Study In a Pandemic

Hello everyone!
On this occasion I would like to share with you all about my learning experience during the
pandemic. But before that, I hope we all in a good condition and always be blessed by God. My
name is Isidora Paskalia, I’m from Xaverius 2 Senior High School and this is my story!
It has been over a year since the corona pandemic hit the world. That means I have been
doing distance learning through the internet for over a year as well. Distance learning is indeed
necessary to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19, but it poses challenges, especially in
the use of technology. So many ups and downs I have been experienced while doing the online
learning. One of them is that I don’t have to wake up early to go to school. Back then before the
pandemic, I had to wake up two hours earlier to get ready to school. It takes around half an hour
to get to school from my house. During the distance learning, I just have to open an online
learning applications such as Google Classroom and fill out the class attendance, that way I’ve
attended the class. The internet is one of the important things to support my online school.
Sometimes, my network sucks and it disrupts the online learning process. Once, I had to submit
my assignment but there was something wrong with my internet that made me late. Fortunately,
my teacher understood so that it was not considered as a late submission.
In this online learning, the materials are explained through online meeting using
applications such as Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Sometimes, I don’t understand what the teachers
are saying because of the inequality in facilities or access to technology. In my opinion, most of
school subjects are best taught directly by teachers in the class instead of through the internet.
Moreover, if there is a network disturbance and the teacher’s voice falters, besides being unable
to understand the material, it would result in material lag. If that happens, I have to understand
my own material by watching the learning videos on youtube, reading the material in Google and
much more.
By learning from home using gadgets and various online applications, I am getting better
at using this advanced technology, although sometimes my eyes feel tired, but it can be
overcome by taking a rest before the next lesson begins. Another thing that I have felt during
online learning is that I feel like become closer to my parents. It’s because they are people who
help me study at home during the pandemic. Furthermore, I also have learned to be more
discipline in managing my time. But, the online learning makes me miss my friends and my
teachers. I know that distance learning is indeed not easy, but I feel lucky to be able to receive
education even though it is through screens!
Nowadays, as PPKM levels decreased, limited face-to face learning can be implemented
by implementing the health protocols. When I heard this news I was excited because I could
meet my friends and my teachers also. However, I still worried to study face-to-face at school in
these times because we are still in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic. Because of that, parents are
given the freedom to make decisions whether their children will undergo learning session face-
to-face or online. My parents finally decided to give me permission to go to school. This is
because limited face-to-face learning is organized with preparations and regulations. Students,
teachers, and other school staff who come to school must be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Besides that, for face-to-face learning, school are also required to follow regulations regarding
class capacity, air circulations, study durations, and availability of facilities such as hand
sanitizer, wash basins, temperature checker and more.
Following this limited face-to-face learning enabled me to understand the material easily
because it’s directly explained by the teacher. In addition, I can also communicate with my
friends even though I have to distance myself according to health protocol. But it doesn’t make
me unenthusiastic in learning. According to my story, there are many ups and downs that I’ve
felt during both online and limited face-to-face learning. Moreover, there are many positive
effects to be experienced, which could be useful to me in the future. So, whether studying is done
online or in a limited way at school, we should keep our passion for learning because studying
can be anywhere and anytime.