Friday, March 13 was the last day of instruction before LAUSD closed all its schools after concerns regarding COVID-19, with what began as two weeks becoming many months. While students did have online learning for the rest of their 2020 spring semester, this new and unique road was marked with tribulations for both students and teachers for the new year.

 Though students and teachers are not traveling far for their education, teaching and learning from home can be quite troublesome. 

Students and teachers are now having to shift from a familiar structure to an unfamiliar one,  going from in-class lessons and student discussions to screen sharing and breakout rooms.

According to English Teacher Marcos Sandoval,  the little time he has in between periods, as well as the technological problems that can arise during online learning are challenging. 

“It’s not enjoyable sitting in front of a computer screen for 70 minutes or so and only getting five minutes to stand up and stretch, only to sit back down for another 70 minutes,” he said.

“In these moments,  instead of getting angry, I just throw my hands up and say ‘technology!’ he continued. “We have to work within the parameters of what we’re given here. I have to be okay with the fact that not everything is going to go as planned.”

One of the many problems that can arise with online learning is the strain in communication. As opposed to the quick and easy communication between students and teachers at school, communication through electronic messaging can be hard to adapt to. 

Senior Miriam Martinez expressed frustration over having to adapt to unfamiliar means of communication and the disconnect between students and teachers because of it.

“I think communicating with teachers has been more difficult since sometimes they take long hours to reply and at times there are misunderstandings,” she said. 

These technological problems that can arise can be an obstacle, but students and teachers must work together to overcome these obstacles.