student: Željana Subić, Medicinska škola “Draginja Nikšić“, IV-1

teacher: Slavica Grujanić

Pros and Cons: How I feel about remote learning

Ever since the pandemic started, remote learning has become a highly discussed topic. Schools
and teachers turned to various online platforms, attempted to organize their programs with
regard to the new difficult circumstances, and began to tackle various problems of distance, lack
of motivation, or communication.

There are many advantages of remote learning, which students started to notice at the very
beginning of its introduction. To start with, for the first time, students could listen to classes from
the comfort of their own homes. They got a chance to listen to various subjects in comfortable
clothes, to drink coffee at the same time, and to be surrounded by their pets (as many screenshots
of cats appearing in Zoom calls illustrate). With remote learning, the school was paired with a
cosy setting. In addition to this, it seemed like one of the benefits of the new model of learning
was that many students developed their organizational skills. Students got a chance to organize
their assignments, make new study plans so that they can balance their free time at home and
studying, and take their responsibilities into their own hands. What is more, because every
school assignment was to be completed digitally, on the computer, it gave the students a chance
to learn how to use different programs, online platforms, and how to research learning material
on the internet.

However, some disadvantages of remote learning also became apparent. In spite of the fact that
the students liked being at home, being able to rest between classes, and sitting in comfortable
chairs, remote learning soon became an alienating experience. Weekes passed since they saw
their classmates. Some students who started school during pandemics didn't even get a chance to
properly meet other students. Although students became more autonomous concerning their
study process, soon the responsibilities came pilling up. It became apparent that students don't
have more free time. With online classes and additional tasks coming from teachers, it seemed
that they had even less free time than before. Despite being beneficial for gaining computer
skills, remote learning contributed to the neglect of other skills for some students. Because
students turned to the digital sphere,they stopped reading, writing notes, or solving homework in
their notebooks. As a result, some students stopped developing their usual studying strategies
and focused on completing online tasks.

All things considered, it seems that remote learning has both advantages and disadvantages. All
in all, I think that while being a fun change, remote learning made me miss school, the ability to
hang out with my friends every day and to hand in handwritten homework. In my opinion,
remote learning gave the school a cosy side but it cannot replace the real school.