During COVID-19, the world heavily relied on technology in order to function, and it has remained a constant within workplaces and schools, with there being a steady increase in technological learning components. Students have learned to take advantage of this opportunity and have started to take classes online which are no longer offered at the school because of lack of teachers and/or interest.
Four seniors are taking AP Calculus BC, one of the two optional online courses, making them the first class to take this route at the school. This course was necessary since there were students who had already completed all the offered credits and wanted to take math their senior year. This opportunity opened a door at Charter, giving kids the ability to take classes not offered at the school, a concept which the school may decide to expand upon in future time.
Although it is relatively new, online learning has proven to be very different from in person learning and not just because every component is online. Students no longer have a relationship with the teacher, and they are taught to rely on themselves and the technology they have access to answer their own questions.
“If you don’t understand anything since everything is on a video, you have to look it up. You can’t ask your teacher for help or to explain any problems because they’re not always there for you and emailing takes so long that it’s better to figure it out yourself,” said senior Eli Groothuis.
Although it can be very difficult, small online classes do give kids freedoms that larger in-person classes do not. Because the material is self-done, the students have the ability to pace themselves when doing their work and can also collaborate on most assignments and assist each other when necessary.
“I can kinda do things at my own time, but it’s also really nice to have them with me doing it so I can ask them questions, even if sometimes they don’t answer my questions and just ignore me,” said senior Yuwei Huang.
Technology has become such an integrated part of education and schools are finding more ways to take advantage of the many possibilities it gives them. Students such as Eli and Yuwei have mixed feelings on the way the course functions but have overall said that it’s just like a normal class where the teacher gives you a presentation and you take notes off of that. Although online learning is new and different, it is a useful and effective tool which helps promote the teaching of many varying subjects.