Online learning always brings ambivalent feelings and responses throughout the students. There are definitely advantages of online learning that many students enjoy and take full advantage of, such as getting more sleep and having better access of time and space. On the other hand, there also significant disadvantages of learning online, especially if it prolongs for longer periods of time; students can lose track of their learning progress, struggle with slow internet, and lack the motivation to focus on class, which is understandable as they are continuously under the temptation of jumping in on their beds.
This year, online learning was proceeded with a completely new schedule for the entire upper secondary students. Below is the schedule that was took on every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with IB Classes allotted for seniors only.
Period 1: 8:00 – 8:50
Period 2: 9:00 – 9:50
Period 3: 10:00 – 10:50
Period 4: 11:00 -11:50
Advisory Check-in: 11:55 – 12:05
Lunch: 12:05 – 1:10
Block A/B/C/D IB Classes 1: 1:15 – 2:15
Block A/B/C/D IB Classes 2: 2:20 – 3:20
For seniors, the IB classes were on rotation by blocks each day. Wednesdays were designated for activities and followed different class timings shown below:
Advisory: 8:00 – 8:50
Community Service: 9:00 – 9:40
Monday ASAs: 9:50 – 10:30
Tueday ASAs: 10:40 – 11:20
Lunch Activites: 11:30 -12:10
Thursday ASAs: 12:20 – 1:00
Friday ASAs: 1:10 – 1:50
As a senior student myself, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum of online learning as we continually switched back and forth between online and offline learning throughout the past four years. This year, with heavy workload to handle, I was initially glad to switch to online learning, but never expected to finish off our whole semester with farewells said on screens. The conclusion I derived from all my experiences with online learning is this: online learning is the best, only if it no more or less than a single week. The best tip I can offer to those who might go through online learning next year is to continue to work hard. Not all makes the best use of the extra time that online learning provides, so trying harder might bring you better outcomes than what you would expect.