Many students have chosen the safer option of online learning. However, online school has its advantages and its drawbacks, resulting in a communication fiasco turning learning into a game of telephone.

To slow the spread of the coronavirus, many schools, Heritage included, have initiated some form of online learning. This option is taken by many, especially those who are in close contact with elderly relatives or have a weakened immune system of some sort. The challenges of online learning present themselves when in-person school becomes too dangerous for many.

“Remembering to complete assignments, because even if you do the work, you might not remember to turn it in,” Isabel Torrez (10) said. 

But so much changed with the introduction of face-to-face learning, as virtual students were no longer the focus.

“What this means in practice, is that virtual students get less attention and effort focused on us because we shifted from the majority to the minority, Logan Espinoza (10) said”

However, we aren’t the only school afflicted with these issues. When asked about challenging parts of online courses at MHS, students responded.

“Not being there in the class with the teacher is harder to ask questions,” Emily Conrad (12) said.

Which all-in-all seems painfully similar to Heritage online students.

“There is almost no immediate authority that school officials can exercise toward us, so for simple things like turning in assignments on time, and even going to class all have to be managed solely by us,” Espinoza said.

However, despite these drawbacks, which all-in-all seems painfully similar to Heritage students, there are still advantages to online learning.

“One benefit of online school is self-paced Homework,” D’Arius Bibbs (11) said.

But when all’s said and done, online learning is still a struggle, specifically when it comes to interaction.

 “It’s much harder to interact with fellow peers and teachers during online learning,” Espinoza said.  “As a testament to that statement, I’ve had exactly one conversation with one peer during class in the past six weeks.”