Online Learning & the Coronavirus: An Opportunity

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sSedj9ujgw[/embedyt]

 

At this point, most college campuses and US secondary schools have closed. It doesn’t need to be repeated, but this is an unprecedented event–one that institutions, particularly high schools, are unprepared for. There are a lot of question marks about how and when normal life will resume. There is very little I can do, or you can do, to control that. 

It’s normal to feel stressed, frustrated, or scared. Every student I’ve talked to has wondered when they’ll be back on their campus, when life will resume, and, most importantly, how the coronavirus will affect their way forward: the way to college, the way to graduate school, the way to a job. 

Right now the best thing you can do is continue to learn, prepare for your admissions exams, help your communities, and stay healthy. 

Many of you have limited experience with online education, and this new environment will have unique challenges. For high schoolers, part of the challenge will be working with your teachers and district as they adapt. You’ll hear plenty of cautionary tales and about what you should and shouldn’t do. 

I’m not going to write that article. I want to help you thrive in this new educational environment and grow as a person. You may be, more or less, trapped at home, but there’s a freedom in this “house arrest”. You are free to explore ways of structuring your life, learn however suits you, and develop new interests and great habits. As Marcus Aurelius wrote, “the impediment to action becomes the action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

I want to address four problems you’re facing and how to turn them into opportunities. 

 

Lack of structure 

College students, and most of you high school students, know this feeling. It’s Sunday afternoon, and you haven’t started on the paper that’s due by midnight. It’s a sinking feeling down to your diaphragm that hollows out your chest. You manage to get the paper done, but you squeak out a grade lower than what you could have gotten. You’re emotionally spent, and resume the cycle of putting things off as you “rest up” after your last-minute sprint. 

You are reacting instead of acting. You’re letting your courses put you into crisis mode because you aren’t taking command. I had a student once analogize it to training a dog. Fundamentally, the dog will have the same needs, but if you’re proactive, your life is much easier and the dog is much happier. Play the ball before it plays you. 

Everyone has a different way of getting things done. For the most part, I don’t think any particular system is better than another. It is the act of creating or choosing and following a system that is important. Keep what works, discard the rest. 

I generally “make my bed” first thing in the morning. Note: I never really make my bed, although I should. But I do take the dog for a walk, or get Sam ready for school, or (on a good morning) I do both. Some people prefer to “eat the frog” and get the biggest, ugliest task out of the way first. Here’s a good article on eating the frog and a transcript of the make your bed speech. There are also some awesome books on the subject, which are both inspiring and cover a lot more ground than what to do first in the morning: Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World and Eat that Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating….

How you structure your day is important. Don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself and don’t set no expectations for yourself. One great way to work without structure is a system of ascending rewards. You start with what you like least and work your way up. For example, you start with biology (which you hate), take a break, then move on to your math (which you only sort-of hate), and so on until you’re on your Xbox, watching Grey’s Anatomy, or snapchatting the afternoon away. 

Be reasonable about how long you can effectively work. Working too long causes burnout and increasingly diminished productivity. Take breaks. I like to use pomodoros if I’m having a hard time staying on task. With a pomodoro, I spend 25 minutes on a task without getting up, having a snack, looking at my phone, checking email, etc. Then I take a five-minute break where I can do anything I want. A timer is critical for this. I like using Kanban because it allows me to time my pomodoros and has a customizable to-do list. I can even track how many pomodoros I’m spending on a task to evaluate how effective I am. 

I also strongly suggest you use a calendar and a to-do list. Wunderlist is great and Google calendar is easy to use across platforms. I write more about self-structuring, time management, and study techniques in my book, Graduate College in 4 Years: Happy, Healthy, and Successful.

Use this time to your advantage. It’s an opportunity to work without a safety net. Explore what works best for you, how to structure your day, and how you earn best (when you aren’t forced to learn a particular way). The most valuable lessons in life are about how you learn and function. 

 

Communication

You won’t be able to raise your hand the instant a question pops in your head or pull a teacher or professor aside after class. Communication will be less immediate, and, in general, your professors and teachers will be less accessible. This may be especially stressful as the COVID situation is fluid, and the more fraught the situation the more misinformation that tends to pop up. 

Depending on your institution, you’ll have one or more means of communication: email, discussion boards, telephone, and video conferencing. Anything that you want a record of, such as challenging a grade or clarification on a policy, email will be best. Phone and video conferencing will be better for curriculum questions, 

Resist the temptation to dash off an email any time you have a question. Instead, try and find the answer through course resources and your peers. If you can’t find the answer, by all means, send the email. If you’re in high school, understand that both you and your teacher are in uncharted territory, and that he/she will be at least as anxious as you. Expect there to be some misfires early on, and communicate clearly so that you’re not on the wrong side of a grading rubric. 

This is a great opportunity to learn to manage professional relationships and email correspondence. Focus on being deliberate in your communications, and you’ll find that the more organized and prepared you are the fewer questions you’ll have. Always be polite, professional, and considerate of your teacher/professor’s time and other responsibilities. Here’s a great guide on emailing professors. Remember, it’s always best to be too formal than too casual. 

 

Resources

In general, college students have their lecture slides, videos, handouts, and syllabi online. High schools are unprepared for a closure of this length, and many districts lack the talent and agility to respond quickly. Students will often be using Google Classroom (I’ll post a how-to in the next week) or another learning management platform. How quickly educators can respond by creating meaningful content will vary greatly. 

The advantage is that you can work on developing the agility your big, clunky institutions lack. Find youtube videos (follow the channels) that work with what you’re trying to learn. Find extra practice problems online. Find supplemental materials in any form that appeals to you. The key is using several approaches: combine flashcards with practice problems, work through concepts visually, and take practice tests. All of these approaches have their drawbacks individually. Together, they’re a solid approach. Remember, if what you’re doing isn’t working, try something else. 

If you’re stuck and your teacher or professor can’t help you, broaden your search. Find interactive or “live feeling” resources, discussion groups online, Facetime your classmates, or get a tutor. It’s a great time to learn that you can learn tough stuff without the almost parental figure of a professor or teacher. It’s also a good time to learn when and where to ask for help. We’re offering limited academic tutoring during the day, you can contact us for a free consultation. 

 

Boredom and Loneliness 

You’ll likely be stuck at home with your family. You can, most certainly, Snapchat, tiktok, and Netflix binge away your days, but you’ll find that gets boring, and after it gets boring, you’ll realize you’re dependent on your phone and you don’t know what else to do with yourself. If you’re a spring athlete, and your season has been delayed, work on your conditioning or some fundamentals that you’re soft on. If you’re not, find something you’re passionate about and follow it. Read more, try yoga, learn to cook, make a website, there are innumerable gratifying and meaningful things you can use to fill your time. 

At the end of the day, life is always about change, and we can always choose to turn the changes thrust upon us to our advantage. Taking care of yourself is more than just washing hands, thanks for watching and best of luck. 

Feel free to contact us for a free consultation. Check out my book How to Graduate College in 4 Years: Happy, Healthy, and Successful. It’s full of information on study techniques, time management, organization, self-structure, and how to be happy in new environments.