School is not the same this year. Instead of having to drive to a physical building each day, some students are just rolling out of bed to sit in a chair in their room. The concept of school is no longer confined to just brick and mortar. For some, school is now webcams and pixels. With virtual school as an alternative option to face-to-face learning, many students have chosen to embrace this new future and attend school online. 

“I like online school because it gives me a chance to create more of my own schedule,” Julia Drusch (11) said. “It gives me more time to focus on my extracurriculars since I can work ahead on asynchronous classes.”

Online students do not have as strict of a schedule as face-to-face learners do. They are required to join online Zoom meetings at certain times during the day, but their schedules are mostly self-disciplined. Virtual students complete the same work as face-to-face students, but they have the ability to choose when they wish to work on certain subjects. They can choose to complete work as quickly or as slowly as they wish at home. 

“I chose online school because my parents didn’t want me to go back to school yet,” Lauren Schmidt (10) said. “I wanted to do online because I thought that I would be easier than physical school.” 

Many students like Schmidt chose to attend school virtually because their parents didn’t feel comfortable with them out in public with so many people yet. It has also been said that virtual school is easier than physical school. With the ability to complete assignments at their own pace, online students can finish faster than they used to be able to. It is also appealing to many students that they can work from the comfort of their own room 

“Sometimes the work given doesn’t transfer well over to online people,” Rose Giambruno-Fuge (11) said. “There are directions that you miss or that are lost in translation. This can be difficult to work with.” 

However, virtual school isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Online students still have the same amount of work as face-to-face students. Because everything is online, it is common for directions to be misunderstood because instructions are written instead of gone over in person. There have also been a number of technical difficulties such as Zoom glitches and Internet connectivity. These problems were taken into consideration when students chose to go virtual. 

“I had two reasons for doing online school,” Drusch said. “I am doing online school because I wanted to test out how I liked the online school experience. My second reason is that I have newborn nephews that I visit often, so I can’t take any extra risks that I don’t necessarily need to.” 

Health concerns have greatly weighed in the decision to stay home and choose online school. Students who have family members that are easily susceptible to COVID-19 have chosen to stay home out of precaution. Some students even have their own personal health reasons that prevent them from coming to school. Still, many are optimistic about returning to school later in the year. 

“Yes, I most likely will come back to school in the future,” Schmidt said. “I think that eventually COVID-19 will end and everyone will come back.”

Until then, virtual learners will be at home receiving their education online. These students will continue to finish their assignments and join Zoom meetings. They will continue to work at their own pace and take breaks whenever they choose. Students learning from home have fully embraced this new reality and are moving forward with determination. 

“I do imagine myself coming back face-to-face at some point, but, as of now, I am going to remain online,” said Drusch.