted to be able to see people,” stated Jenison senior.

Many people worry about the risk of being in close contact with other people. Although schools do everything in their power to limit those risks, they are still there and danger of exposure is imminent. Safety precautions are not always followed by the students. “My mom, sister, and I all have health issues so the less we’re outside the house the better,” said Amna Botic.

Conclusion

Even though this is a completely new learning and teaching style students learned to adapt to learning under both the old method and the new method. These challenges have brought about the evolution of new technology based learning environments. With that evolution students face new opportunities.