10 COVID-19’s Affect on Education, Specifically in High Schools

To begin, a major part that high school systems have had to change is the learning technology being used to hold virtual classes. High schools and technology companies have had to figure out quickly what is needed to make virtual learning easy and available to all students. Holding virtual classes requires high schools to have various online learning resources to help students succeed and stay on track during this time. The main application used by most high school students is called Zoom. Zoom is an online communication application that is used to hold virtual classes. Teachers have many tools available on this application to help make virtual classes more interactive. Certain features that teachers enjoy include, “Many teachers take advantage of the Zoom feature that allows for recording conversations and saving chat transcripts so students can refer to them later” (Lieberman 2). Zoom is an easy-to-use application that allows high school teachers to interact with students by sharing their screens with the class and viewing their students through web cameras. But, with most high schools around the country using this tool, it has forced Zoom to advance its technology very rapidly so that it’s able to cater to the number of users that need it.

The rapid increase in Zoom users has challenged the application. Lieberman (2020) noted, “The surge of new users, including 90,000 schools and the rapid increase in users has also led to increased scrutiny of the security limitations” (1). Clearly, there has been a rapid increase in the number of high schools that are relying on this application, which has caused slight defects as Zoom continues to improve its system. But, without this technology, it would make learning online much more difficult and could cause some students to fall behind in school. Luckily, with learning technology advancements like Zoom, virtual learning is manageable and more interactive.

Creating New Technology to Make High School Learning Interactive

It is evident that high school students are concerned about their futures and they feel that what their school may be doing is not enough for them to stay on track. So, from this information, it’s evident that students’ futures may have to be put slightly on pause for them to get back on track. High schools around the United States should begin to implement online resources to help high school students stay on track with their goal of college. Resources can include how to study for standardized tests and faculty helping students with their college applications. As our education system continues to endeavor during this time, each day more and more new learning techniques continue to be implemented to help students. But, it’s evident that more needs to be done to make students feel prepared for the future during this time. As high schools continue to advance their online systems, more resources will likely be available to help students thinking about life after high school during this time.

As our society begins to adjust to the new norms of our society of maintaining six feet apart from others, wearing a mask in public, and staying home if you’re sick, our interaction with each other has changed. A main part of the high school experience is interacting with classmates inside and outside of the classroom (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1). High school students are missing out on memories like prom, graduation, and sporting events. All of this uncertainty for when high school will return to normal has created a lot of anxiety and stress for students (Kreitz 1). But, being in a global pandemic gives students the only option of dealing with this situation and creating solutions. High schools around the country have begun making solutions like, making their extracurricular clubs meet virtually. One high school in Texas has shifted their club fair to be virtual, so students still have the opportunity to stay in contact with peers and make new friends. A teacher Vivian Hernandez (2020) describes the importance of social interaction during this time, “When educators sponsor a student club, they’re building community, they bring students together, student clubs do not have to stop because of COVID-19, they may be more important now than ever” (1). Interaction with others will help make high school students feel less lonely during this time. High schools around the country are creating new ways to hold regular student sessions like this, which shows how high schools can come together to support one another. 

Luckily, thanks to the technology we have, high school students can easily learn from home. Without computers, e-textbooks, and online applications, it would be impossible to continue to go through the school year. And although students are missing the structure of the normal school day, this will only make high school institutions stronger for the future.  Dr. Michael Krüger, Coordinator of the International Education Management noted in an interview that despite the complexity of the new teaching and learning arrangements, he is surprised how focused everyone is and how much has been achieved. Krüger believes the lessons learned from these experiences will have a lasting impact on their teaching and help strengthen the educational system (Wawa, 1). As an education system, all members of high schools have worked to strengthen their learning techniques and to adapt to the new norms of our society during this time.