Annika Forman on pandemic J-school and the silver linings of virtual learning

Podcast art by Katelyn Curtis

In this special edition of Pull Quotes, guest podcast producer Annika Forman shares her experience conducting her master of journalism degree online and hears from others who went through a similar experience.

She shares her thoughts and feelings on her time spent as well as hearing from other students, some who had been even more challenged. We also hear from instructors who were scrambling along with the students to adjust to the new reality. An educational professional also discusses the differences in learning methods and their implications.

In this episode, diary entries are read between hearing from sources. The story has a positive ending that highlights the re-introduction to in-person learning and the recuperation of what was lacking throughout the program. If the program hadn’t been online there would have been no piece, therefore, a silver lining did come from all of it.

She gained a lot of skills she likely wouldn’t have otherwise and became more independent. “As it turns out, online learning isn’t new. There are entire degree programs that are offered only online and distance or remote learning has opened up all kinds of opportunities for education. It’s helped everyone from children living in remote villages to adults living in cities who work full-time and need to study after hours,” says Forman.

In the piece, she also talks about how she ended up going to J-school, shares her favourite activities with the return of in-person life, and what she has taken from the undertaking of doing school remotely.