Lynne McGee
Staff Writer
The second semester is in full gear. Some students feel more prepared than ever, and others are still trying to figure out “Zoom University” in its entirety.
ESU had made the decision to continue remote learning into the spring semester last semester due to the rise of Covid-19 cases.
For most, this is now the second semester online, and has it gotten better?
How are students handling this semester compared to the first?
Some students have found tips and tricks to surviving the online semesters. As for others, well, it hasn’t gotten any easier from when it first started.
Many students had mixed feelings regarding how they will handle this upcoming semester.
“I feel like I know what I have to do to get the semester done now,” said senior Cierra Ward.
“Compared to the first semester I know what to expect. It is all about managing all the work we get at this point. It isn’t something I love, but I don’t hate it as much as I first did.”
Ward spoke on how writing down each week’s work to be done has been an important trick to tackling the last semester.
This “new normal” has caused many changes in how students approach their classes and work.
For some students, this semester seems easier than the last. For others, it is frustration and worry as another online semester begins.
Every semester brings its added stress, and senior James Pelick expressed his concerns with the upcoming semester.
“I hate being online,” Pelick said. “I feel like I never adjusted. I know more than what I did this time last year but feel no better about being online again. I understand why we are remote, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Everyone adjusts differently, though some feel they haven’t at all even after a full semester under their belts.
Pelick spoke on how remote classes have caused added stress over the past semester.
It has become a consistent struggle amongst students who are facing problems never seen prior to the online semester.
From technical issues, to finding that quiet place home these are challenges unavoidable to most.
However, some students are taking this second semester stronger than before.
Realizing what worked and what didn’t, some students are finding tips and tricks to facing the second remote learning semester.
Just as before, some students say professors are the biggest asset during this time.
“This wasn’t something I expected coming into college, but something I found that helped me are the Professors,” said freshmen Azja Burgos.
“The best tip I have for others is meeting with your professors. They want to help us succeed because they understand how hard it is.”
Burgos stated how it may be hard to reach out for help at times but is the most productive trick while online.
“Sometimes the support of a professor gives me that push I need to finish the week off strong. Seeing that my hard work is noticed and appreciated makes me happy. It makes me want to try harder,” said Burgos.
This has been the advice many students were offered at the start of last semester.
It seems to have grown even more while heading into the second full semester of remote learning.
While being online, professors have become even more important than ever before.
Being online is not easy, though some students have adapted to this “new normal” for learning.
Others struggle to grasp online learning during this time.
Email Lynne at:
lmcgee1@live.esu.edu
