On March 11th, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and since then schools and offices worldwide have been shut down. As a result, schools have shifted into remote learning, where students attend lessons by logging onto electronic devices. Now that students have spent about four months in distant learning, they have many thoughts on this new change but teenagers, in particular, have been outspoken with their opinions. 

Since students have outright endorsed or loathed distance learning, we decided to survey the effect it has had on them so far. Teenagers were chosen as the target audience because of their maturity regarding the pandemic but also their willingness to continue learning during quarantine. By analyzing the responses of our survey, we hope to implement ideas suggested by teenagers into distance learning.

The survey brought a mix of responses with some teens satisfied with distance learning but with others demanding changes. With over 160 responses from teenagers around the world, we were able to come up with an overall conclusion with the results. First and foremost, most teens were able to agree that remote learning was having a significant impact on their social lives. Certain events such as school dances and team meets cannot be held virtually and for a good reason too, considering these events are unique when they are held in person and cannot be replaced.

Not only was distance learning detrimental to their social lives, but more than 60% of the teenagers also experienced a setback on their mental wellbeing by not being able to connect with their friends daily. Socialising with friends was a part of most teens’ daily lives and without it there is a significant loss. However, many were willing to fill that social gap with more interactions during remote learning. The teens suggested having a part of class where they are allowed to converse with each other and catch up with what's happening with their classmates. 

But the lack of socialization was not the only problem. The responses reported that teachers weren’t teaching the same way they would in school. Kasey A. (15) wrote, “Most of my teachers are not using zoom and just giving us worksheets and textbook pages. I find this unacceptable because my teachers are not doing their part to teach their students. They should be using zoom. The teachers that do use zoom never have their cameras on and don't require student cameras to be on.” Many responses were similar to hers, requiring more face-to-face learning and wanting to make social connections with classmates over virtual platforms. 

Kasey along with 80% of the other teens surveyed, also felt more motivated to stay productive during school rather than remote learning. This similarly ties to the fact that over 50% of teens were procrastinating more during distance learning compared to regular school. We concluded that without the competition of their peers, students are less likely to stay determined and finish their assignments on time. This is not a problem that can be easily fixed over virtual school, but it has to start with teachers being less lenient. 

Many respondents in the survey mentioned that their teachers were becoming more flexible with due dates and were willing to overlook late work. The students themselves also noticed their grades increasing due to the light workload the teachers were giving during the shift to remote learning. The first step teachers need to take is to create stricter deadlines and treat students as if they were in regular school. 

Students also suggested having due dates of assignments spread out instead of having several projects due one week and having almost none the next. Spreading out the due dates will not only minimize students’ need to procrastinate but also pace them well. Additionally, students felt disorganized when completing their daily classes at home instead of school. Instead of having separate materials and classrooms for each subject, everything was suddenly shifted onto an online program. While Google Classroom and Google Drive, among other virtual learning platforms, are convenient and reliable, it can get difficult to navigate between subjects on one single platform. Teachers should start using multiple platforms instead of just Google Classroom to not only help students organize their schedule, but to also provide variety in the assignments being given. 

Despite the challenges, some results of distance learning have proved to be beneficial. Shifting to virtual school has forced students and teachers to adapt to the fast-growing use of technology. While there have been various technological issues with online classes, the students and teachers are becoming more accustomed to new platforms such as Zoom and Google Hangouts. It is quite impressive how quickly schools were able to shift their classes and teaching materials into a virtual platform. If god-forbid another catastrophe happens, we can trust that schools will be more than prepared to teach their students from home. Another positive aspect of distance learning was that more than half of the teens reported that they are getting 7-9 hours of sleep compared to the few hours of sleep they get on a regular school day. Since a regular school day is full of after school clubs and sports, distance learning has proved to increase the hours of sleep teens are getting at night. 

If we have to continue distance learning into the next year, both students and teachers will have to work collaboratively to improve the online school system. First off, teachers will need to recognize that teaching strategies for last year were flawed and then strive to come up with a more plausible plan. It is understandable why distance learning had a few problems, considering the teachers and schools were given a short amount of time to come up with a full-functioning online schedule and learning environment for students. However, moving forward, we must utilize the feedback given from students and incorporate it into making a better virtual learning environment. Although there have been many hits and misses with distance learning, changes will need to take place if remote learning will continue into the next school year. Like Kiyah A. (15) said, “There’s a lot of adjusting that needs to be done and it won’t just happen overnight or in 6 short months.”