I still miss the so-called Brick and Mortar classes: Shikhar, NIT

These are first-hand student accounts on how our young population is managing to keep their exam prep or college course work going from the confines of their homes. In case you want to share your lockdown study experience, write to us at publish@shiksha.com.

What started as just another news headline turned out to be a direct blow for us. From being in a college one day, planning farewell dinners to suddenly rushing home safely was indeed a very daunting experience. However, like every difficulty in life, this too ultimately presented us with opportunities to grow ourselves.

A week after the college was closed, online classes started in NIT Silchar to overcome the possible lag of studies. The classes initially started by providing study material and website links, later adding live classes and finally including assignments and even collaborative projects, online experiments and even exams. Over the past one month, the experience of live classes has been motivating.

Live classes can be taken directly from the comfort of your room, and you could continue your education sitting at home, the new features that include video and audio chat with the teacher and other students also improve the experience.

On the learning scale, I will surely rate the online classes above others, no wastage of time rushing to classes, facility to re-watch if you did not understand something. Moreover, being directly on the internet, I could just open additional tabs related to the topic, and keep myself focused and multitasking at the same time. The college added various live problems on which students can code and add their solutions directly which is surely more professional than anything a classroom may offer. 

On the contrary, I still miss the so-called “brick and mortar classes”. The feeling of rushing to the classroom at a fixed time early in the morning, sitting with your friends, looking in their copies to correct your mistakes during solving questions cannot be matched in any online platform.

Once the outbreak is controlled, we will look back and try to weigh both the online and offline learning methods. I am of the opinion that they should not be treated as alternatives, but rather complementary to each other. I really appreciate the offline classes, as in the end, it is our bonds with mates that make us human but that should be enhanced by the online elements. Live projects, class recordings and online doubt sessions are few things that should be continued as they create a professional learning environment.

Further, as colleges are closed, the students are provided with ample one-of-a-kind free time as we are spending our whole day at home. I am including various activities to stay productive and positive. I start my day with meditation and simple exercises in the courtyard.  Then I open my PC and start working on my software niche and try to improve my skillset.

Instead of spending most of the day sitting in front of PC, working and studying, I usually include various breaks for me-time. In the breaks, I practice guitar, try to work on my Japanese writing, or simply write the next article for my blog.

I am planning to appear for the CAT exam this year which means working through the evening till night on quantitative and other analytical questions. As the exam is December, I still do not have to worry about extended preparation but not having college exams is definitely helping me out providing me with the required time to be confident in my preparation for competitive exams.

The college authorities are yet to officially announce an exam date but hints are that assignments or an online MCQ test along with projects will be used instead of the general pen-paper test.

For everyone preparing for exams, my advice is simply what Sun Tzu said - “Everything is war”. We need to understand that exam preparations are like war, you need to be ready for all circumstances. I try to maintain a daily journal to keep track of how I am working and if any lags occur how I can improve on them. Having daily, monthly and yearly goals also help.

This pandemic is providing a lot of us with a very rare opportunity. After years, all of us are back at home with even the parents had left the office, so this is a great time to connect with your loved ones. We sit together to watch Ramayana or play Ludo. I am getting more and more open about discussing my problems and what my friends or friend of friends are doing. This kind of connection usually suffers when everyone lives in distant places busy with their own responsibilities.

There is a song by the band called Passengers whose lyrics go like – “You only miss the Sun, when it starts to snow, you only miss the Light when it’s burning Low”.

Our situation is a lot like that, we all used to take our health, friends and family members for granted but it took a pandemic for us to realize how important all these are for all of us.

About the Author:

Shikhar Gupta is a third-year undergraduate student at NIT Silchar. He is currently the General Secretary for his branch society (ECS) and the Vocal Skills Club Head for Illuminits: Literary Publication and Fine Arts Society. He is an avid reader, writer and a block chain-enthusiast. He was recently the winner of the RBI Regional Policy Challenge on Non-Banking Framework.