3/23/2020 0 Comments Tips for Students During This Crazy Time// My Instagram LIVE with Ari (@planherway)This is a crazy time for everyone, but I know it is a hard adjustment for students especially. Ari (@planherway) were encouraged by our fellow SQUAD members to share our perspectives and tips for students. I have decided to type up the live for those who missed it! Click "Read More" to read all the tips we had and make sure to follow Ari and I on Instagram! *I basically summarized the most important part of our conversation so it does not flow as much as it did on the LIVE. I tried to label the questions and who was speaking!* Introductions: Natalie: I am a junior in high school! Ari: I am in my fourth year of my doctoral program and I work as a graduate assistant at a college. Before becoming a full time student, I was working full time in higher education. The purpose of the LIVE: Ari: We wanted to chat about experiences and changes in education, especially because most of the conversation has been geared to younger students. We also wanted to bring in the high school and college student perspectives into the conversation. Ari: How have things been going? Natalie: Okay! My school found out last Sunday that we weren't going to have school until April 1st, and they gave teachers Monday and Tuesday to figure it out. We started Wednesday and we had Friday off already so I have only had two days so far. It very stressful to have found out Sunday because it is such a new situation and I struggled with the newness. After the two days I feel confident for this coming week. Ari: Did you jump into online learning immediately or did they give you a grace period? Natalie: We just didn't know the platform. We used Google Classroom anyway as a classroom aid. Everyone at my school has issued Chromebooks so it was more of a question of how we were going to do it and less of a question of if we were going to be okay using an online platform. Ari: I think it is a great resource to have and unfortunately some people don't have that. Natalie: I am super grateful that I can go to my Chromebook and have all my assignments in one place Ari: For me I don't have to do any classes anymore because I finished my classwork, but as I was telling you before I have done online classes and it isn't the platform I'm used to. I like engaging in person with folks and the online classes I did have I still had access to campus to meet with people in persona and I got to utilize on campus resources. The college perspective/situation: Ari: For our campus our students were told that classes were to move online and classes would be cancelled for 2 weeks. Technically spring break starts Monday and we will be moving online for the rest of the year. What is really challenging is that students have to abruptly leave if they were in residence halls and dorms. I can't imagine living on campus and being told you have to move out. A lot of our students don't live in the state, don't have a car, or live out of the country and have to figure out what to do. On the staff side it was a lot of conversations happening on how to support the students through this huge transition. This past week they told the students who are still here to go, but I texted one of my friends who works in a residents hall and she said some students are still here. So there are still people working and serving here. Talking about the craziness: Natalie: It is new and crazy for all of us , including teachers. It is important to give yourself grace during this time while you figure things out, like how to study and complete school work most effectively while home because it is so new and different. Ari: I know for students moving out they are wondering if they are going to get refunds for their resident halls or for meal plans. There is a bunch that goes into the decision to close a whole campus. Ari: What were some of the questions that came up when students reached out to you? Natalie: Most of the questions feel into two broad questions. The first one being how to stay on task and focused and the second being how to organize priorities, classes, and assignments. How do I stay on task and focused? Natalie: I think the first one can be really hard when you are at home because you are normally there to relax and there are a lot of distractions. I think it is important to set up a space for you to be successful in. For me that is my dining room. There isn't a lot of distractions and there is no tv in there. I just cleared the table and put all my school stuff in there and I go there in the morning and start working. If I was in my crafty area I would get distracted by all the planner supplies! Ari: Totally agree I have been working in my office and at first it was a planner space, my partner Mikey calls it a happy planner warehouse. I do work here because I have the dual monitors, but I try to move around to different places in our apartment whether that is a balcony or kitchen table. I really like that you have a super structured system and you told me you have an hourly schedule. Natalie: I do! For me routine is a very important thing. I need a routine. I loved my routine of driving myself to school, going to my classes, having a club meeting after school, and driving home. I was definitely feeling stressed at the beginning of the week so I made myself a schedule. I just outlined everything that I wanted to do and overcompensated for time. I now know that I can complete a days worth of school work in 4 hours if I'm productive, but I gave myself 6 hours on my schedule because I don't want to stress myself out. I want to give myself enough time so that I can take a longer time with an assignment. If you need to make yourself a schedule, I recommend overcompensating and giving yourself lots of time to do things. Ari: Are you still using your planner on top of that? Natalie: I am! I have made a system. At the beginning of this week all my teachers posted their schedules so I have color coded all my classes and put them into my monthly calendar. It was very overwhelming to look at so I have transferred it to a block pad to make it more manageable. Ari: How do you get in touch with your teacher? Natalie: I have my teachers' emails and phone numbers if I have questions! Natalie: Have you been using your planner? Ari: I am. I have been trying to use my weekly spreads and it looks really different. I am task oriented and I am a list maker so I just have a bunch of lists and notes. I have been scheduling zoom meetings with my dissertation chair and I posted today that I am going to do a writing challenge. I am going to write 14 days in a row and check in with an online community and give feedback. I am using the dashboard layout to write my goals and how long I wrote. I have to finish by April 13th which is right around the corner. I have defend my dissertation on Zoom too. Everything is about Zoom right now. For me is a little bit different and I need to give myself grace. Studying and focusing tips: Ari: You can even do study groups on Zoom. I know for me I used the library a lot in undergrad. If you live on campus you try to utilize all the campus resources. I think you could ask people if they want to do a study group but also maybe work in silence too. Natalie: I think it is important to look at what makes you successful in school and adapt that to online learning. For me that is no music, clean workspace, and no phone. It is important to build that into your daily routine. Ari: For me I listen to sounds of nature and classical music while working. Communicating your needs: Ari: I always struggle when visiting family and then never getting anything done. I commend you for staying focused and communicating your needs and telling your family. I think it is important to share those expectations and communicate what you need. I would have to tell my family that I need to lock myself in my room and work for a little. Everybody's home life is different and you have to find that balance. Natalie: I agree with that. For me I know I'm not going to be productive if I sleep in. I have been waking up at 7 on school days and getting up, eating breakfast, getting out of my pjs, and getting my mind set that I am at school. I am also giving myself an hour lunch break. Ari: I am keeping my same morning routine and transitioning. I am trying not to get ready in the office because I will be working there for a couple hours. Natalie: I think it is important to mix it up, I might do school outside this week and take advantage of my flexible schedule. I will also take the opportunity to try out different organization systems too. Ari: How are you adjusting to planner club and other events being cancelled? Natalie: I started a planner club at my school and it has been going really well! I think adjusting for me is reaching out to those people to make sure they are still doing good. It was definitely a bummer. I am in a club at school that focuses on community service and we had to cancel all the events we were planning. I was also going to my friend's sports and watching them. I think should take time to be selfish and realize this sucks and then look at the bigger picture. Ari: I appreciate you saying to take a moment to say this sucks. Our campus had to cancel a lot of things and my dissertation defense on April 27th is now on Zoom. I will be the first person in my family to get a PhD and I pictured it a certain way. I would of had a mini celebration in the room over, but now I might have an after party on Zoom. I had to take a moment to cry about it, but people are suffering more than me. On the bright side, I can say that I did it during this crazy time. Ari: What are some of the best ways a parent can help? What about your mom and family? Natalie: I am very independent, so I took the initiative to get organized but I shared what I am doing with my family. I shared my schedule and what I'm trying to learn as well. Communication is really important, and it important to talk about our struggles with one another. Ari: Stay connected and even check in with them. Your mom works in a hospital, how is she dealing with this? Natalie: This is is new for everyone, so my family has been sharing what we are going through with each other. Advice for college students (but can be applied to anyone): Ari:
Natalie: What mindset/skills do you want to come out of this quarantine with? Ari: Not taking advantage of things. Instead of saying I have to go to work I want to say I get to go to work. Some people cant leave their house, and Louisiana is on mandatory quarantine. I want to reframe my perspective and have a stronger appreciation for community. I want to have a greater appreciation for the little things and want to visit my family. Natalie: I want to come out of this with a greater appreciation for the little things like getting to go to school and see my friends everyday. Ari: Education is so important and we take advantage of it. I think we will see what gaps we need to fill when we come out of this, like why people rely so much on meals from school and the lack of health care. We will need to be more prepared and not scramble for digital learning in the future. How the study space is set up: Ari: I am in my office and I'm trying to make it work. I set up a dual monitor and set up a calendar with all my goals I have for each day. I have a keyboard so it makes me feel like I have a desktop computer. I have the tripod on a tv stand so I can spread out my work and move outside or to the living room. It is tight and there are stickers everywhere but I'm trying to make it work. Natalie: Utilizing space is important. For me it is a tidy desk tidy mind type of thing. I set up in dining room and cleared everything off the table. I have some plants, my backpack, my Chromebook, and block pad. For me I cant sit in my room or at my planner desk. Ari: I want to be in a comfortable chair and I have been taking time to adjust and try things out. Natalie: I like to change it up so I have been sitting at the table while writing but then moving to the couch while I'm reading and just typing in answers. I might go outside and do reading out there this week. Any studying tips: Natalie: I write my notes in class and highlight them to study. This helps me picture where something is in my notes when I am taking the test. Ari: I personally need to print out things. I would print 2 to a page, highlight, annotate, and transfer that information to a note page. If you are hoarding post it notes now is the time to use them all and tab things! Natalie: Now is the time to experiment with different organization. For my fellow visual learners I recommend watching videos. For Macbeth I watched the paly acted out and then a video of a teacher explain the scenes and it really helped me understand the play. Ari: YouTube is a lifesaver and there are a lot of great educators on there. General/last minute tips: Natalie: Get out a new calendar so you have one place you can look at for your school schedule. Typical home school schedule? Ari: For me I work in the morning. As a grad assistant I work 20 hours a week and I get ready as if I'm going to work and I have lots of Zoom calls and emails. Evening time is when I have to do my school writing. Less structured than for you but my schedule will change for the next 2 weeks with the writing challenge. I will need to block off time. This week had been a hot mess, not gonna lie! Natalie: My typical home school routine starts at 7... [see photo attached below] A BIG thank you to everyone who joined us and asked questions! See the photos below for some of the things I mentioned and make sure to check out my Covid-19 highlight on Instagram as well.
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