Photo essay: virtual learning settings
Remote learning students share their setups for learning at home.Manasa Premanand, Features Editor & Jennifer Xia, Editor-in-Chief
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, an overwhelming amount of Northview students opted for remote learning for the 2020-21 school year. All classes and work are available on Microsoft Teams, a platform provided by Fulton County Schools to allow a seamless remote learning community. While no longer in the classrooms of Northview, students have had to adjust their home environments to a new learning space during school hours. Whether it may be desks in bedrooms or the family dining table, each students’ workspace is unique to their needs.
For freshman Zahra, she keeps it simple. Adjusting to a new school as she began high school year is hard enough, so Nicole only keeps the essentials—a notebook, a laptop, and some refreshers(not pictured)—in her minimalistic set up to focus on her studies.
Photo courtesy of Zahra Nicole
“I don’t really have a lot on my desk. I like to have a lot of space. I personally just like working in my room. [There is] no specific reason. It’s just quieter. Working at my desk helps me focus more with no distractions,” Nicole said. “I don’t feel there are any disadvantages to my workspace. An advantage to working at my desk is that it’s just more comfortable. I feel more focused by being at home because I can’t get distracted by people, and I can do my work the way that is best for me.”
Similar to Nicole, sophomore Joline Tran works at her desk, except Tran’s workspace includes two separate computer monitors along with a few school needs: pens and pencils, her bullet journal, a calculator, etc.
Photo courtesy of Joline Tran
“I usually have a laptop and monitor because it displays multiple screens at once. It’s convenient and easy to access when doing assigned classwork while still staying on the call,” Tran said.
The same setup as pictured above is flooded with ambient natural light as Tran works in front of open shutters as compared to Nicole’s white wall.
Photo courtesy of Joline Tran
“I work in front of the window because the lighting is better,” Tran said. “It’s also nice seeing the view of nature, rather than looking at a plain wall.”
Tran shows off small parts of her room decoration as well as an abundance of office supplies she has available to easily grab when needed.
Photo courtesy of Joline Tran
“Some pros of being at home are there’s more room, it’s more personalized, and I have more office supplies at hand. A con is that it creates more mess,” Tran said. “However, I’m definitely less focused. I did face-to-face learning first semester, and from that experience, you have the pressure of being more attentive in class, rather than having all the distractions at home.”
Senior Elaine Wang considers her comfort a must in her virtual school life. Most days, she attends class while huddled in her bed, which is ideal for her to relax and do schoolwork on or doze off if she is feeling particularly worn out.
Photo courtesy of Elaine Wang
“My bed is just a normal bed with a nightstand beside it,” Wang said. “ The bed works best for me because it’s where I sleep during the school day.”
Wang’s desk, situated in a corner of her room, is filled with various school supplies and materials that she uses during the day.
Photo courtesy of Elaine Wang
“I do some schoolwork on my bed but it hurts your back after doing it for too long, so sitting at a desk is easier [for me] when doing work,” Wang said.”It’s kind of messy but I’ll have the papers on top and my textbooks on the bottom.”
Much like Wang’s need for comfort in her virtual set up, senior Berkan Ottlik prioritizes convenience in his virtual learning space, with his desk arranged so that any material he may need during the school day is readily accessible before him.
Photo courtesy of Berkan Ottlik
I usually use all three, whether it be one with the Teams [channel] open and another with a browser,” Ottlik said. “Everything is right in front of me.”
Ottlik is a member of the band and enjoys practicing his guitar and oboe in the evenings after school.
Photo courtesy of Berkan Ottlik
“It’s nice, especially for my senior year, to have things a bit more free and [to do things] how I want to do them,” Ottlik said.
Ottlik’s three monitors sit on his desk with his Teams classes and school material pulled up on them. His microphone, headphones, and webcam are also placed nearby his monitors within his reach if he requires them.
Photo courtesy of Berkan Ottlik
“I think we are pretty lucky to be here in this neighborhood where we have good access to things like Teams and the internet. We, especially, as high schoolers are able to get by but I know elementary schoolers and younger people aren’t able to get by like us and their parents have to be with them more,” Ottlik said. “I think one thing important to acknowledge, and I don’t speak for everybody in high school, but for my friends mostly, [is that] we’re pretty lucky with where we are in high school. Although it is hard, things could be worse.”
Ottlik’s large desk also contains items to help him study, such as a desk lamp and notebooks for school.
Photo courtesy of Berkan Ottlik
“We can still adapt and still learn most of everything just fine,” Ottlik said. “You waste a lot of time on things like going from class to class…[and] goofing in class. At home, you can easily avoid those things and I guess learning becomes more streamlined. The downside is that you don’t get the social interactions as much. It’s a give and take.”
