This pandemic has let me explore more of myself: Charika, OIST

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.

Well, this pandemic has let me explore more of myself and has helped me learn more about the beauty of nature. I strongly believe in the fact that offline education in a field is much more important than anything else. The major difference that I see today in an online class and a brick & mortar class is the hands-on experience that's being given in a brick and mortar class. We can physically feel and experience things and have ample ways to understand topics. We can have a face-to-face interaction with the person and the practical experience of things that we just can't have in online sessions. And along with that one of the major challenges that I feel of an online class is that of internet issues which can cause a lot more problems. For a person like me, I usually enjoy brick and mortar classes.

The best part of online classes is that they are very feasible. You can attend a class or a session by making yourself comfortable at your place. There is limited social interaction between people and you have a lot more options to choose from.

One disadvantage that I feel is that there is no hand-on experience and yes, internet issues. Also, there is no face to face interaction among people. The most useful part of offline learning is that we have hands-on experience. Proper face-to-face interaction is there and discipline is maintained. One disadvantage of offline learning is that students are completely dependent on teachers and faculties for each and everything.

I am making the best use of this time by investing more of my time in learning things online, listening to the useful podcast & Ted talks, completing college assignments & projects work, painting, drawing helping parents out in household work. Happy to have my first kitchen garden as well. Trying to connect with various people in technical as well as non-technical fields.

With the help of the college and online classes that we have taken, we are done with the syllabus, assignments, and online tests are making us prepare for any of the next commands and yes we are ready for that. The extended dates that we received is after 20 May 2020 if the situation of pandemic goes well.

I have subscribed to various online channels and boards which are helping me prepare for competitive exams. Along with that, they too have regular online classes for various subjects and if someone misses any class then they are well-recorded for the students.E notes and doubt clearing sessions are held which are helping students to prepare and practice for competitive exams.

My parents now know about the classes being conducted and tests being taken. It has more or less helped parents to interact with the faculties and get to know the performance of their child and helped me develop a stronger bond with my parents.

About the Author:

Charika Thouker is pursuing BE in Information Technology from Oriental Institute of Science and Technology, Bhopal