Covid, class, and college

    Personally, I do not like the online college experience. I think learning comes from being able to have social interactions with both teachers and students, which is obviously very difficult to do during this pandemic. School and education is a time for students not only to expand their knowledge, but increase their social interactions. With the current restrictions, I am pretty much confined to my dorm room the majority of the day. All of my classes are online, so I sit inside and do schoolwork pretty much all day every day. 

    I do not think anything should be implemented in regards to help students who are failing coursework. First off, I do not think anything like that could be carried out fairly. Second, college is a time where you have to figure things out on your own and become much more independent than before. Yes, Covid is making school extremely difficult, but it is still the student’s responsibility to make sure they succeed in their learning. The University of Kentucky has numerous resources that are built to help students succeed, so everyone who is struggling should be taking advantage of them. 

    For me, I am much better at learning in person. I like physically going to class because it wakes me up in the mornings and makes me feel productive about my days. I also learn more in person because there are less distractions in a classroom. This semester I find it harder to focus and have had less motivation as a student than ever before. Also, I feel like I cannot get as much information online as in person. For example, I have two labs this first semester, and they are both online. One lab consists of watching videos and filling out worksheets, while the other is a simulation with questions. During these labs, I cannot actually see what is happening which makes it very difficult to learn. 

    In the future, I think this could potentially affect the job market. Personally, I want to go into the healthcare field, and I do not think the way my classes are being carried out are preparing me for this. I do not feel that I am able to get the hands on experience I need to be competitive in this field. For example, it has to be extremely difficult to do clinicals online because you are not getting the hands on experience you need to be successful.