Students look for ways to stay focused
With Algonquin College and other schools closed due to Covid-19, students have had to go online for education. Students and teachers at Algonquin College and Carleton University have had to find ways to help stay focused in those online classes.
One way to maintain focus is buying items to help keep track of all the assignments due and help people who need a way to organize the flood of work and due dates.
“I have a small whiteboard in my room that I just bought from the dollar store. I write all my homework for each class and when it’s due. That way I can prioritize what needs to be done first along with helping me figure out how much time I can dedicate to each assignment,” says Lila Bajraktari, an art student at Algonquin College who had live online classes in the winter 2020 semester.
Getting advice from teachers on how to stay focused can also help students in not just that specific class, but other classes as well.
Mathew Roloson, an engineering geosciences teacher at Carleton University said:”I sit down for two hours every morning with noise cancelling headphones. You don’t need those of course, but I plan out my entire day from 9 a.m. to 11 at night.”
“I like to make plans in half an hour blocks so if something took an hour and a half, I would give it three blocks,” Roloson said.
Gabrielle Bruneau, a psychology student at Carleton, shared a list of ideas on how to stay focused and her regimen for keeping on track when it came to recorded classes:
· Take breaks
· Do a few smaller tasks and then anything more demanding
· Watch the first half hour then take a 15-minute break (works for homework, too)
· Don’t take two-hour breaks
· Don’t write-off anything as useless in your classes
· Find out what time you operate the best at, daytime or nighttime
· Get in touch with classmates
· Be responsible to watch your classes on your own
· Get in touch with the necessary staff that can help plan a schedule with you or find other ways to stay focused.
Algonquin has student success specialists and staff to help anyone who needs guidance. Emails and other contact information can be found at: https://www.algonquincollege.com/academic-success/home/student-success-specialist/
