Author: noodles

Pao Thao

Mrs. Toonen

First Year writing T/R

11 November 2023

Virtual School Life from Home

     Online classes is an option that has become available due to technology, and it has its benefits and disadvantages when it comes to learning.  The first advantage of online classes is that you do not need to travel to campus as the online classes are video calls.  Another advantage of online classes is that they are more accessible for those who live too far away but want to take classes in the university of their choice. The only downside to online classes is that going to class sometimes is a better option than going online.  This mostly comes from the fact that being in person can allow you to engage better with the class material.  Another downside of online from personal experience is it’s easy for people to not attend an online class as it’s online.  For example, being lazy thinking that everything will be available on canvas, even lectures, or losing track of time due to spending too much time browsing the internet; while in-person classes make it mandatory for you to attend class if you want to succeed.

    My advice for succeeding in online classes is to first show up to your online classes  because if you don’t, chances are you won’t bother with the material on canvas. Second is to keep up to date with what is occurring in canvas as that is where all your learning material, announcement, and communication will be located.  Another tip is to double check your homework as I have made the mistake of thinking I have completed the homework only to find out I missed quite a bit of homework.  Also, pay attention to the online lectures as that is the only real time to really try and understand your class material and ask questions.  Overall online classes are just like in-person classes as most advice given about how to succeed in in-person classes will also be the same for online classes.  After all, the only real difference between the two modes of learning is one is online and the other is in-person.  

There are some great benefits about commuting to college instead of staying on campus. First is not having to pay for dorms as they are quite expensive; especially if you live with your parents. Having to not pay for dorms gives you more options to what else to spend that money on. Especially if you live with your parents since housing won’t be an issue. But if you live with a roommate then splitting the bill like in my sister’s case is viable. Another way you benefit from commuting to campus is not having to choose a meal plan as you don’t live on campus again, saving some money to use elsewhere. Considering I live with my parents I just eat what is available, and if you live with a roommate you both work on a way to get ahold of food. Third, you can stay up to whatever time you want. Considering the fact that there is no curfew this allows you to stay up for as long as you want, definitely something I have done many times before to finish work.
The only issue with commuting though is making sure the vehicle you use is in good condition so that it does not break down. An example of this is changing the oil every couple of months so the parts don’t break down. Checking tire pressure so that nothing breaks, and changing the tire as well, or replacing the brakes to ensure your brakes are still in working order. Another issue with commuting comes from the issue of gas as gas money comes out of your pocket. Considering the time we live in right now gas is the most expensive it has been. Having gone from being around one or two d

ollars to being at around three to four dollars depending on where you live. As a resu

lt of this I only use

my car for transportation to and from campus to save on gas money. The next issue to add is the distance of travel; for example if you live pretty close

to campus then commuting i

s a good option, but if you live one or two hours away then dorm life is probably a better option. Lastly the road is your enemy sometimes when driving

especially if it is roadwork. Roadwork has caused me to be late for some of my classes on multiple occasions. Example being when I took a path I normally g

o through I found it blocked off due to road work and as such I had to find a detour around. Another example of this is not from me going to campus but to the farmers market where certain roads were closed due to long road work resulting in long traffic.

Now I chose to commute because it is the most cost effective method to save on money if anything comes up. After all, you save on dorm meal plans. But the downside is that you are subject to some matters that are out of your hands at times, like traffic work, vehicle maintenance, or breakdown. This does not mean it is a good solution for everyone, considering some are from out of state, or live an hour or two away from campus, and I should say that it’s up to you to choose what works best for getting to campus.