With all the ups and downs that the American education system can endure, it is no question that one of the biggest shifts was the closing of schools in 2020. For educational institutions, this meant having to transform and grow along with their students as online learning became the new norm.

Annalise Scialabba, a senior at Sonoma State University, stated, “[The shift] was both positive and negative. The positive was that I was able to do classwork on my own time, which made the lessons easier to learn.” However, she also considered this a negative, “I would get distracted and wait until the last minute.” 

Switching to online classes was a time to slow down for many students, yet the circumstances might not have been the best given how many people were suffering to adapt and continue to suffer. 

Olivia Smart, a senior at SSU, shares her opinion on the negative side of online learning, stating that it’s hard, “Not being able to focus as well and having to adapt in a different area while doing school so far away from my [sorority] sisters and friends.”

Contrary to Smart, Nathan Salimi, a junior at SSU, viewed the lack of distractions as a blessing because he was able to have the time to push himself physically and mentally, “[With the] little people-to-people contact that I had, I was better able to focus on myself and grow as an individual.” 

However, Salimi stated he and his friends had “The lack of desire to learn from school after the classes went online.”

“It can be very disconnecting in a sense… technology has really helped! Being able to facetime, text, or call people has really been the only thing getting me through this tough time. Without this kind of technology, learning and connections wouldn’t be possible!” says Smart. 

Many students took the change to online classes as an opportunity to explore passions and hobbies outside of school work. Others, however, felt that the work load only got heavier.

 Scialabba was unable to focus on other passions, “My brain was full of things I had to do for school.” As a result, online learning became more stressful, and she was completely isolated at home due to all her courses being completely online.

 Smart, however, liked the flexibility of her new schedule, appreciating, “The opportunity to have a job and hold a high position in my sorority.”

 Salimi stated, “This gave me the freedom to put more time into the activities that I enjoy.” Salimi was also able to, “Work more and pursue my passion of investing in the stock market with the money I was making from work.”

While many schools are returning to in-person classes, it doesn’t seem like online learning is going anywhere anytime soon. The world of education changed completely when the pandemic took over, causing stress among students everywhere. However, it seems that as we are coming out of it, students are able to reflect and understand how they may have grown as a person from adapting to these hard times.