“In online learning, the subjects are more objective like math and science, whereas the more subjective classes like English are harder to learn because they require much more communication,” said junior Paul Zhou.

Despite the initial struggles though, students often found online learning very convenient, as they did not need to face the commute.

“You can do online learning anywhere from home instead of going to a classroom. Additionally, if you miss any classes, you can go back to online lectures and look at those,” Zhou said. “I would prefer to have all my classes online so I can have a decent sleep schedule because it’s just more convenient. In-person learning forces me to get up earlier, and I’m not a morning person.”

In addition, some kinds found online learning more enjoyable than in-person learning. According to Pew Research, 27% of teens surveyed said they would prefer an entirely online or hybrid learning environment. 

“There was a subset of kids who liked independent learning. They were like, I really thrive in this kind of environment, and I don’t need a teacher on me every two minutes and I don’t need my parents to tell me what to get done and all this stuff,” said Dr. Kemi Oguntala, an adolescent medicine doctor at Kaiser Daly City. 

On the teacher’s end though, keeping track of how students were doing became increasingly difficult. 

According to a study by Frank Castelli and Mark Sarvary, 41% of students had their cameras off because they were concerned about their appearance. In addition, other concerns stemmed from what was behind a student’s camera and not wanting to be seen walking away from the computer or being distracted. This prevented teachers from seeing what students were focusing on. 

“For student distraction online, I can’t even know because, on the other side of that black box, I have no idea what’s going on. I have to imagine student distraction at home is all across the board,” Ramroth said.

The majority prefers the traditional way of learning. 

“I prefer in-person learning a million times more than online for me as a teacher. That year was pretty miserable. I didn’t enjoy my job nearly as much as I enjoy it when I’m in person,” Ramroth said.

Kids that wanted to avoid domestic issues also struggled during online learning. 

“People who had issues with family members or got a break by going to school didn’t like online learning much. So what ended up happening was their anxiety increased because now they are around people who created a lot of their anxiety most of the time. And so that was not a good combination,” Oguntala said. 

Even with a widespread increase in mental health symptoms, some kids’ mental health thrived because of the social situations they enjoyed being in. 

“People with a lot of anxiety liked it because then they didn’t have to worry about going to school with the social interactions. They didn’t have to worry about the teacher calling on them, so much of that helped. They didn’t have to get ready for school, there was no time scramble, you could just roll out of bed, pull up your computer, and you are good to go,” Oguntala said.

However, some kids were fine regarding mental health. With the internet and social media, people were able to still connect and talk with each other in various forms.

“Online learning didn’t affect my mental health, and it didn’t adversely affect me. I was fine socially,” Zhou said.

Every student had a different experience based on their personality.

“It really depends on the kid. It can’t be that we would never be able to make a blanket statement like that because all the kids are different,” Oguntala said.

“I use websites as extra resources. I got my materials, and then beyond that, I also provide links to good Khan Academy videos and lots of other good math videos out there that they can use as additional resources on YouTube,” Ramroth said.

Another website people often utilize is YouTube; video tutorials showing how to master skills provide students and teachers with another learning tool in and out of the classroom. 

 “All of my YouTube videos that I made during distance learning, I also provide to students so they can still see those. In addition, random math teachers online on YouTube have good videos and practice problems,” Ramroth said. 

With access to teachers through the internet, students can learn through online homeschooling. In addition to using popular websites such as Khan Academy, homeschooled students can also get one-on-one attention.

“I think online homeschooling is good for an internally motivated kid who can do school for themselves, and really, they’re not doing school for parents, although I do understand that homeschooling has a lot of especially religious control involved with it and other types of family values involved,” Oguntala said.

Not only has online learning created opportunities for high school students but also for colleges. According to onlineschooling.org, the University of Phoenix offered the first online degrees in 1989. In 1993, Jones International University became the first university that operated entirely online. 

Nowadays, 93% of colleges with a campus also offer online material. Most of these colleges expect online learning at the college level to grow. 

Online degrees are more cost-effective than in-person degrees. According to edumed.org, an online nursing degree at Arizona State University is $10,000 cheaper than an in-person degree.

Ultimately, the options learners of all ages will be able to take advantage of these newfound opportunities, but it also depends on the student and that student’s learning style. 

“If a kid was able to be fairly independent with the schoolwork, that’s the kind of kid who could do it at home and be okay. If they need their parents a lot for help or are not internally motivated, they need somebody to help them do the work. Sometimes, the school structure helps a little bit better, Oguntala said.