When California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White announced in May that CSU campuses would be remote for the fall 2020 semester, I felt my heart sink. After four years at community college and transferring to my dream university, it really sucked that my first year had to be over Zoom.
I’m a hands-on type of learner. I enjoy being in a classroom environment with other students who I get to actually interact with and get to know. And what better place to learn than at Long Beach State? I was excited to finally move out of the house and be on campus, but coronavirus had to come and throw a wrench in everyone’s plans. I was disappointed to say the least, but what I was dreading the most was online learning.
I know how much I struggle with online classes because of my previous experiences in taking a few in community college. It’s hard for me to focus and find motivation sometimes, especially when it comes to self-paced material. I ended up doing mediocre or poorly on most exams due to me struggling with not being in a classroom environment.
To be completely honest, this past semester has not been the best. It’s too easy to stay in bed and not attend class, and the days seem to come and go quickly.
The next semester and possibly the one after are still going to be tough for me. But now I am going in with more experience and have some ideas to make the spring semester easier.
Currently, I’m using a desktop PC for my classes. It‘s fast, has a lot of memory for documents and is connected to a large, high-quality monitor. It’s all I need to get through online classes. But my computer also has a bunch of games that distract me when I am in class.
For the coming semester, I’m planning on getting a new battery for my old laptop. I had used it for three years in community college, and by the beginning of the third year, it was already showing signs of breaking down. The battery would swell while using the laptop, and it doesn’t take a computer wiz to know that’s not a good sign.
A working laptop will let me get out of my room and bring work wherever I go. Even if it’s just going downstairs. A change of scenery and an escape from games could help my productivity.
I’m planning out my time to manage it effectively. This past semester, I took five journalism classes including: podcasting, newswriting, and photojournalism. Now that I have taken 15 units of online instruction, I have a good grasp on what the workload feels like. Since my schedule for next term has been made, I feel pretty confident about the rest of this year and the next.
It’s important to know how you operate as a person when making a schedule. I personally hate taking morning classes and operate best around noon and afternoon, so I tried my best to get classes at those times.
Don’t be afraid to stack a few classes in one day so you have another day free. Three classes back to back can be tiring, but if you have the next day off, it is a nice break to either get some work done at your own pace or just relax. Mental health is just as important as managing a workload.
I’m also planning on cleaning up my workspace. A cluttered workspace can be distracting and inadvertently be counterproductive. Before the fall session started, I tidied up my desk and reorganized my drawers to get rid of junk.
Since I wanted to put my desktop PC on my actual desk, I had to clear my desktop to make room for the computer and for folders and other stationary. It took a whole day to get my desk setup, but it was well worth it. My desktop was clear and everything was organized.
I felt good going into the school year, and I will clean up again to get ready for spring.
With 2021 and another virtual semester on the horizon, I feel more confident than I did at the beginning of the school year. We are all going to have to put up with Zoom meetings for a little longer, so let’s make the most of it.
Bring it on 2021, I’m ready for you.