The transition to online instruction in March 2020 following the novel coronavirus outbreak was hardly easy for anyone. We asked some IDD&E students to share their perspectives on how they found silver lining amid COVID-19 for their learning and what good they learned to appreciate in the given circumstances.
Get up and work dear,
Blues will fade, when work is done,
Rough roads demand faith.
Haiku, by Zeenar Salim
IDD&E doctoral student, Pakistan
Lei Wang (China), IDD&E doctoral student: “I realized that distractions are not the thoughts I have but what I choose to do. Being isolated at home for about one month, I miss my friends, professors, face-to-face classes, and Bird Library. In the beginning, I was worried my classes would be influenced by household chores, home-schooling my son, and taking care of my daughter. My son and I wrote different checklists and followed the tight schedule that we devised. I felt relieved I was able to both complete work and take care of the family responsibilities. I cherish this longest time that I have spent with my family successfully juggling, but not compromising, my doctoral work.”
Jiangxiang “Zoë” Zhang (China), IDD&E master’s student: “Before the lockdown and social distancing, I was the kind of person who’d prefer working at the library or office in the daytime and relaxing at home in the evening. I thought I can’t work from home for long periods of time, I just reject it in my mind. Since I had to start working from home in March, I found a way of getting along with myself and even found unexpected benefits to social isolation. First, there is more time to talk to my family. Having a 12-hour time difference with my hometown, I could not communicate with them regularly. Second, I have more time to reflect and understand myself. I learned I am most productive in terms of learning in the morning right after breakfast. So, I would do morning Yoga to stretch and wake my body, have breakfast, and gently flow into my working mode where I focus on my studies. Third, I developed discipline patterns—regular exercises, written schedule—and it is such a good feeling to mark “✓” in my planner as soon as I finish course assignments. I learned to stick to my schedule, and I emjoy how my days look like now. Of course, I still want to go outside and be back to my normal life. But this is life, right? I have to make the most out of it. And we will get through this period hopefully soon.”
Patrick McKinnon (United States), C.A.S. DDI student: “I have experienced a number of unexpected benefits while studying and working in isolation. First, I have great empathy for my classmates and coworkers who are separated from their friends and families at this time, which makes me appreciate even more the extra time I have with my family. During my study breaks I am able to read a book to my 2-year-old son or play Super Mario with my 11-year-old daughter. It is a true blessing. Another unexpected benefit has been the comradery and empathy my classmates and I have shown for each other. More than ever people are reaching out to see how we are doing, and we are doing the same. In addition, I am reconnecting with friends and old classmates that I have not spoken with in years! Lastly, it feels like the entire world has slowed down, but in a good way. This has given me time to reflect on all the wonderful things in my life, my relationships, my studies, and my goals. This pandemic has given me an opportunity to slow down and reflect on what is really important both personally and professionally. This is something that I will absolutely continue to do after all this is over.”
Lutfullo Tagoev (Tajikistan), IDD&E master’s student: “There is a bright side to studying online during the quarantine time. The situation doesn’t leave any other option but to learn all the features of online education as we are going through this pandemic. I have been learning to make Zoom calls, record the screen, collaborate online, and appreciate all aspects of Blackboard. A huge part of our instructional design profession is to design online content materials. This is a great time for IDD&E students to learn our own products and witness firsthand that our job truly matters for our community. Also, the situation proves again that an instructional designer is a fighter. Our field emerged during World War II, and in today’s biological chaos it continues to be important and valuable. Therefore, I consider myself a hero and I use my free time to help my friends, family members, and relatives as they navigate the form of education that is new to them so that they don’t lag behind their studies. Last but not least, it turns out that I did not know myself well enough. Staying away from the social life, I got closer to me. And I should confess, I have many more skills than I used to think. For instance, I’ve started cooking delicious meals and, when life gets back to normal, I will say a resounding ‘no’ to junk food.”
Sarah Bernhard (United States), IDD&E master’s student: “As a commuter student with an especially long trek to campus, my first thought upon learning we would finish the semester online was, ‘Well, this is going to save me a ton of money on gas, parking, and E-ZPass bills!’ The savings are nice, but the luxury of attending class with my favorite candle burning and a black cat slumbering on my lap is my favorite silver lining to come of this situation. It’s added a new level of zen to the process of contemplating complex I.D. models and project management strategies—one I may not have found otherwise!”
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