By Adel Ahmed
Nearly two months after the winter term began this year from the comfort of our own homes, NAIT has brought classes back in-person once again.
Classes were initially planned to be in-person at the beginning of the term. However, because of the surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that was spreading rapidly across the globe, NAIT chose to take the cautious approach and began the new year with classes online.
Now that most classes have returned to in-person, some students are excited about the change.
“It’s really nice to interact one on one with people finally and you get to know your classmates better when we’re in-person and talk face to face,” said NAIT Radio & Television student, A. Jade Munsie.
“It’s what learning is all about. You learn from other people and you do that best when it’s in person.”
Problems like unreliable internet connections can impact the quality of online learning, so having the chance to interact in-person with teachers that are physically present is a benefit, explained Munsie.
“It’s much easier to talk to a teacher right there when you have a question as opposed to online where you may be over speaking somebody else’s question,” Munsie said.
“[The instructors] can show you first hand too so you’re not sharing screens and you’re not dealing with technical difficulties.”
Although it may seem great to be back on campus, there can still be some drawbacks for students like NAIT Radio & Television student, Julian Schaldhus.
“The only thing that I don’t like about it so far is a bunch of travel time. I’m always hating the hour or so of travel time it takes me to get to class, but that’s a minor issue.”
The biggest thing that Munsie is most excited about when it comes to being in-person is the interactions with her classmates.
“Being online has its conveniences of course, but I think being back in-person you get just the very obvious personable interactions and you feel closer to your classmates when you’re together and it’s been really nice.”
To find out on how to stay safe and what measures are in place, you can visit NAIT’s website to get the latest information on COVID-19.
