During quarantine, I had a lot of adapting to do, especially with school. This was the first time anything like this has happened and we were all put in a very sticky situation. School had shifted to a completely online outlook. My teachers used one of two methods, having online meetings and posting videos. Some of my teachers held classes online via Google Meet or Canvas Conference and others posted videos introducing and teaching us the new lessons. I found that both methods had benefits and downsides.

A benefit for the online meetings was that if a student had a question, they could ask the teacher right away, whether they type in the chat or speak directly to them. This is useful because the teacher can answer the question right then and there. If only videos were posted, students would have to email the teachers of any confusions. This takes time as teachers are extremely busy and cannot respond right away. But, I also realized that there was a downside to online meetings. Some students can face internet problems and fail to join meetings. Also, teachers have specific time frames in which they can hold online meetings and students can come across instances where the selected times interfere with their schedules.

For the method of only posting videos, a positive aspect would be that it is open for students at all times and they can watch it multiple times. A negative aspect would be that if a student has a question, they cannot directly ask their teacher for help because the video is not live. Videos only contain the amount of information the teacher gave and most likely leaves out a lot of valuable tips.

During my distance learning experience, I found that a mix of these methods were the most helpful. Obviously learning face to face would have been the most convenient, but this was the next best option. I had one teacher that held online meetings, posted videos, and provided powerpoints for us. They were all very useful to me and allowed me to understand new topics. Overall, I am not a big fan of distance learning, but my experience will definitely be one to remember.