Learning has changed a lot in Metropolia within a year. Going on campus every day, meeting classmates and working on projects in the library – all of these things have changed since last spring. Going mostly online felt a bit scary at first: ”Will I be able to concentrate, how can I communicate with everyone, will the teachers be ready for the sudden change too?” These were all questions that were on my mind last spring when we first went remote.

However now I can look back and see how Metropolia has handled the change, and how I have felt about it afterwards. I thank Metropolia for taking the COVID-situation seriously. Most classes have been moved online and the ones held on campus have had a strong mask and hand sanitizer enforcement. I have never felt anxiety about going to campus during this time.

Honestly, going online has not always been easy. Commuting to campus everyday did set a certain mood for the day, but waking up later and taking my time drinking coffee and eating breakfast at home has definitely made my mornings calmer and feel less rushed.

Concentrating on online classes is indeed an art form. This time has certainly taught me more self-control and independence in studies. I feel like these are great remote work skills I can undoubtedly use in the future, as working life is developing too. I know many of us students do not necessarily have a spare room to turn into a home office, so making the space you study in peaceful and neutral enough was something I considered during this time. Metropolia has shared some great advice for us students on how to pace our day better and it has helped me concentrate better.

Metropolia teachers have planned the online classes to be engaging though. I feel like we have actually had interactive exercises more often in online classes than on campus. On the other hand, some classwork is offered to be done independently, and I like this mix of being active in class and working alone whenever I want. Metropolia online learning has evolved with the current situation and the teachers have adapted well as well.

I have also noticed some perks about online studies. Certain outside distractions are lifted while studying at home. Some people are very easily distracted by surrounding noises, and a busy class on campus is definitely anything but noise-free. At home, I can be 100% myself, and I have enjoyed the sweatpants-lifestyle quite a bit. Not commuting personally saves me 3 hours of time every day. It gives me more time to relax and gain energy.

While it is uncertain when we can go back to campus for good, I feel that studying in Metropolia on campus and in online classes has given me two sides of the college experience I never thought I would get. I have also unexpectedly learned two sets of study methods and definitely a positive attitude for changes.

Written by Alice Savilaakso