Palaavi Kumar taking her online classes from the comfort of her home.
Palaavi Kumar loves attending lectures, interacting with fellow students and lecturers, but since the restrictions, face-to-face classes have been moved to the online mode, which has meant adjustments to her student life from the normal norm.
According to the Fiji National University (FNU) student, there are both pros and cons for the new situation, however, being safe during the pandemic is paramount, and she’s happy to attend classes via the virtual model.
Kumar said online learning more convenient, adding the transition allows her to spend more time with family. She has also taken up some hobbies that enable her to balance time with studies family and, catch with friends and get adequate rest.
She admits that on the plus side, she also doesn’t have to wake up early daily to get ready and commute to the FNU Natabua Campus. For the past month, Kumar attends classes from the comfort of her home, as the traditional face-to-face lectures and labs have been replaced with online learning.
Currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary – Biology/Chemistry) offered through the College of Humanities and Education (CHE), Kumar said she has more time on her hands for research work and to polish her cooking and baking skills.
“Though online learning is not as effective as face-to-face learning, especially for science subjects, I am coping well. I now find online education as the new normal since last year we had online classes too,” shared Kumar.
“At first, coping up with the change was hard since things were going quite well, and having four majors as full-time online classes are demanding. When we had face-to-face classes as final year students, our timetable had continuous classes daily. Thus having those classes online back to back at home is challenging to manage since I get distracted easily. Being connected online in zoom is also frustrating as the internet connection keeps dropping. I have been coping up pretty well to this new normal,” she said.
The former Natabua High School student utilises social media tools to keep in touch with her lecturers and tutors.
“It’s easy to keep in touch with our lecturers and classmates as we have groups in Viber for our units. The lecturers update us with the lecture time, and any other important notices, moodle, and student email is also there. One of my lecturers has created a Facebook page for the students where she uploads videos related to our Biology unit. We can post anything that will help other students and give a smile on the face in this lockdown, so special thanks to her (Ms Rupantri Raju).”
Sharing her online learning journey, Kumar recommends other students allocate different times for the various subjects and follow the zoom classes timetable.
“I would say it’s essential for students to know when they are most energetic and when they get their own space to study, knowing when your body and mind is most active. I can vouch that this helps a lot. We should take full advantage of that time to finish off our assignments and complete other tasks. The time when I’m most active is from 5 pm to 7 pm, so this is when I complete my work and have my own learning space,” she highlighted.
Kumar adds that it can be difficult for students to stay positive during this transition but advises students to accept the ‘new normal’.
“Being positive is hard at times since we all are not used to staying at home, and being confined to our house can be a drawback for our mind. So I encourage fellow students to talk to their loved ones through video conference, which is the best and safest way to connect to your friends and know about the well-being rather than stepping out of the house.”
Despite the intermittent network issues, Kumar is making the most out of the online learning and is looking forward to completing her programme in December.