By Lisa Kayastha
It is 2021, yet the situation created by the covid-19 pandemic has still not completely returned to normal. The pandemic has caused various problems around the world, among which problems faced in the education sector are one of them. This sudden switch from physical classes to online has been new for everyone and many students are still taking online classes from different countries as the situation has not recovered.
Everybody has a different perspective on taking classes either in person from university or online from a different country. In this article, we have interviewed three people with different experiences with taking online classes from different countries.
No need to worry much about expenses
Alexa Maharjan, a 3rd-semester student from Nepal who has been taking online classes from her country, says that one of the positive sides of taking online classes from another country is she gets to focus on studies without having to worry much about expenses. When you come to a different country to study, it is normal to have to do some part-time jobs to finance your own expenses, due to which they have to juggle between working part-time jobs, their study and personal life as well. But since she is living in her own country and is not doing a part-time job, it helps her remain focused on her studies by utilizing the time she has.
Similarly, she adds that the disadvantage of taking online classes from a different country is that there is no experiential learning, and there is difficulty in absorbing cultural things through interacting online with other students for a short amount of time. Since online learning is limited to only interacting with other students during class or group assignments, people cannot really talk outside of class as they would have if they were talking to each other in person.
"Did not let me grow"
Gabrielle Anindito, a 4th-semester student from Indonesia, has experienced in-person classes before the pandemic and presently the online classes as well. She says one advantage of taking online classes from her country is the time she got to spend with her family and the delicious food she got to enjoy every day. However, she says that taking classes from her country did not allow her to grow.
The whole idea of studying abroad is to get out of your country and be independent and have new experiences, which she did not get to experience when she was in her country. She says, “The differences I have felt were greatly contrasted to the experience of taking classes in real life. It felt unreal to take out all of the factors of what truly makes up university life.” Additionally, she adds time difference was a huge constraint as well.
Had to take classes at 2 am
Talking about the time difference, Lucille Stauch, who took online classes from the United States, talked about the difficulties she faced due to the vast time difference. She had her classes at 2 am, with the time difference being 17 hours between Japan and America. It is indeed very difficult to take classes at that time of the day. However, she adds that her professors were very considerate of her situation. On the pros side, she was with her family and dogs, which she says was great.
These were a few pros and cons of taking online classes from different countries as per the experience of the students themselves. It is astonishing to see how people adapted to the sudden transition considering the unforeseen situation.
Image source: https://www.instagram.com/ritsumeikanapu/
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