Items
Tag is exactly
distraction
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2020-08-27
Covid Schooling
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many lives were lost and changed forever. I was one of the lucky ones where myself and no one I knew was affected. One thing problem that surfaced to me during the pandemic is the online schooling. My fall semester of 2020 at Duquesne University was all online and it was a struggle being in my house just outside of Pittsburgh. Professors and faculty did their best to learn the technology and to teach the students through online interactions. I truly give them all the credit in the world for that, but it is extremely tough to learn. There is no clear-cut communication between students and their professors. Usually, you are able to form some sort of relationship with the professor, but there was not an easy way to do it. It was also hard to form a relationship with your classmates. You only knew the people that you knew before the pandemic. With no relationships in the class, it felt a lot harder. There was no one really to help you or just discuss the class with. People rely on people and in the online world, it is hard to have that connection. Our world cannot stay online. People need to be in offices and in schools working with one another. The online world is a way to hide from doing work where we need to be face to face. People need people. Our world depends on each other and the online world is a great thing, but it cannot be implemented for schooling. It was very hard for me to learn online because I was distracted by all the things at my house. What would you rather do, listen to an hour lecture or watch a tv show? It was hard to stay focused on schooling because it did not feel like school. I blame myself for not being able to pay attention during the classes, but if I struggled with it, I know many other kids did too. While taking 5 courses online, I have to be honest in saying I do not know if I really learned anything. I am thankful that I was not online too long. -
2020-09-18MO and LC Oral History, 2021/09/18
Basic interviews between two college students looking back on the start of the pandemic. -
2020
Quarentine and Self-Reflection: A Time To Work On Oneself
When the pandemic started, I was told that we were staying home for two weeks. My first thought was “Sweet. An extended spring break.” I thought I would have to come back to school after those few days and continue on with my life as it always has been. I was wrong. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before I knew it, I had lost an entire year of my life. I had no human contact outside of my family that entire time. I was kept in my room all day, everyday. After a while of online school and nothing else going on, I think that's when something had snapped inside of me. I experienced self reflection. With all of that time and no one but me, I just looked at myself, looked back into everything I have done and pondered on what I wanted to do with myself. I was already aware of how insignificant I was and how little I have done in life but I did not really understand just how little until I had that time to myself. I already had a list of things I wanted to change about myself and things I wanted to do so I think that is when I began working to be better. I spent a lot of time alone practicing how to act more patient and be friendlier. I practiced baking, I took care of babies a lot, I appreciated the little things I always have since I was young like a video game I play called Minecraft, I began documenting and recording everything I did, I studied foreign language, etc. Soon I started to make changes to myself. When I got mad, I would think of my nephew or I would imagine I am watching the kids and remember that I have to be patient with them. I practiced self love so when I got major depression episodes or anxiety attacks, I was able to comfort myself easier and walk myself through my struggles. I also cut back on the food I ate and the types of food I ate. I lost about 10 pounds in one week and I was super proud of myself especially since I was working out like every day. I was in really good shape and proud of myself for that. I had better stamina and my clothes fit better and I was getting a lot of foreign language practice in and I finished learning how to read and write korean as well as some simple vocabulary and sentence structure. I improved on writing since I wrote a lot more and helped develop my techniques and practiced some drawing. I spent a lot of that time sitting alone in my room and adjusting to that silence. I've improved as a listener and began to crave silence all the time. My life has not been peaceful in the least bit but I have been able to find peace within myself which has really helped in the long run so far. Having improved on myself and re-exploring hobbies and interests of mine, I was reintroduced to the loud and crowded public abruptly to which I responded with an anxiety attack but then I got more comfortable. I was super shy at first but now I feel generally happier all the time and I believe that has helped people around me relax and enjoy my presence more. I am glad I seem less threatening or mean because that is all I have been called my entire life. I am still weird and awkward and I am not anyone’s first option but I am glad I am not the last option now. My goal now is to enlist as soon as I can and go into community college. Once highschool ends for me then I will begin my life and I am super stoked about that. I have a few ideas of what I can do after highschool so I am just waiting it out now. At least this much good came out of quarantine. -
2021-05-22The Surprise Degree
When I first began my MA program in Fall 2019, I thought it would be really, really funny to not tell anyone I was pursuing a second Master’s. I figured at some point, I would slip and end up mentioning it. But instead, all our lives changed with the pandemic, and since I didn’t see a person besides the four people I live with for almost 13 months, anyone discovering my graduate program was no longer even a consideration. The MA program actually helped me keep my sanity. In those first couple of months, when everything was up in the air, my courses were a constant. And then in the mundane of quarantine, they challenged my mind, distracted me, giving me something to do. Who knew the random genealogy class I took last summer would lead me to discover 1. that my biological great great grandfather died when my great grampa was only 9 2. that no one in our family knew this and assumed his step dad was his dad 3. that this mysterious biological great great grandfather was not a poor wheel maker from Germany, but was a salesman involved in some suspicious activities that involved a sister being sold (national news! In all the papers of the 1890s), a robbery and attack on him (with the ominous newspaper title “will it be murder” because he was presumed to not survive... he did), and ended with his dramatic suicide when the police were attempting to arrest him for embezzlement ... in front of my nine year old great grampa?!? How strange to think that without quarantine I would never have taken the time to research this (this investigation took over three months!) and my family would still think our ancestry on that side were German wheel makers who fled the Kaiser! When I finished my MA last month, we thought it would be funny to do a photo shoot (never did that for my other degrees) and post it on Instagram. I cannot believe the amount of comments. People were over the moon excited. I think seeing any positive surprise coming out the pandemic gives people hope. And my weird idea that it would be really funny to not tell anyone? Yeah, it was. No regrets. -
2021-02-15#JOTPYPhoto submission from Dr. Marissa C Rhodes
In our endless search for diversions, my husband bought a resin 3D printer last spring and this was his first print. No matter how much we distract ourselves, #COVID19 is never far from our minds. #JOTPYphoto @lmansley @publiccurator @hotdogsssss @keil_jkeil @erin_bartram -
2020-03-12Such is life in Covid Time
On February 21st, 2021, one of my professors—while on an exceedingly off-topic tangent during a lecture about Medival Spain—flippantly remarked that in the age that we currently live in, there is now such a thing as “BCT” (“Before Covid Time”) and “CT” (“Covid Time”). According to him, we are currently living in both the year 2021 AD (or CE) and the year 1 CT. Our life as we know it, in the eyes of my professor and Julius Ceaser, is measured and marked by the birth of Jesus Christ and the contagious disease known as Covid-19. And just as it was for the birth of Jesus Christ, it exceedingly easy to pinpoint the exact moment when such a shift in time, from BCT to CT (at least in the United States), had occurred. It was the second week of March. Or, to be more exact, the 12th of March, the day when everything changed for a college student such as myself. On March 8th, 2020 (both AD and BCT), I had awoken as an average American college student in my dorm room. I had just gotten back from a spring break study abroad trip to the country of Cuba, and I was excited for classes to start back up the following day (and continue for the rest of the semester). Nothing was out of the ordinary. Life was continuing as we knew it. Covid-19 was an intangible construct at that point in time, some unseen nightmare way off in the distance that could not reach us. Nothing we needed to worry about, especially as young college students. There were hardly any reported cases yet if any in the United States. Everyone used to say, “oh, that Covid thing? Yeah, it’s just in China. Or Spain. Or Italy,” and then they would go about their day, not giving it any more thought. It was hardly even anything newsworthy. When I was in Cuba that first week of March, the only news we ever received (when we got signal or wifi, which was not often) was about the election, nothing Covid related. People even made jokes about it. That was just how life was in BCT, even a week before everything changed. Hell, even a few days before. On Monday that week, everything was normal, college life as I knew it continued—I saw my friends, got my meals in the ever so crowded dining hall, and went to classes with the max capacity of students. On Wednesday, the college Instagram meme page had posted a Covid update for the first time—there was a confirmed case not too far from campus—yet things continued as usual. However, on Friday, March 12th, 2020, almost a week after I had been partying it up in a packed club in Cuba with absolutely no awareness of the elusive plague that thrived halfway across the world, the shoe suddenly, and finally, dropped. I had shown up to my “Basics of Math” class to find that there were only five people (other than me) in attendance, and not even six hours later, we were given three hours to pack up and leave campus (pictured, me in the midst of packing up). I did not know it then, but we would not be allowed back on campus for another five months, almost 160 days in total. It is no exaggeration when I say that from that moment on, I felt as if I were a Depression Era family, evicted from their home, with all their belonging out on their lawn, with no knowledge of where to go from there. Even though I had my childhood home to go to, I felt, for lack of a better term, “out on my butt.” It was as if I was displaced, uprooted, cut adrift, and lost. I had not even unpacked any of my belongings when I arrived back home. I lived out of my haphazardly packed—and it was haphazard; I had packed up my dorm room in a sweat-inducing and crazed rush—suitcase until it was time once more to pack up and go back to college five months later. And my physical being was not the only thing that felt disoriented. Just as I imagine it was with most other college students during this time, the 2020 spring semester was one of my worst academically performing semesters to date. Although now, almost a full year later (entirely in Covid time), I am most adept at zoom life and the socially-distanced way classes are held, at the time, absolutely not. With every single one of my classes now on Zoom or some virtual variant, it became most difficult for me to adjust to the new way of things. Not even the professors knew what they were doing. Everyone was struggling. And it certainly did not help that my house had now taken on the most distracting nature ever to date. My sister, my mother, and my father were quarantined with me at home. That particular combination of people and location was about as conducive for my studies as it would be if I were studying amid an active circus. Not even when I was in class could I be completely unbothered. With no desk in my room, which I shared with my sister at the time, I was forced to partake in class and do my assignments while sitting next to my mother taking business calls, my sister playing on her Nintendo switch or watching a tv show, and my dad listening in on his own classes or playing the drums. It was a breeding ground for distraction. I would go as far as to say that I was lucky I even got the grades I ended up with that semester. It truly was an abysmal time. Although I certainly do not have to tell anyone that. Life as a college student during CT had proved most difficult. And it still has not entirely let up. Although for the 2020 to 2021 academic year we have thankfully been allowed back on campus, student life has not yet reverted to how it once was (for better or worse). Classes now have a capacity limit (with socially distanced desks, six feet apart), the dining hall tables now only sit two, we have to make reservations for every meal (to limit how many people there are at a certain time), you are not able to frequent any dorms other than your own, masks must be worn at all times, some classes are held over zoom, or even outside, off-campus travel is prohibited, and there are only specific entrances and exits you can use for every college building. College life—a time which was always regarded as the free-est time of one’s whole life—is now the most massively regulated. And all I can say to that is, “c’est la vie.” Such is life in “Covid time.” -
2021-01-15
Virtual Learning
Virtual Learning was CRAZY. SO many pros and cons. Some pros are that we get to stay home and have our choice of lunch and we also get to be anywhere like on vacation and stuff as long as we had wifi we could do it. Some cons is that its SUPER distracting and soooo many temptations such as going downstairs to eat during class, going on your phone and do other stuff, and also, (the biggest of all) people cheating on quizzes and tests. All you have to do is have the quiz or test on one tab, and the answers on the other. I like in school learning wayyyy better because I get to see friends, get more exercise instead of being cooped up in my room, and be more focused during class. AND THE AMOUNT OF STUDENTS THAT FORGET THAT THEY AREN'T MUTED IS HILARIOUS!!! THEY'D BE WATCHING VIDEOS OR PLAYING MUSIC OR TALKING TO SOMEONE OFF OF MUTE AND THE WHOLE CLASS WOULD HEAR!!!! In some cases, some did get in trouble for what the situation was and what they were playing. Some zoom classes were also getting leaked (I was in one of the leaked zooms) and some random person would take the name of a student and then do something inappropriate and leave right after so we would know who it was. It was obvious a student leaked the zoom call because how would a complete stranger have the same exact name as a student in the same period? Anyways I personally prefer in person learning far more than online. -
2020-03
Remote Learning 2020
My experiences of learning online have been terrible. In the beginning I didn't try my best and I didn't do my work. I just have so many distractions online at home like my family coming downstairs and being loud because they don't realize I'm still in class. After a while, I started to get into a routine of waking up at 7:30 and going downstairs. Getting my computer ready and setting up my workspace (aka the dining table). Going to class and after school doing my homework. Clearing off the table for dinner and going to bed. -
2020-11-14
Virtual Learning
My experience during virtual school has some positives and negatives. I liked the fact that I didn't have to wake up so early. During virtual, I just got out of bed and walked to my desk. I also liked how I could do school in my pajamas. I didn't like how I couldn't really see friends, and I got distracted easily. -
2020-10-12
Virtual Learning
I absolutely loathed virtual learning. I would wake up minutes before class started to get up from my bed, slap some clothes on last minute, and listen to class half asleep. I didn't really learn anything at all. The information would stay with me one day, then leave the next day. Learning Math and Chinese were excruciatingly terrible. I couldn't pay attention at all, and all of a sudden the teacher would ask a question and I would sit there not knowing the answer. While online school was the worst possible thing that school has done to me, there were a few pros to it. I could sleep in between classes, eat during class, watch tv during class. I could leave early, I didn't have to try as much. I liked online school when it was first announced in March until around May. Summer happened and we went back to online learning. I would have so many distractions that I couldn't get any homework done... The homework. The homework was one of the worst things about it if not the worst. They would give us mass amounts of work and then have the nerve to say "Have a nice weekend!", knowing good and well that I'd be doing work the whole time. It probably wasn't as much as I thought it was, but it sure seemed like a lot. The only thing I learned from online school was "Turn in assignments by 11:59 pm". So overall, the online school was terrible, nothing good came from it. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning [DUPLICATE]
Every morning I woke up just 20 minutes before class. That would give me enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and get ready for school. At each lunch or break period is when I would see and talk to my family. During class, I would often get distracted or lose concentration from learning. This would make it hard for me to do my assignments or answer questions in class. Procrastinating was a big challenge for me during virtual learning. I would mostly do all of my assignments at the last minute, this was because I really did not enjoy virtual learning. After school I would just practice soccer or play video games since I had no motivation to do my homework. In class it got very boring for sitting in my room half of the day and not really moving around much. I did not enjoy online learning a lot since it was a very hard time. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
My experience while learning remotely was tough. I had so many distractions around me that made me not focus. Although there were a lot of good things that came from it. Like I was able to get more sleep and wake up five minutes before school. I did miss my friends a lot while home so overall I am happy we are back to as normal as it can get. -
2021-01-14
Remote Learning
My personal experience while learning remotely was pretty tough. I mean it was hard to stay focused with all the distracting of your room. I guess the good part was you could wake up 5 minutes before school and open your laptop and school was right there. And you wouldn't have to wait in line for your parents to pick you up or anything. But I did miss my friends a lot and I am happy to see them now. -
2020-10-13
Online Journey
Every morning I woke up just 20 minutes before class. That would give me enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and get ready for school. At each lunch or break period is when I would see and talk to my family. During class, I would often get distracted or lose concentration from learning. This would make it hard for me to do my assignments or answer questions in class. Procrastinating was a big challenge for me during virtual learning. I would mostly do all of my assignments at the last minute, this was because I really did not enjoy virtual learning. After school I would just practice soccer or play video games since I had no motivation to do my homework. In class it got very boring for sitting in my room half of the day and not really moving around much. I did not enjoy online learning a lot since it was a very hard time. -
2020-03-13
Virtual Learning with Covid
It started in March 18. The death of me. Online school... staring at a computer for 7 hours a day. My eyes hurting after each day. My mind racing at all times on other things. I sat at my desk in my room. I had barely any social interactions with my friends. All I could do was FaceTime or text them. The one nice thing about online school is waking up at 7:50 everyday. I also liked that during my breaks I could just shoot outside on my court at my house. Other than that, I am glad we are back in person school. -
2021-01-14
Remote learning
Learning virtually was definitely a change. It was hard to get used to at first. There are sone benefits of learning online. All your classes are right infront of you and with a click of a button your are in your class. Also, all of your supplies are on your desk, so you dont have to carry any books or anything to class. But, there were also some downsides. Not being able to see my teachers and friends was hard. Teaching a class online is also definitely harder and there are many distractions when it comes to online school. Changing to the block schedule was also difficult. We used to have all 7 periods in 1 day, but now we have 3-4 classes a day and they are twice as longer. It is hard sitting on a chair for an hour and a half for each period. -
2020-09-27The Hobbies We Have Used to Get Through Covid-19
I chose this painting, because it is symbolic of one of the many hobbies I developed in order to get through this pandemic and social distancing through the past few months. Many people have picked up new hobbies in order to distract themselves or learn something that they have always wanted to do. I chose paint-by-numbers, because I have always loved painting, but I have never been very good at it. So, I chose the next best thing: paint-by-numbers. Everyone has different tastes and coping mechanisms. I thought it would be interesting to catalog the different hobbies that people have picked up in order to cope or distract themselves with from the pandemic -
2020-10-13The end of quiet time in the home.
I am very lucky. I have a job that allows me to work 12-hour shifts, which means I have three or four days off a week. I used to have the time while my daughter was at school and my wife (a teacher) was at work to relax or work on my master's classes. These classes take concentration and time to read and write, and noise is very distracting to me. I should also mention that we purposely bought a small house, less than 1300 sq. feet. Suddenly in March, 2020, my world (at the risk of sounding selfish) was changed. My wife was teaching from home, juggling rooms back and forth with me for computer usage etc., while my daughter was asking for help with school. The voice mail attached is a memory I have of my comfortable little environment changing. This particular voicemail surely caused stress and anxiety to the parents of 16,000 students in one district. Even today listening to it feels ominous. Ironically, today I dropped my daughter off for the first time at in-person school, and I was sad to see her go. *Voicemail sound file from my child's school district announcing school closures. -
2020-08-23Tick Tock
The pandemic was the least of my worries as a freshman in college who was still adjusting, but it soon overtook my life. Not only did I not come back from spring break, but the entire university shifted to online learning as it was too unsafe to be in class. I left my perfectly curated dorm, my professors, and friends to something that I had not given ten minutes of my time a month prior. The pandemic had been looming in the background and I had heard about it and never really thought it would affect me but I was very wrong. The virus changed my view of schooling, the way the government looks at its citizens and how we treat one another. During the initial lockdown I observed many ways in which everyone tried to cope with our reality. There were those making banana bread, sourdough bread, and binging tv shows on Netflix such as Tiger King. Then there were the college and high school kids who were all staying up till the early hours of the morning mindlessly scrolling through social media, more specifically TikTok, since there was no school to wake up early for. Now I understand that social media can be, and is toxic, but the app TikTok has made a relatively good space for all people and has proven to be a good way to spread information to a younger generation rapidly. As someone who had only a few months ago been writing papers and doing homework in my dorm I can without a doubt say I would never have envisioned myself on an app watching 30 or 60 second videos for hours on end. The videos on the app are comedy related, informative on niche topics, activism, such as the Black Lives Matter Protests, political and just about everything under the sun. Although it is only an app that could vanish at any moment, it has become part of millions of college and high school students' lives. It has offered a distraction from all of the uncertainty in the world and an outlet to share their experiences. I personally attempted to make a TikTok with my friends as we kept six feet apart from each other and although it never turned out it still offered a distraction from the fact that we were not able to just go to one another's houses and hang out - we had to meet in our old high school parking lot. The app seems so benign to those who are not on it, but from what I have seen it has offered happiness in a time of world turmoil. -
March 25, 2020
COVID Share Your Story #RITtigers #2, Film and animation Major's Point of view
I am a film and animation major, that said most of my classes are practicality based. Mostly studio time and experience based, it is a huge adjustment for someone who struggles to pay attention to switch to online classes. I don’t have a room at my house so my classes are taken in the dinning room and I sleep in the couch, there are so many distractions and it’s absolutely terrible to try and pay attention. so far not a lot of good has come from this besides the idea that the professors and Dean, have made it 100% obvious that they are trying and that they care. They have made it possible for us to (maybe) do our studio labs next semester, if we do wish to. For the most part we are all on board for such as well, these studio based courses are things we look forward too and this was all just poor timing for everyone. If I could give a message to myself at the start of this semester, what would I say? I would tell myself at the start of the semester not to get my hopes up too high for these studio times, that way I wouldn’t have felt so awful when it was suppose to be cancelled, I also would have told myself to put more faith in the professors who care about us, and know that they had our best interests at heart. They really did fight for us in the CAD meeting and our faculty should know how much the students of SOFA are thankful for that. -
2020-04-17Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus...Amber Gowan
A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science -
05/21/2020Educator Zoom Meetings
Educators are prohibited from entering schools in much of California. Distance meetings are numerous. Today, Teacher Dana Bell meets with educators at Sem Yeto continuation high-school are meeting to plan for next years WASC visit, a task that can not wait till school resumes. Working from home is a challenge many educators are facing. This meeting was disrupted several times by the participants children and pets. In this particular image, the isolation educators are experiencing is particularly felt. A contrast from the normal hustle of the classroom. -
2020-03-31Paint by Numbers
This image shows an incomplete paint by numbers that is depicting a French cafe. During a time of boredom and anxiety, artistic outlets such as this one provides comfort and distraction. I bought this paint by numbers to alleviate my boredom and to give me an excuse to step away from my family if I needed alone time. I bought this project when I knew I’d be in quarantine for more than two weeks. This complex painting allows me to not think about the scariness of the news and helps calm my anxiety about the current state of affairs. -
2020-05-04
Quarantine College
Quarantine College The coronavirus came in with no announcement and changed everyone’s lives as we know it. For me one of the biggest changes was school. I was just about one third through my second semester in college when news of the corona virus began to spread. At first it was said to be only in China, but more and more cases were being seen around the world. Then the first case in Arizona came, and where else would it be but my very own school, Arizona State University. Still there was no panic or change. We continued with school as usual. We then entered our long-awaited spring break. This is where everything changed. We never came back to school from spring break, or we never went back to on campus classes. Every class was moved to online. For many this was a horrible turn of events as in class learning helps many, myself included. As for me it was not bad, at first many of my professors even insisted it was only a temporary change. I still visited campus to see my friends or study, but everything quickly changed. I lived at home, but I saw as all my friends were basically kicked off of campus. I have not seen many of them since. Then came the subject of online school. I thought I would be fine but studying from home was just not the same. On one hand I could study on my own time, but on the other I had limited access to all the universities helpful buildings. I no longer had access to libraries or study areas. Studying at home also means I am with my family 24/7. While I Love my family going to school could be a break from them, but most importantly they can be a big distraction when trying to work. Another problem I have is finding motivation to do my work. I do not not why but it feels as school is optional now even though it is not. I must find a dedicated time to do my work, but I get distracted and or have no motivation. The coronavirus has changed the way everyone lives their lives in 2020. Some positive changes and many negative changes have come. I think I have finally developed a better way to study. Although it was hard to overcome all the challenges that the corona virus brought I will never forget my freshman year of college. -
2020-04-20Trying to work from home without interruption
Picture of a family pet interrupting work. -
2020-03Zoom conference
Since many schools took to zoom and other platforms to have virtual classes, many would see their fellow students pets on camera -
2020-03-27College Student Challenges
As a student I have suffered a lack of motivation and a difficulty focusing. Receiving a flood of emails from both professors and school administration was overwhelming. Having started online learning for classes that I had originally had in person I have lost hope in effectively learning and now I'm just hoping to pass my classes. All of my classes have reorganized and changed their assignments putting leaving me unprepared for these new tasks. The office I intern at also closed so as of now I'm also out of work. The combination of not being at work and being schooled at home leave me with many distractions that make it difficult to focus on anything really.