The Pandemic By Jeremiah Haynes
was very hard on a lot of people, including myself. There was a lot of stuff students needed to learn, some at the beginning of the school year, if not informed about the switch to technology during the summer. This was an even bigger issue for the students who were starting their freshman year of high school or their first year of middle school. As the year continued leading into 2021, many more problems arose and one very big issue was the location of the work. During this new virtual learning experience a lot if not all assignments were online. Having assignments online caused many teachers to have to find unique websites and apps where students could work, which caused confusion for teachers about where and how to assign and grade assignments, and confusion for students about where and how to complete assignments. For me, I had teachers who had assignments in three different websites just for one class, which caused me to feel overwhelmed. A nother problem with virtual learning was connecting with each other. It was very hard for teachers to connect with students because of not being able to speak directly to each other or see each other. Due to having to work with students through computers, we had the option to turn on cameras and mics to communicate with each other. Students who had to turn their cameras on often just sat there awkwardly. When it came to mics and teachers asking questions, there would usually be nothing but silence. This was due to students feeling uncomfortable sharing their questions and answers in this environment. Students frequently had a lot going on in the background, such as disturbing noises, parents talking to them, and even younger siblings being loud. One of the biggest issues with virtual learning was the fact that a school environment and a home environment are two completely different things. When we were in a school environment, for the most part we were all on equal terms when it came to being prepared to learn. So when we had to start working from home, the diverse environments that we had to work in caused their own problems.
At the beginning of the year 2020 the world entered a pandemic that began to harm and kill many people. Everyone was affected, but one area that was really affected was school systems worldwide. As stated by www.cnbc.com (March 30, 2021), “Nearly all — more than 97% — of educators reported seeing some learning loss in their students over the past year when compared with children in previous years.” 1 Many if not all schools were closed in America, causing us to switch from an in-class to a virtual experience, which was new for most people, including myself, and caused many students to fall behind in their education. Switching from in-person classes to online classes was a big challenge that required students and teachers to change how they operated. Both students and teachers had to download certain apps for school and find a suitable enough location to work in. Some schools gave out computers to students with certain things already installed to help out students. We all had to start using apps such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Go To Meeting every day just to meet with our teachers. This transition
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