By: Nathan Tok, Peak Associate
Ever taken a distance education course? It can be annoying. Too much of the course is self taught through reading of journal articles and textbooks, there’s not enough interaction with the teaching staff, and no lecture to explain to you what on earth you’re reading. But those are just the downsides. It can also be good for students to take remote courses — as long as they keep their minds open. During this pandemic, when we’re all forced to be remote, it can be helpful to look for the silver lining in our situation so we don’t go through this entire semester under a cloud of pessimism.
Imagine this: you’re standing at the bus stop in 32 degree weather getting ready for a tutorial that’s just 50-minutes long. You’re hot and sweating and you’re probably gonna be late as you’ve just watched the third R5 pass by because it was too full. Well, this summer semester you won’t have that problem. Simply roll out of bed, attend that Zoom tutorial, maybe say one or two generalized things to show that you’ve totally done the readings, and then commute back to your bed. Done! Tutorial over and back to Animal Crossing.
This relaxed environment will also make this summer a great time to explore courses for WQB requirements. For me, as someone who tends to stress less about getting everything perfect during the summer, taking fun electives seems during a semester that I don’t have to physically be in class seems like the perfect pairing. Because everything is now fully remote, I can enjoy learning about the things that interest me since I’m in the comfort of my own home.
Of course, remote learning is not the best way for meeting or interacting with people, but saying “I agree” when responding to a post on a Canvas discussion board is better than nothing. At least it gives you the chance to talk to someone else outside of your household, and provides a nice change of pace from the constant pandemic complaining on group chats. After weeks of social starvation, I bet seeing your classmates’ faces on BB Collaborative video presentations will be a welcome relief. Hopefully when the quarantine ends, those Canvas discussions will give you and your classmates lots to talk about in person.
