The QCE Years - My Journey to Changing the World through Business and Technology

[s110820]

Hi JerryMouse2019,

I completely agree with what you said about effectively studying for our exams even if we are doing online learning but I am still wondering how the QCAA is going to organize our exams. Do you think that we would take the exam in smaller groups or maybe even switch the format of the exam to an assignment (for subjects like English for example)?

I've been thinking about the COVID-19 situation a lot lately as well and honestly, it just breaks my heart to hear about so many losses whether it may be of life or jobs, but I am also more aware of the structure of our society. Before the outbreak, I feel like we have been dependent on so many industries, political assets and education but now that the pandemic looms on our shoulders, the foundation of our society, even our existence has collapsed right in front of us.

And it's just scary to think about. That one minute our economy and our society could be stable one minute, and in a havoc in the next minute. But I hope the situation alleviates, even just a little bit, soon.

[JerryMouse2019]

Hey everyone,

Today was the first day of the 5 week period in which nearly everyone in the entire state was studying from home. The one thing that I miss about school is that you follow a timetable. At home there is no timetable. I have been given all of my work for the week in one go and I have been told to submit it at the end of the week. We had a video conference call as well today and it had a little lag but it had text-chat (which was good) as an alternative to speaking through a microphone. So all in all, I think online learning for me specifically has been fine so far as I have had no problems with any of the online resources that I have had to use.

I did hear though that some people who use Microsoft OneNote were having trouble using it (as it crashed due to high user numbers).

I hope everyone has a satisfying online learning experience that works.

Good luck to everyone for the next 5 weeks,

Kind Regards
JerryMouse2019

[Bri MT]

I personally much prefer using chat over speaking aloud in my uni classes too. Especially if there's a TA leading the discussion and it's not just students. I use OneNote all the time and haven't found issues except when I try sharing pages.

Is most of your work reading, videos,  tasks or something else?

[JerryMouse2019]

I personally much prefer using chat over speaking aloud in my uni classes too. Especially if there's a TA leading the discussion and it's not just students. I use OneNote all the time and haven't found issues except when I try sharing pages.

Is most of your work reading, videos,  tasks or something else?

My teachers have basically given me tasks involving: worksheets, PowerPoint recordings, screen recordings, YouTube video links and textbook questions. This is pretty much what studying online looks like. Also OneNote started working again today which is good.

[s110820]

Hi JerryMouse2019!

Long time no see but it's great that you're adapting pretty well to the change of online school. Are you struggling with any subjects in particular at the moment during online school? I find that my humanities-based subjects (English, Literature and Modern History) are extremely flexible (can be taught in different types of environments) but I'm kinda struggling with my heavy-content subjects of General Maths and Biology as I'm the type of learner that really benefits from learning from inside a classroom for those types of subjects. Do you have any advice?

[JerryMouse2019]

Hey s110820,

I agree with you on how content-heavy subjects are harder to learn at home than in person at school. I'm having trouble learning in most of my subjects. All of my subjects are content-heavy subjects (except English) that in my opinion cannot be studied properly at home. Maybe they look content-heavy to me because my teachers are sending me the whole week's work in one go. I don't know. Though I do know that if I don't follow a schedule then I'm going to fall behind really quickly. It is however reassuring to know that my teachers are there to help me in any way possible. Learning at home for 5 weeks straight is probably the biggest challenge that I've faced in a while. The uncertainty surrounding what the state government might do to schools after May 22nd is also worrying. This is because we don't know if schools will truly be able to open up again after May 22nd. I might even have a General Maths exam as soon as I come back (I doubt that it'll occur) (though in a normal term this is when I would be having my exam). My only advice for you would be to set up a schedule and do your work in chunks (break it up). Imagine yourself in a world where you've always been learning from home. Imagine that you've always been doing homework and that you've never been to school. Maybe telling ourselves this might help us all move forward in these challenging times.

Best of luck,

Kind Regards
JerryMouse2019

Also thanks for keeping the Queensland forums alive
We need more people like you and me to keep contributing to not just the Queensland forums but to all of the AN forums

[s110820]

Thank you so much, Jerry, for replying, I really appreciate it

This is a bit of a weird question but do you need help with any of your subjects (English in particular)? I would be more than happy to help if you need. And thanks so much for the advice as well -- I keep that in mind throughout the five weeks of online school. I'm also worried about the uncertainty as well, but what can you say? 2020 was bound to be an extreme emotional rollercoaster (if that makes sense oops). Anyway, best of luck for your five weeks (and your maths exam if you end up having it). I bet you'll smash it.

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

[JerryMouse2019]

Thank you so much, Jerry, for replying, I really appreciate it

This is a bit of a weird question but do you need help with any of your subjects (English in particular)? I would be more than happy to help if you need. And thanks so much for the advice as well -- I keep that in mind throughout the five weeks of online school. I'm also worried about the uncertainty as well, but what can you say? 2020 was bound to be an extreme emotional rollercoaster (if that makes sense oops). Anyway, best of luck for your five weeks (and your maths exam if you end up having it). I bet you'll smash it.

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

Hi Darcy,

First of all, thank you for replying to my posts

I currently don't need any help with English (since we have just been introduced to the unit). Though if I need any help with anything then I'll surely ask you. Since you're a part of the class of 2020 you obviously have been through so much already and COVID-19 has probably made your study life worse. Being a part of the first cohort of the new QCE system was probably already impacting you enough (so much mentally, physically and emotionally).

I feel privileged to be a part of the class of 2021 because at least my cohort gets to see the scaling of subjects and use assessment exemplars (work that you guys did in year 11 last year and work that you are going to do this year).

COVID-19 is really going to ruin 2020 for the most part and we'll remember this time when we grow older.

I estimate that by September life will somewhat become normal (enough) for the people of Queensland. I just hope we don't lose this entire term to COVID-19. I can't stay at home and not meet my friends for 3 months straight. It's just really hard to stay focused in a time like this.

Best of luck to the both of us and to everyone in the nation,

Kind Regards
JerryMouse2019

[Bri MT]

I feel privileged to be a part of the class of 2021 because at least my cohort gets to see the scaling of subjects and use assessment exemplars (work that you guys did in year 11 last year and work that you are going to do this year).

Quick warning here: Don't be surprised if your year's scaling report is different to the class of 2020. Even in other states there's variability between years and I wouldn't be surprised if that's more the case for Qld in the next few years.  Assessment exemplars is a good point tho. In my experience of VCE at least, the last year of a study design [their version of a syllabus] tends to be tighter competition whereas the first year is more lenient and forgiving of mistakes.

[s110820]

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for replying (again). I really appreciate it
Yeah, you're right. Being the first cohort of QCE and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been such a struggle for me mentally and physically, but I'm sure that's the same for every other QCE student. But now that we are "slowing down" in terms of what we do, I've definitely noticed how I am constantly drained of energy, even before the pandemic. Which is why I'm planning to look after myself more, rather than crash and burn.

But I think that's a valuable lesson that every QCE student should learn, regardless of how the pandemic has affected their school life. It took me years to realise this but health is vital to success . As a student, I used to depend solely on caffeine and sugar to keep me awake when all I wanted to do was sleep. Which is why I cannot stress enough that it should be anyone's top priority to look after themselves -- both mentally and physically -- as we cannot function on anything but our own energy and motivation.

And yes, while being in the class of 2021 will have advantages -- such as hopefully a full, uninterrupted year of Year 12, it may have disadvantages as well. No one can predict what's going to happen tomorrow, in a month or a year, it's up to fate to decide. What Bri MT said about subject and assessment scaling is completely true -- the first cohort of Year 12 (2020) has flexibility because we are "the lab rats" as my English teacher constantly refers to us as. And of course, it is also important for any QCE student to remember that the more years away from the introduction of QCE (2020), the less flexible it will be in terms of the scaling of assessment.

But in terms of not being able to "physically" meet your friends, Jerry, there are many alternatives to "socialising" when isolated. And while I do recognise that it won't be exactly the same as physically seeing your friends, there are actually many benefits of staying in regular contact with your friends via texts, social media or video call apps such as Skype, Zoom, or HouseParty.

These are a few examples of how you can "socialise" while you are isolated, for anyone in particular:


On the HouseParty app, there is an option to play games with your friends as you call each other
You could play Kahoots with your friends (maybe to revise subject content or just for fun)
Or you could download Chrome extensions (I'm pretty sure there's one called Netflix Party) where you can watch movies with your friends at the same time -- or if that doesn't work, you can always FaceTime or Skype your friends.

Anyway, best of luck to you too, to everyone in the nation, people all around the world, people working on the frontlines of medical care, and of course, people working close to home in hospitality -- I wish you all the best for the future.

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon

[JerryMouse2019]

Hey everyone,

Today I heard the news that schools would be opening next week for year 11/12 students. I was overjoyed at the news because I hadn't been too productive in my school work ever since online learning had been enacted in Queensland. I had however been able to stay on top of two of my subjects (English and Legal Studies). All of the content-heavy subjects that I do (General Maths, Business, Economics and Digital Solutions) have taken me longer to finish. For the most part, I've just been sitting at my desk working everyday.

So yeah this is how I've been doing so far in the time of the pandemic.

Keep smiling everyone,

Kind Regards
JerryMouse2019

[s110820]

Hi Jerry,

I heard about that too and I'm actually really excited to go back to school, to be honest. To say that I was "overjoyed" would be an understatement because I was literally jumping up and down and squealing at the news. But starting physical learning would definitely be a bit of a nightmare for the teachers' to organise and for students to get used to again but I'm glad that we're experimenting to see what works and what doesn't work. For me, I was able to stay on top of my three "light-content"/humanities-based subjects of English, Literature and Modern History but I definitely struggled with my "heavy-content" subjects of General Maths and Biology. And I'm glad to hear that everything is going okay for you during the pandemic.

Keep smiling too, Jerry

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

[JerryMouse2019]

Hi Jerry,

I heard about that too and I'm actually really excited to go back to school, to be honest. To say that I was "overjoyed" would be an understatement because I was literally jumping up and down and squealing at the news. But starting physical learning would definitely be a bit of a nightmare for the teachers' to organise and for students to get used to again but I'm glad that we're experimenting to see what works and what doesn't work. For me, I was able to stay on top of my three "light-content"/humanities-based subjects of English, Literature and Modern History but I definitely struggled with my "heavy-content" subjects of General Maths and Biology. And I'm glad to hear that everything is going okay for you during the pandemic.

Keep smiling too, Jerry

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

I just turned on the TV and then I grinned and said yesss....finally some good news

I believe that all schools are trying to enact social-distancing rules in classrooms by splitting up desks 1.5 metres apart. This isn't possible for all classes of course (due to a sometimes high number of students in a class).

Though, I'm just happy that life is shifting back to normality a little for me

[s110820]

I honestly did more than grinned, I full-on squealed to the point where my sisters looked at me as if I was being possessed by an alien (or demon or both) oops. But yeah I don't know how they're going to organise it. They might split the cohort in half and do one day for each half but I don't know to be honest.

Anyway, have a great week and I'm so glad that you're happier

Kind regards,

Darcy Dillon.

[JerryMouse2019]

Hey Everyone,

Today I finished the majority of my assessments

Now I only have one assignment left to complete for this term and then I'm done.

Unfortunately, the assignment is due on the last day of term.

Nonetheless, I feel so much more refreshed now. I feel more relaxed.

Kind Regards
JerryMouse2019