Pixelated Learning: Getting the Most Out of Your Remote Education in Three Steps

COVID-19 has revolutionized the world in many ways, but the change with the greatest impact must be the switch from traditional to remote education. School was hard enough before without the added confusion that comes from having no separation between home and school. So, how do you make the most of your digital education?

Step One: Are pants absolutely necessary? Comfort is key!

• Regardless of what comfort means for you, it is crucial that you create an environment in which you can focus on things other than the fact that modern capitalism has somehow convinced you that skinny jeans are anything other than terrible. It is important to remember that your definition of comfort may also change as the semester goes on! 
  
  • If your goal is to attend every class, comfort may be purely physical. Try wearing pajama pants and sitting in bed. As long as the wall behind you looks put together, you will too.
    
  • If you’re feeling the effects of quarantine and are struggling with staying interested in class, try creating a space designated only for school work. Wake up and prepare for the day as if you were going to in-person classes. This way you will be able to retain the separation of your responsibilities and chill time.
    
• Summary: Do what makes you feel best! Remote classes are a minefield of possibilities when it comes to the environment you want to cultivate and what best suits your learning style. 
  

Step Two: Take off your glasses so they can’t see your quickly diminishing productivity scrolling by in the reflection. Stay engaged! 

• As easy as it is to use the camera’s limitations as a way to avoid actually participating, you will only get as much out of a class as you put in. Focusing can be extremely difficult without the structure of a classroom setting. Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in the past:
  
  • If you’re a habitual ‘one unmute per class’ type of person, challenge yourself to unmute at unusual intervals, and never comment on the same thing twice. While it may be challenging, you’ll find that your knowledge of concepts will expand as you find new ways in which to relate them to that one topic of which you have an oddly expansive knowledge. 
    
  • If your professor sounds like the teacher from your childhood VHS of Charlie Brown, try starting out small. I like keeping a pad of sticky notes next to me. If I hear a quote or term that interests me, I write it down and stick it on the wall. With this method, you’ll soon have a wall of neon paper with random quotes and concepts you can look back on when you need a response journal idea. That being said, the important thing isn’t that you follow up with the notes or even look at them again; it’s that you’re actively listening and pulling things out of the conversation. 
    
• Summary: The best thing you can do to increase your engagement in class is to make an effort. Everyone has days when focusing is especially difficult. Those aren’t exclusive to remote learning. 
  

Step Three: Weighted blankets make nice stand-ins for people. Ask for help!

• One of the most challenging aspects of remote learning is communication. Without the ability to physically reach out to professors or classmates it is easy to get caught up in the complexity of confusing syllabi and Google Classroom pages. Having both academic and emotional support groups is imperative to your happiness and success. 
  
  • Especially at a small school such as ours, the likelihood of your knowing at least one person in your class and their knowing at least one other person is high. Try reaching out to the person with whom you feel most comfortable and create a study group. Even if you never study together, having someone to ask what they missed or what page the homework is on is extremely helpful. 
    
  • Ask questions! If you’re confused I guarantee someone else is too (to the person in my politics class who always asks for clarification on the assignments: You know who you are and I would give you my first born child if you asked). Since much of the question asking in remote learning is conducted over email, I’ve created an adaptable template for all of your late-night, last-minute, panicked queries. 
    
• Summary: The earlier on that you are able to create a support network the better. Asking for help is scary, but getting halfway through the semester and not knowing what weekly class expectations are is scarier. 
  

We all know that Simon’s Rock students are best known for their inability to slow down and allow themselves to be imperfect. The most important thing to remember during remote learning is that (I know it’s cheesy; just go with it) your worth is not defined by your productivity. So, do whatever works best for you and hold on. Life extends beyond the frozen pixels on your Zoom call. 

Email Template:
[Professor’s Name], 

I hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out to ask/let you know that [reason for emailing]. [Further elaboration/explanation of attached files if applicable]. Thank you for all of your help, I appreciate it! 

Best, 
[Your Name]

Author

El Selberg. Elizabeth Selberg is a sophomore at Simon's Rock and the Vice President of The Weekly Cad. ​