It’s back to school, which means learning time is here! Or as it’s now called, “virtual learning.” With students back to school via BlackBoard Collaborate, anxiety, fatigue, and stress has been running high. Here are some tips on how to improve your experience with BlackBoard Collaborate fatigue!

Email your teachers if you’re struggling with an assignment

While this may seem obvious, emailing your teachers is imperative! If you’re having a hard time with an online assignment, putting off an email to your teacher only add to anxiety and stress, especially since students aren’t able to ask their teachers for help in person. Teachers are there to help, and they’ll try their best to answer any questions you have about an assignment, no matter how many you have. In the end, emailing your teacher not only improves your communication skills during distance learning, but it also gets questions answered so you’ll have an easier time completing assignments.

Let your teacher know you’re away if you need a quick second away from the computer

During classes, students typically tend to get a bit antsy which is when they would ask their teacher if they’re allowed to go for a quick water, stretch, or bathroom break. Luckily enough, most teachers have been encouraging students to get away from their computers by giving 2-5 minute breaks. However, if you have a teacher that doesn’t give breaks in class, message them privately on the BlackBoard Collaborate chat (not the groupchat) and then click on your icon and press the “away” button to notify your teacher that you’ve stepped away from your computer. When you’re back in class, click on your icon once more and click the “away” button again to let your teacher know you’re back in class. 

Talk to your counselor and clinician 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and anxious with distance learning, don’t be afraid to reach out to your clinician or counselor. Clinicians and counselors are always there if you ever need to talk to someone about how you’re feeling. Virtual learning is new to everyone, and it’s okay to feel a bit stressed about something new during these unprecedented times.

Work with teachers on asynchronous days

If you’re the type of student that requires one-on-one time with a teacher, no worries, that’s what asynchronous days are designed for! In order to have a one-on-one session with your teacher, all you have to do is: check the Monday schedule, find what class/department you need help with and the given time slot, and click on that class’s BlackBoard Collaborate link when Monday rolls around. Most importantly, don’t forget to email your teacher and inform them that you’ll be attending their virtual classroom or if you’re busy at the given time and need to reschedule for a later time. 

Create a schedule for yourself

Another thing you can do to ease the stress of virtual learning, is creating a schedule for yourself. When creating a schedule, take it one day at a time rather than planning weeks and months ahead. For example, what assignments need to be prioritized and what assignments can you work on slowly? How much time do you plan on working before taking a break? How much time do you want to study? Do you have any extracurriculars or tests/standardized tests you need to prepare for? While creating a detailed schedule may take some time, it can only benefit you and help you with time-management skills. 

Get enough sleep

Most students stay up much later than they should, pulling all nighters or going to bed at an ungodly hour because of homework, studying, extracurriculars, or a sleep disorder. In order to fully function at school, high-school students typically need 8-9 hours of sleep. Before going to bed, make sure your phone is nowhere near you and you have a book next to you. Many sleep doctors say that distractions (i.e. phones, technology, bluelight) prevent people from sleeping and they should physically be removed from the bedroom. However, if you use your phone for an alarm or have a hard time parting with your device, placing it on your desk should suffice. If reading a book doesn’t help you fall asleep, consider taking melatonin pills or gummies. Remember, sleep is rejuvenating and powerful for the human body and mind.

Don’t be hard on yourself

Finally, one of the most important things to remember and practice during distance learning is not being so hard on yourself! While some students may excel with the virtual learning environment some students may struggle. Virtual learning is stressful and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed and stressed, don’t think it’s wrong to feel this way. When you feel this way, just remember, you’re a teenager going to school during a pandemic, you can conquer anything you put your mind to.