Changing to online courses has been a leap into uncharted waters for students, professors and staff alike. We are all in this together as the reality of our world changes, but this doesn’t make anything easier.

Online classes have their pros and cons, and unfortunately I have seen a lot of the cons since the first week. Personally, accessibility has gone smoothly with little technical difficulties. Yet this is not the case for many of my peers and professors, who struggle with microphone access, login errors, webcam malfunctions and much more, so the transition has not been smooth across the board.

Retaining information from my classes has been difficult because I learn better in person. Being at home and not in an academic environment also presents a variety of difficulties that need to be worked around. My focus is also centered on the current pandemic, not classes, which is another distraction from getting the most out of classes.

 With all that being said, the people I have interacted with in my classes have been very flexible and good sports about having to go through this frustrating transition. I’ve seen quite a bit of teamwork with peers helping one another frequently in order to fix technical issues, understand coursework and much more. It shows the strength of the RWU student body and carries the culture even off campus.

 

 It’s also nice to be able to wake up five minutes before class, which is my favorite pro.

Overall, teamwork and flexibility will be essential for the success of every student for the rest of the semester, as well as every student and faculty member staying home to remain healthy and safe as we power through this together.