Covid-19 has disturbed everyone’s life in one way or another. One way it changed many people’s lives is how it impacted school. Many students now do online learning instead of going to school in person. Adjusting to an entirely different way of learning is a complicated, arduous, and unusual process. 

Learning online offers a little bit more flexibility. Even though it is discouraged, students are able to wake up 5-10 minutes before school starts and do the class in their pajamas. After Zooms end, students are left with large gaps of free time. However, this flexibility comes at a price. Often teachers forget about online students. This means online learners are behind on topics. They don’t get an immersive experience like in-person learners do. This especially hinders learning when classes are heavily based on interaction and open discussions like chemistry, biology, and English classes. Learning at home presents different distractions. When you learn in person it is more structured, and teachers try their best to hunker down on distractions. However, at-home students can become preoccupied with their phones and commotion going on inside their homes. Some students complain about not having interaction with others and not being able to communicate freely with their teachers. Most of the communication online students receive is from emails that are sent over hour-long periods of time. Nothing can really replace the interpersonal connection students receive when they are in a class with their teacher.

While learning online has some advantages such as flexibility, it comes with disadvantages including not having an immersive or “complete”  learning experience. Even though this learning environment may be hard, this slow adaptation will allow us to get the most out of this experience. There is no clear cut way to determine if this experience is good or bad. Some students may benefit from this flexibility, and some students may struggle with it. Nevertheless, this is going to be what students have to deal with for the next few months.