Virtual learning is the only option we have now for school, but it still has great disadvantages. Studies show that many virtual courses only have a 50 percent graduation rate, while in person courses are at 70-75%. Considering these shocking statistics, how is virtual learning going to affect us? 

Although virtual learning is complicated and difficult to navigate for those less in tune with technology, some people actually enjoy it more than regular school and find it more practical due to the lack of commute times. Still, in my personal opinion, virtual learning isn’t entirely good, but it definitely has its benefits. Of course, given the circumstances of the pandemic, virtual learning is the only option.

The positives are that there are no more commute times and students can save a lot of time. Getting to wake up later is also a plus. Lessons are also mostly recorded now, so if somebody misses a lesson, they can just watch a recording of the lesson. All of the material is virtual now, so there isn’t much of a chance to miss an assignment or lose your homework like you might at school.

Still, there are downsides to such an environment. For one, AP classes suffer from much less time to teach classes, which causes the teachers to have to go through the materials at a much faster pace, thus making the students either work much harder or end up with not enough time to learn everything that goes on the AP exam. In fact, last year’s AP exam had some material cut out of it because of the outbreak during Mar. One solution would be to make school days slightly longer. If students were more active in class, then interactions would go by faster and speed up the rate of which the class goes.

Also, the logistical issues of virtual learning are a hassle to navigate. There are many sites that students have to keep track of, and to have to be on a computer for more than eight hours a day is exhausting. There is no real solution to this due to the nature of virtual learning but it is something to keep in mind.

Even if all of the resources for learning are online, students still have to learn the material mostly by themselves. Personally, I have had to study a lot for every class outside of school time. This could be challenging for students who are not proficient in self studying.

Ultimately, virtual learning is driven by necessity, and although it has some small perks, a return to normalcy would be the best course of action as soon as the pandemic blows over.