School already looks a lot different this year—the campus sidewalks are crowded with students walking to and from classes, there is an excitement in the air, and things finally feel like they are returning to normal. As vaccination rates continue to rise as we continue to fight COVID-19, the end finally feels like it could be in sight. For upperclassmen, this year seems to be a promising return to the experiences they once had—studying outside in the grass, hanging out with friends in the library and visiting with their professors in the classroom. For underclassmen, this year feels a bit more like the experience we always imagined. While the pandemic is not over, there is a certain kind of hope in the air, a hope that soon enough life will return to how it was, and everything will be okay.
As things are returning to normal, one of the big changes is the return to in-person classes. I was a freshman last year in the midst of the pandemic, so returning to campus this year has already been a tremendous shock. All my classes last year were on Zoom, and looking back it is remarkable that we all managed to survive the school year. There is something particularly exhausting about Zoom (especially when you are isolated in a dorm room), so being back in the classroom has been something I should have never taken for granted. Who knew I would be this excited to get back to class?
While most classes have returned to in person, I know some still have Zoom classes. I personally have two classes that are being operated over Zoom this fall semester. After having finally had that “college” experience of walking to class and sitting in lecture halls and listening to my professors give presentations with microphones and projectors, there is something stilted about returning to the narrow walls of the computer screen. After knowing what I had missed out on last year, it is even more painful to have to sit through another Zoom lecture.
If you still have Zoom classes, here are a few tips to help make it at least a little more bearable.
Create the right environment
It is so tempting to roll out of bed and grab your laptop five minutes before class starts (I have done it so many times). However, it can be hard to focus and engage in the class when you are in an environment in which you normally do not study. Treat your Zoom class as you would an in-person class: wake up with enough time to prepare yourself, get dressed into something you would wear to class, and find an area in which you can focus. Recently, I’ve found that going to the library keeps me accountable when I am on Zoom, however even carving out a section of your room or kitchen table and making that into a study spot could make all the difference.
Clear away distractions
This is a difficult one, but it is so important in creating an environment that is conducive to learning. To keep yourself accountable when in class, keep your phone off your desk (and turn it to silent) and close any tabs on your computer that may be distracting. Try to mold your behavior to best fit how you normally act and succeed in a physical classroom—if you take notes in class, take notes during your Zoom lectures. Even though many professors upload their PowerPoints and other study materials online for you to access, try taking notes and adding to the contents of their lecture. Not only is this a great way to make sure that you are staying focused and on track, but it also will be great to look back on later as you are trying to study.
Enjoy it
There is something strangely personal and yet dissonant about Zoom. I remember at the end of last year saying goodbye to my professors (none of which I had ever met or seen in person) and feeling like the entire year of classes I had just finished was almost transient or distant. There was nothing that I could hold onto—there was not a classroom or building or place to attach to these memories, there were not faces (hardly any of my peers would turn their cameras on), and there was a disconnect between the professor and students. However, it was not all bad. Zoom is confining and limiting but, in some ways, it has a certain directness—the professor is speaking directly into the camera, there are no issues about sitting too far back to hear the lecture or being distracted by the sounds of chairs creaking and pencils scratching. Zoom is quiet, and quiet is not necessarily bad. My last words of advice are these—enjoy it. Try to enjoy it. Try to get through it. Because some day we are going to be able to look back on these years and we are going to be amazed that we made it to the other side, for the tunnel was so absent of light and the shadows so thick.
I hope you have had a good start to the semester, and I wish you luck with all your classes!