My First Semester at AltSchool Africa: The Ups and Downs of Remote Learning.

Learning from any location of your choice is a great idea, you get to enjoy the flexibility of taking classes whenever you want, and there is no pressure to learn everything at once. It is also helpful for people with special needs, disabilities or numerous tasking responsibilities, as there is no need for them to move about from place to place in the quest to get knowledge. This is aided by the technology, with the use of gadgets and other materials that will provide a smooth learning process.

My Experience

I started remote learning a few months shy of January this year, after scaling through the assessment test for AltSchool Africa’s school of software engineering. To say that the experience has been nothing short of amazing would be an understatement. Apart from learning from the assigned tutors and using the study material given, I learned how to acquire knowledge in different ways.

It was easy to get myself acclimatized to the learning process because it was the whole learning trajectory was split into semesters, just like the system used in traditional universities.

The Beauty of Remote Learning

• Here, there is no need to rush your learning. After looking at the curriculum given to us for the first semester, I was a bit overwhelmed. I did not know how to write a single line of code then, and just looking at JavaScript sitting there did not make me feel good one bit. During our live classes and on the slack channel, I listened to other students air their views and talk about the things that bothered them. Then it occurred to me that I was not alone, even though they were other people that had some experience with remote learning and writing code in general. The tutors and community manager, Tabitha Kayvu, were kind enough to talk about the struggles they faced when learning, which made us less anxious.

• The pressure to do well once you start in any tech field of your choice. This is not talked about enough. Every day people put out their achievements-an internship, a job, a promotion, relocation, merch and swags, and whatever perks they get at their office, even free coffee with trademark cups! However, looking at what you have achieved so far can help raise your spirits. Looking at what others have accomplished so far also serves as a source of inspiration.

• It makes you more organized. You are solely responsible for your progress. It is your choice to sit down, study, learn and practice what has been taught. Cheating is like shooting yourself in the leg because it only worsens matters, and self-deceit is a horrible thing to do to oneself.

The Struggles of Remote Learning

• Internet connection

  All through the time you watch videos on TikTok, nothing seems to be wrong with the Wi-Fi, but the moment you decide to learn or sign in for your classes, it begins to misbehave. This is a general problem, and it can be remedied and taken care of by checking your internet speed with fast.com.

• Collaborating with colleagues

  We were assigned to circles on the official slack channel, as a way of getting to know each other better. It was hard for me because I had never got to use slack before, I was used to other texting mediums, and it was a vast space, so the circles were a welcome idea. I learned to ask for assistance in the #help channel and in my circle.

• Asking questions

  I didn’t know Googling was a core skill I had to acquire to get the answers I wanted. My colleagues and tutors could not be available at every moment, as some of them live in countries with different time zones, and sometimes it did not make sense, to ask for help every time I had a problem.

• Taking breaks

  It seemed implausible, because I was in a relaxed environment, and I did not see the need to stop working and learning when there was so much to cover. I learned to take breaks in between learning sessions, a habit that impressed on us during the live classes by Oluwasetemi Ojo, an amazing tutor that taught us the basics of front-end development, from semantic HTML to data structures and algorithms. He would teach and then tell everyone to take a two-minute break to chill and prepare for the next batch of information. While it was a fun concept, it helped in improving memory retention and reducing screen time.

• Impostor syndrome

  Sometimes, the feeling that was I not doing well, or enough tampered with my learning process. From time to time, I would compare my progress to that of other students, and end up feeling bad for the rest of the day.
  Due to the strike action organized by universities in Nigeria, I stayed at home every day while my siblings went to school and others left for their daily activities. Learning new concepts and trying out new challenges was fun, but it felt lonely most of the time. Isolation was not a new concept, but not being able to relate with my classmates physically felt off.
  Thankfully, meetups were organized for the students in clusters, in different towns and countries. This helped cut down the distance barrier as students got to know each other on a more intimate level. The first semester came to an end, and although I experienced these issues firsthand, I found a way to maneuver them, and enjoy a seamless learning experience, and this manifested in my results as my grades were A equivalent.

Remote learning can be fun, and exhausting too. It all depends on your perspective and your attitude to work. We all have unique learning processes; the way Tom learns will be different from the way Harry gets to understand what he is being taught.
If staying at a place, on your bed, for example, will make you tired and sleep off, scoot over to a table and chair. Cleaning out a room and making it akin to an office or workspace environment will help keep you focused and less likely to get distracted. If that does not work, you can move out of the house, look out for workspaces- cafes that provide Wi-Fi and silent booths for customers, or hubs where you can meet like-minded people. It will help make your learning process easier.
If you live in areas that have internet connectivity and electricity issues, workspaces are an amazing alternative. I stay at a hub like this, and it has helped me a lot! My first attempt at remote learning was fun, yours can be too if you put your mind to it.

Leave a comment below if you have any further questions, or if you want to talk about your remote learning experience.