What remote learning is like - A pupil's perspective written by Nora in 6th Class

Online learning can be intimidating. It will force you to take on new skills and adapt to a learning environment, much like the animals adapt to their environment in the wild. It will  help to remind yourself that this is only temporary, however it is important that we try our best not to fall behind the curriculum at the same time.        It can often be overwhelming to see all of the work being posted at once, however this is the same amount (if not less),that you would be completing in school. In fact, learning from school isn't all that different from learning from home. The only real difference is the format in which your work is given to you. When you work in school, you follow a basis of oral as well as written work; Your teacher will explain a topic to you, discuss it with you to make sure you understand it and then get you to complete several activities on it. However what most people don't realize is that this is all achievable at home.   Timetable One of the most important things when learning at home, is how you schedule your work. When in school, your teacher does all this for you, but when you are at home you have to do it yourself. An easy way to start building your timetable is to consider the subject that requires most concentration first and always complete this in the morning when you are still fresh.  Eg. Maths You might next want to complete a subject that will give you more of a break, such a language.   Eg. Irish  Here you might have a break. It is important in order to maintain some normality to take breaks at home when you would be in school or adjust the same breaks to suit your day better, however ideally you should break your day into three parts like at school.  Eg. First part: Morning-Break  Second part: Break-Lunch Third part: Lunch-End of school Continue building your timetable in a way that you leave the easiest subjects to last as you will by then be tired. You might after Irish want to do English, then some S.E.S.E and leave (if you get it) art or music to the end.   Scheduling your Day You might find it helpful to get up as you would when you went to school and do the same when going to bed.  Aim to start and finish your school work at the same time every day and make sure to have time for yourself in the evenings, just as you  would if you were going to school. The time you have for yourself is just as important as learning, because you need this time to  unwind and start fresh again the next day.   Oral  Learning and Discussing As I have said before, this is something you would do regularly in class.  Eg. Having an oral discussion about a chapter in History. Although at home you do not  have  classmates to discuss with and teachers to present to, try discussing certain topics with yourself and making sure you understand them.  Talk the subjects over with yourself, even if out loud. you can also take notes about subjects you find tricky.  Even if not with all subjects, you will still be able to do Oral Learning and Discussing over Zoom calls or Google Meets. Although this is not as much  as you would do regularly, it is better than nothing and you can try to, as I said above, discuss things with yourself.          It is also important that you read your readers or stories from english books aloud to yourself sometimes, as although it is faster to read to yourself you have to keep on reading aloud to maintain being able to do it clearly in front of your class once you are back. Remember, this is only temporary.   Writing Activities These are almost as easily completed as during school, in both scenarios you simply answer the questions from your book, in your copy. It seems as straightforward as it gets. However, in school you are given an amount of time to complete each activity.  Eg. 20 minutes for a page in English. At home you are not given this and so you may overwork yourself. It is important to complete the work but it is just as important  not to do it for too long as it will tire you out and you won't be able to complete the other subjects. This is why keeping to a timetable is important. You could even give yourself that time limit that your teacher in school would. Eg. put on a timer for 30 minutes for a page in your maths. This will not just keep you from overwhelming yourself with work but also will make learning from home seem more normal.   Help You shouldn't in any circumstance feel that you are unable to ask for help, your teachers are still teachers, they are simply further away. Write them an e-mail or leave them a message on Google Classrooms.      Getting carried away with work is normal. You just have to remember to take it step by step and make it through each day. Don't look at your work and see Irish, Maths, English etc. Just see the first on your timetable and  once you finish that, the next. It is hard not to do much or too little of work when we have to plan our ow day but if you manage that, online learning will be just as simple as learning from school.