Connected in Confidence: Online school gives students more control over their work, leading to confidence

My setup for the first day of online school was casual — a plate of eggs and toast to my side and a steaming cup of coffee in my hand. But I couldn’t help but feel nervous as I navigated Canvas to find the Webex link for my first hour — Physics. Was my face red? Did the background of my room look weird? After reviewing the syllabus and sharing the highlight of my summer vacation, I was waving goodbye to my teacher and logging off.

Now, I’m in week four of online school, and I feel as if I’ve mastered my virtual day. I’ve typed in chats, shared my screen and collaborated in breakout rooms. But, this whole time, I can’t help but wonder — why is online school so simple?

With school online, I feel comfortable in class — no tech issues, no temptation to turn my video off and no pre-class jitters. Even though I anticipated to hate the change from in-person to online school, each day I feel more confident in class with the new system. 

When class is in person, I’m rarely outgoing — presenting last in class projects, never staying after class to ask questions, rarely raising my hand to speak out. 

Maybe it’s because all students are in the same situation, but being in a breakout room with a person you’ve never talked to seems easy. Chatting with them about coronavirus, college prep and summer life easily turns an awkward situation around. Usually a struggle, finding small talk has become painless for me. 

For a Spanish project I had to present four items in my house that meant something to me. If we were in school, I would find myself showing my phone, airpods, a book and my teddy bear keychain. Instead, I pulled out my tennis racquet, my favorite shirt — now a little worn out, a meaningful piece of jewelry and a family photo. I was able to fly through the presentation — with no sweaty palms and no foot anxiously tapping the ground.

There’s something about being in your own home that seems almost stress relieving. My house is a safe space for me and presenting or voicing my opinion in class is so much easier when in my fluffy socks and pajamas.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve fully gotten used to working on a group project over a video call. It’s no longer possible to split up sections of the project then come back together with no idea what your partner has written. I find myself constantly asking for reassurance that my paragraph over Christopher Columbus sounds properly written and makes sense. 

When there’s a question I’ve been itching to ask during the teacher’s presentation, there’s always an extra amount of time at the end of class. I don’t have to rush to get to my next class or hold up other students who have questions to ask. Since we’re all trying to figure out online school, the teachers seem to be more understanding of me coming to them with questions. Not only have I become more comfortable asking my teachers for help, but I’ve also taken that confidence with me outside of school. 

I notice myself being more forward when asking for help, like when I can’t find the milk at Hen House or want my iced coffee with light ice at Starbucks. Instead of hesitating and waiting for the Target worker to help me figure out self-checkout, I take the initiative to walk up to them and ask if I can split the payment between a gift card and cash.

After many months of break, I was dreading going back to school — especially when I heard it was online. I was worried that I wasn’t going to participate and learn very little from class. I was wrong. Online school has created an environment where I’m more willing to participate in class, and I have mastered a new confidence.