VTVLC Student Blog
Opportunities for Learning Outside of the Online Classroom
The current pandemic has brought along a lot of change since Governor Phil Scott announced the Stay Home, Stay Safe order that went into effect in late March. Among these changes, at least for a period of time, is the deferment of what is considered a “normal” lifestyle. The new “norm” is wearing masks, staying six feet apart from other people, and spending most of your time at home. These changes force many people, especially teachers and students, to rely on technology to learn, work, and stay connected to society. Because of this reliance on technology, opportunities to learn new things online and to take advantage of discounted or free tools and products have never been more readily available.
There are multiple companies that are offering discounted and free products, which not only provides companies with some good publicity: it eases people’s minds during the pandemic. Some discounted and free tools are: Apple Music, Hulu, Netflix, Postmates, and Disney+. Even concerts and comedy sets from renowned musicians and comics have moved from venues to Instagram and Facebook live. Now is a great opportunity to try out these products for free or to alleviate your boredom, but the discounted services are not limited to at-home entertainment and food delivery.
Live events have been shut down due to COVID-19, but many of these live events have temporarily shifted their platform to a digital model: lectures, workshops, and conferences have increasingly moved online and offer free registrations, lifting some of the barriers to participation that proliferation prior to the pandemic. Now is a perfect opportunity to learn a new skill, enroll in an online course, or discover a new hobby. Any one of these can give you something to do with your extra free time at home, while also maintaining productivity. They can help you fight boredom and feelings of isolation as well as help to maintain health and sanity.
“If you can keep yourself motivated to learn, it is easy to be successful.”
For students, learning a rewarding new skill can make soften the burden of a difficult course load, or even bolster your future career prospects. One way you can learn something digitally is with Masterclass live. Masterclass hosts free events where you can learn about all sorts of subjects like leadership, cooking and music production. Masterclass live is a great way to discover an unfound interest you have and develop new hobbies. In some cases catastrophic events come with beneficial opportunities however hidden they may be. In this case, the forced shift to a digital world opened up new ways to learn and I encourage you to take advantage of it.
I also encourage you to bring this same type of mentality to your activities in quarantine: stay motivated to learn something new while shifting to online learning. If you can keep yourself motivated to learn, it is easy to be successful. Instead of thinking of a difficult class as a chore, think of it as an opportunity to better yourself and learn something new. Developing the habit of trying to be as successful as possible with everything you do is something that can start with schoolwork, but it shouldn’t end there. That is people who typically put forth their best work in school are also the most successful ones later on in life. And who doesn’t want to be successful? So keep your head up, and maintain your motivation.