On learning

For almost all of students, we've now spent a year in online classes. For the juniors I know from my previous college - their core college experience was taken away from them. The festivals, the events, the perpetual roaming around in college, sitting in college lawns (unless you're from LSR - then you probably cannot sit there) etc. I know people who barely attended their first semester in college and then ever since have been sitting in front of their laptop. Their laptop is their college.

I then wonder if it is them who are more unfortunate or people who entered into new institutions online. Most of such people (including me) have not yet even seen the building of the university/college they've been attending for close to a year now. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect is that they haven't even met their classmates - those with whom they talk almost everyday. And of course - they haven't met their professors as well. It is hard to put in terms the fact that you were taught for a whole semester by an echoing voice coming out of a screen. No visage, no expressions, just a single phased out voice. 

Thank god for professors who turn their video on. 

Learning: Alone & Isolated

The biggest challenge thus in online classes is of learning. There are two major issues. First is the lack of physical classroom experience and second, a lack of peer support networks. Both form an integral part of the learning experience and when replicated online - their quality is severely diluted. This majorly impacts the students and their learning outcomes 

My framing is not that professors are lazing off - it is that the impact of online classes is disparate between these two groups and the rhetoric of 'pandemic affects teachers and students alike' is flawed. For teachers - their 'work' and 'teaching' had to transition. For students - the whole idea of 'learning' took a hit. When comparing a teacher's professional experience that got diluted due to the pandemic versus the dilution of student's entire learning infrastructure - surely you can see the disparate impact. One has to 'work' with knowledge they already posses and the other has to 'learn' from the get go. Or rather, one is responsible for how much and how well the other learns - which puts an even greater burden on professors to make sure that their students don't come out of their classes as second grade learners who are clueless about the subject. 

This is my third semester of online classes - and I'm not too sure if it will be the last. If I were to create a template for how to better navigate learning in online environment, it would look like this (with the caveat that I don't always follow these guidelines myself, but I never fail to try) 

1. Attend classes regularly (but also skip them strategically) - We've all been through the cycle in which we miss one class and then nothing makes sense to us in later classes. You want to stay away from that because it further disincentives you to attend future classes, and before we know - the whole semester has gone by. However, the more important aspect is to learn how to skip classes effectively. Look at classes as an investment in time and mental energy. As is the case with every investment - you want positive returns, not a zero sum game and surely not negative returns. Look at classes through a cost benefit analysis. And thus skip the classes for which you think what is taught is roughly equal to what you can learn on your own at your own time. Now, to make that judgement (and correct judgement is the most important bit of it) you'll actually have to attend all of your classes for some time. It is very important to look past the guilt of not attending classes, because if it is guilt that is making you stay - you're probably wasting your time being in class and not learning anything.

2. Keep asking questions (it's the teachers job to answer them) - It's pretty much a no brainer. You are in the class to learn, and hesitating to ask questions hurts your ability to learn. It is not important for you to always ask your questions in class (although some of your questions can benefit the class as well). You can always text/email/call your professors. Prefer asking your professors the questions rather than trying to find all the answers yourself (even if you're confident that you can) because professors always bring a different and interesting angle to the conversation which can interest you further. (a funny anecdote: a professor actually admonished me for asking a question while she was speaking because she said that it interrupts her train of thought, and then went on to say "well now I've lost my train of thought"). 

3. Read material before class (or after - whatever works for you) - The caveat for this advice is  to of course try to do this for all classes but if you cannot (or think that you can do without it and score as well) do it for all classes, do it for subjects you care about deeply. Prioritization is very important, both in academics and in life. I've always enjoyed classes far more when I've done the readings before - as it allows me to participate fully in the discussion and also makes me ask better questions. 

4. Read outside class (literally and academically) - One of the things I'm most particular about in subjects that I enjoy (I would try to parcel this advice for all subjects but I'd be lying if I said that I did this for all subjects. You will not find some subjects interesting and that's okay. You can't like everything) is to read outside the curriculum on aspects that interest me. Not only does it give a better perspective on what you're studying in class but also fills in the knowledge gap that might be unintentionally left out in the curriculum. Try to read blogs, read articles and watch videos (even though the most effective way in my opinion is to read academic papers). It leaves you richer in your understanding of your subject (or at least will compellingly show you how little you know. I find it very humbling).

5. Talk to your classmates about what you study in class - This is a bit tricky because this advice is based on the idea that knowledge always grows from a conversation between two people interested in something. But, because we aren't with each other - either in classrooms or otherwise it becomes very difficult to talk to your classmates about a lot of things (than would otherwise be possible while taking a stroll or sharing a bowl of Maggi for example). If you find people that are interested in the things you are as well, try to talk to them. This can work well especially for classes because then you can keep a track of readings and assignments and can help each other out. Working alone is a bug rather than a feature most of the times. 

I sincerely hope that this advice expires with this semester and we once again are free to spend our time in lawns and with cute doggos. 

If you want to connect, I'm on twitter.