I’m struggling in online classes

My senior year of high school was in-person. YES. It was in person! So I was extremely lucky. Of course, there were many restrictions in place – our cafeteria was completely closed for the first semester – but I got to meet my friends, talk to teachers face-to-face, and take random walks around campus between classes. There were some senior traditions that were cancelled, but at least I had some things.

Now that I don’t have all in-person classes, I notice how I’m struggling to balance different class sections. On the first day of my in-person tutorial section, I was anxious about the time since I had an online class right after. I packed my bag when it was 5 mins to the hour and left at 10:00 a.m. SHARP, to find an open space where I could talk on a strong Wi-Fi connection. I really like the open space at Sidney Smith Hall, but since the weather is getting colder, I have to find a new place soon…. (ugh!)

For asynchronous sections, I find myself feeling overwhelmed with the amount of information available on Quercus. I usually triple check my weekly tasks with a friend to make sure that I’m not confused or missing out on anything. This week, since more work is being assigned, I almost forgot that I hadn’t watched the recorded lectures. I’m still exploring the best study time for asynchronous classes, but with every week looking different I believe that it's going to take a while.

The biggest question I have for my asynchronous classes since the semester started: How do I study? I was confused on what I should do after I completed the lectures, the readings, and the quizzes. I probably still am, but after talking to so many people, I’m going for making mind maps and doing practice questions. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I guess I feel the difference now that teachers aren't giving us study resources. That said, there are so many resources out there and I’m spending my time searching which ones work for me. With midterms coming up, I’m checking out our old exam repository. But if you happen to know any upper years in your program, talk to them! I got some practice questions and advice from them for midterms: they’re truly life savers!

Also, I usually like taking notes on paper, but obviously with how digitalised the world is, plus online classes, I am slowly turning to using a computer to take notes. Not the best way, but the most efficient one for online classes. I guess a tradeoff for that is I would need to spend more time studying after classes since I don’t really retain information with typing. I’m still getting adjusted though, so we’ll see how it goes.

Anyways, good luck with midterms! If this is your first midterm season at U of T (like me!!), WE GOT THIS. And I'll share what my mom would say to you all: Don’t forget to eat.