With the onset of extra challenges that students have to face with asynchronous learning, school is actually a lot more challenging online than in person, but it does not have to be. 

My experiences learning virtually haven’t been all that great, but for those days where I don’t feel as I’m drowning in schoolwork, or swimming through project after project, I feel a massive wave of relief. The always increasing mountain of assignments, due dates and projects comes to a halt and actually allows for me to work on making a significant dent on how much I have to do. When teachers take it easier on online students it makes a significant difference, at least for me. Many students have responsibilities off campus at work and at home. I’m always rushing to get my work done that way I can move onto the next class to complete, then rinse repeat, and I’m not the only student trapped in this process.

Another issue that arises with asynchronous learning is that it’s harder to understand notes without direct assistance from a teacher. Notes for certain classes can be difficult to understand depending on the context of the course and the complexity of the notes themselves. A lot of the time I’ve had to resort to spending extra time looking for notes that are easier to understand, or just flat-out guessing on assignments. If teachers allowed for longer periods of study, or found notes that were universally easier for students to understand, it’d make assignments much easier to understand and get done, and it’d also help cut down on the previous issue of having too much work to do. Better notes means a better understanding of the material, and that means students can work more efficiently and get more done.

On some days teachers don’t assign too much work. They have clear instructions and assignments that make  schoolwork and cutting down on time so much more manageable. Days like that make me not only feel better and more confident about completing schoolwork, but it also lets me move on to the other elements of my day. If all assignments had clear instructions and there was not too much work assigned, online students would learn much more.