So we all know that there is a worldwide pandemic right now. It’s causing a lot of conflicts within school districts and workplaces. Because of this, most schools are switching to only online or trying to offer an online option for students. Four percent of students are doing online learning full time at Pella High, while other students might be studying virtually temporarily because of exposure to Covid or because they test positive for Covid.

At Pella High most online learning is looking very similar in different classrooms. Teachers will email you Google Classroom codes, so you can access the assignments. They will send out weekly agendas of everything you are doing. They may also email you a link, so you can call into your classes from home if they have the equipment to do so. Not all teachers are teaching virtual classes.

Erin Yoder, a teacher in the science department at Pella High, says teaching online changes a lot of things like the relationships with students, the course materials, and class tools, because you can’t teach online the same as in-person.

Nathan Mastbergen is the new High School Technology Content Advisor. He teaches creative writing virtually. He also unofficially connects to students who are in quarantine through Google Classroom and Google Meet. However, according to Mastbergen it would be very different if the whole school returned to being taught virtually.

“If we were to go fully online, teachers would have to learn a whole new set of tricks and skills to deliver information to students and check for their understanding,” said Mastbergen.

While most people are attending in-person classes there are still a few students doing online which Mastbergen says presents a whole new set of challenges when you have to prepare lessons for both online and in-person at the same time.

Avery Dingeman, a sophomore at Pella High, is an online student full time.

Dingeman said, “I think that the teachers, even though they are still learning how to teach online, are doing a good job so far.”