Some additional thoughts & tips for virtual learning

Cameron Gibson, Media & Online Chief

While hybrid school begins next week, online will continue for most. Online schooling can be difficult for a number of reasons, but there are some ways to minimize problems.

One problem that many students are having is the distractions that can be caused by doing school at home. Normally, when in school, students are in a classroom that is being monitored by a teacher, and the chance for distractions is minimal. However, while working from home, many students can find it hard to stay on task. To minimize this, students should try to work as far away from televisions as possible. When working near a TV, it is very easy to turn it on out of habit, and a student could become lost when trying to re-focus on classes.
Another way to remain focused is to try and keep phone usage to a minimum. Just like televisions, phones are distractors. Consider putting the phone in a different room while working on schoolwork and only using it during lunch or free mods. Students could also turn their phones off during school to avoid the tempting notifications..
Similar to distractions, students have also struggled with time-management while doing school from home. It can be easy to procrastinate and put off homework until the very last minute, but there is a way to deal with this.
One way is to use better time management while working from home is to create a schedule. Set specific times that you will complete homework, tests, and projects after school. Try to follow this schedule as strictly as possible because it can be easy to put it off and begin procrastinating again.
Another problem many students have had is the struggle to stay motivated. It can be hard for students to stay motivated to get homework done after a long day at school. It is especially difficult when they are at home, but just like the previous issues, there are ways to handle this.
Just like for time management, create a schedule or a checklist. This will be a constant reminder of what has to be done before the day is over and will make students want to complete the task just to get it off of the list.