As there is no examination pressure I can now focus on my GPAT preparation wholeheartedly: Aditi, ITM University

These are first-hand student accounts on how our young population is managing to keep their exam prep or college course work going from the confines of their homes. In case you want to share your lockdown study experience, write to us at publish@shiksha.com.

Honestly speaking, this lockdown has adversely affected the study and preparation pattern of all students. My sister who was giving her higher secondary (+2) final examinations couldn't complete her exams and doesn't know what to do now. In this hour of confusion, it is vital for the students not to lose touch with their studies. ITM University has taken a step to keep the students tied to their books by giving the students weekly assignments based on the online classes conducted by the university.

For completing the assignments, students have to go through their books and hence prepare themselves with the course. The online classes are very beneficial for the students as they provide better understanding through videos and images, interaction with the teaching faculties, allowing the students the flexibility to choose their time and place and saving their time and energy that they waste in travelling to their colleges and returning back home.

Having said that, it is inevitable that the online classes can never equal the classes conducted in classrooms. Classrooms provide the students with in-person, in-classroom opportunities where students can physically interact with the teachers and other students. Many students learn better when in a group than when they prepare alone because it lacks peer learning and also to keep up with the pace of their peers, students learn things quicker. If I talk about my university, I have friends from cities like Delhi as well as friends from remote mountainous regions like  Changlang in my class.

I often hear from my friends about the poor network connectivity in certain areas making it difficult for the students to take online classes in the scheduled timing which is not a problem with offline classes.

Moreover, the teachers can't keep track of the student’s understanding in these online classes hence as a student I find offline classes far more effective than the online classes.

Apart from the course curriculum, this time is a golden opportunity for students aspiring for competitive exams. Being a B.Pharm 2nd-year student I plan to sit for the GPAT examination in the coming years so I have installed "Pharmasapience" application in my phone to prepare and sit for the free weekly tests that the app offers for the students which might not have been possible for me in my daily hectic schedule before lockdown. As there is no examination pressure I can now focus on my GPAT preparation wholeheartedly. This time can be utilized for deep and conceptual learning by the students.

Apart from studies, this time can be wisely utilised by students to grip hold of any skill they are interested in like I'm learning to play mouth organ from YouTube.

Being a hosteler something I missed the most was being in touch with my parents and now that I'm learning from home, it feels amazing to have my parents by my side who now indulge in my college life more and I get a chance to share more stories with my mother about college.

I would advise all the students to be strong mentally and use this period of lockdown for their betterment. If you can't come out of this lockdown with a new skill, then you would have wasted a big opportunity to become a better version of your own self.

About the Author:

Aditi Sharma is 2nd year student of B.Pharma from ITM University, Gwalior.