This week in class, one fo the discussion topics was learning remotely and reflecting on our own experiences of learning online through the pandemic. (Really about to expose my self here!) For me, my main issue was the lack of engagement due to the lack of connection to classmates and professors. I found by the middle of the second term I was very burnt out and uninterested in all of my classes and assignments. I was constantly looking to just get it done as a hoop to jump through and the actual learning and content didn’t matter. With in person learning I am motivated by the relationships, collaboration and connections to the people around me and I am way more engaged in topics and activities. On the idea of discussion posts, I would never actually reflect on someone else post but more tell them I liked their ideas and get it over with for the completion marks. This year, I have learned so much from having in person discussions back and forth with peers and the whole class. A majority of my leaning as been from talking with others and sharing ideas but I feel this was completely lost with having to write paragraphs, read and respond to random people.
From the start of the year to the end of the year there was a significant decline in my interest and desire to be in school. By the end of the term, there were a few days I was “listening” to my zoom classes in my jacket pocket through earbuds while I skied all day. I would get the attendance mark just half listening, get to ski all day and honestly didn’t learn any any less compared to the days I was staring at a screen in my kitchen.
It was definitely a challenging time participating in remote learning and although I just just negatively discussed my learning experience, I did have professors who made effort to connect and make it as engaging and connected as possible. In these classes I felt much more engaged and inclined to learn, actively participate and complete the assignments in a meaningful way.
