A guide for students
(updated November 1, 2023)
Make the best of it
Studying from home became part of life for many of us during Covid. And many people are enjoying home-study for other reasons. We talked to people who made it work. These are some questions we asked them: Are you able to manage your productivity and have time for yourself? Were you able to handle it all during that time of change? How did you turn studying at home into a positive, and make this time be beneficial?
What you will experience in instant online education: the good, the bad, the ugly
Being home while attending class, will have its advantages. Hanging out on the couch in your comfy clothes, and being in your own room, or home: a big plus! No rush to get to school, just log on.
But things have proven to be different, of course. Due to the ‘distant learning’ set up, there has been much less chance for traditional forms of class distraction. The dynamics of the class room aren’t there. The vibe, the quick eye contact, the bit-of-fun is hard to create online. The interaction became rather structured. It resulted in more focused classes. People needed to prepare themselves for the discipline of how they were going to focus on school, when there is even more Snapchat, instagram and other distractions at your fingertips.
What habits did they change?
A new Rhythm
People we met just asked themselves how to become their own personal leader and create a bit of discipline in their daily lifes. What does this look like for you? Going to school, running to classes, being in a classroom, we all established a rhythm that makes us study regularly. You are part of a system, and you ‘can’t hide’. By suddenly being home, the rhythm is rudely interrupted. Having online classes will bring some of it back, but you will need to rely much more on your own discipline than before. It turned out to be important to make it a habit to create a daily plan, a weekly plan for study: topics to cover, amount of time assigned to each topic.
Social connection.
Not seeing your friends every day live created quite a change. People who were successful in coping with this have found ways to ‘stay in touch’ in a different way. Social media have been given a different role. They increased their time on social media quite a bit. And many of them said they ‘re-invented’ their mobiles, making it a habit to just call their friends on regular base, to just chat.
Art and music.
Creative expression and development are essential in building your ‘skill set’, independent from the career path you will pursue. Studying remotely will make it harder to be active in this area. Many people discovered their gifts, taking the extra time to deepen their talents. And if they were not sure what talent they had, they just explored a few. They took some online art classes, or music lessons. Quite a few started to learn to play an instrument.
Covid shifted our ‘normal way of learning’
The one thing we repeatedly heard about Covid was that people realized that experiencing that crazy period was quite unique. And everyone was touched by it. But it is also be referred to in future applications, for college, or jobs. Interviewers will ask what you did during this period. How did you cope with this change, and what did you do to benefit the extra time given. Did you learn new things? Did you develop a new talent? Or did you just take binge watching as the best strategy ?
But again, this not only applies to Covid. Many of us study from home for other reasons.
Make it become a health project for you and your growth.
Sports. Even walking to the bus, or being to school is movement. Let alone sports at school or after. Some sport activities may continue. Quite a few people have discovered new ways to keep moving. They found alternative ways to move, everyday, regularly. Quite a few people discovered new sports that are ‘safe’ from a contagiousness standpoint. They started running, biking, or walking. Start a home fitness routine yourself. Online yoga and YouTube workouts. Offer to walk the dog. It is important you take good care of your body and health.
Read this wonderful blog How to Build Your Own Workout Routines – Advice from a Two-time Olympian.
Food. Hanging around the house could get you into snacking mode, before you know. Why not turn things around? Take the time you can’t go to school to increase your physical exercise, supported by having healthy food? Check out this John Hopkin’s University blog on healthy food during adolescence.
There’s more time for long term things
Apart from focusing on the situation at hand in order to work on your creative skills or health, you will have more time to spend on topics you normally would not focus on.
Career choice. You got some ideas about ‘after high school’, or may be you don’t have a clue yet. Use the extra time you got now to explore your career options.
Try Findmino.com. It’s an easy and pleasant tool to find out your interests, and explore all kinds of career paths. From Tattoo Artist to Neurosurgeon, from Organic Farmer to Machine Learning Engineer, to Attorney. And it’s for free.
Study planning. Map the time ahead of you in weeks, months, possibly years before finishing high school (or college). What are the main things you would need to accomplish. The electives to choose, the projects to deliver, the work based learning to be gathered. List it and time it. Check this Wikihow blog for more suggestions.
Your learning style. More than ever it is important to know your own learning style. What’s the best way for you personally to take information and turn it into knowledge? This blog at IvyPanda offers some useful insights into learning styles: what they are and how to look at them.
People who were used to go to school and switched to online learning all went through a period of adjustment. But it is remarkable how we respond. Crises often trigger goodness, inventiveness. Let’s turn home study into a benefit.
Check our other blogs regarding the Covid-19 crisis here.
Want to know more?
Check this blog at StudyCorgi, which covers common problems that arise when working or studying from home and tips for dealing with them.
Check Findmino.com. Free access. For inspiration and tools to find a fulfilling career.
Useful resources
Misconceptions and Myths about Online Learning. At the height of the pandemic, online education became the only option to gain new skills and graduate. The IvyPanda team has debunked some common misconceptions regarding remote learning here. They have uncovered some unexpected features and outlined online learning benefits.
Also check IvyPanda’s 10 Tips For Learning Online Successfully.
8 tips for studying at home more effectively Number of practical tips open how to get yourself best organized.
Linkedin’s online classes for people new to online learning. Includes practical advice and how to use the most used online productivity tools.
Financial Aid Resource for College Students. A free overview of how to go about financial aide during your studies.
The Problem with Learning Styles and How to Use It to Your Benefit, a blog by IvyPanda.
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