Ed. Magazine What Will You Remember the Most from This Bizarre Year of Learning Virtually? Posted May 13, 2021 By Ed. Magazine Melanie Shimano, Ed.M. (TIE) Baltimore I’ll always remember late night paper revisions and lecture viewing party sessions with my learning pod from Education Policy Analysis with Professor Reimers. We always started off doing work, but then ended up doing something totally unrelated — heading on a Target run in Texas, talking about the latest gossip from WeChat in China, or watching my dog dress up in different sweaters in the “cold” California winter. All three of us were based in different time zones and were also working while taking classes, so we had to get creative with our meeting times, but we always ended up having fun regardless of the hour! Julia Steinberg, Ed.M. (HDP) Princeton, New Jersey I am a part-time student living in Princeton, New Jersey. I will always remember the friendly relationships I have made with my professors, in spite of never meeting in person. It’s amazing how a view into a person’s home office with passing pets or children can help you feel connected over the miles! Jessica O’Donnell, Ed.M. (TIE) Toronto In the fall, I took a course taught by Eileen McGivney, The Virtual Self: Identity, Culture, and Learning in Digital Worlds. My peers and I received VR headsets, and we had multiple opportunities to interact with each other in various virtual worlds. Although I was unable to physically meet my classmates on the Harvard campus this year, these interactions in virtual reality and the advancements in avatar design provided me with the opportunity to connect with my peers in an innovative and remarkable way. April Flores, Ed.M. (EPM) Brownsville, Texas This past semester, I was enrolled in Dr. V’s Ethnic Studies class and I’ll remember the Ethnic Studies Symposium. While we could not attend physically, my family, friends, and current/former students attended our presentation which, for me, became a more impactful experience. Clara Choi, Ed.M. (AIE) Los Angeles I will miss being able to sleep in until one minute before my morning class starts and calling in from the comforts of my bed. Jeannette Garcia Coppersmith (Ph.D.) Los Angeles I’m a first-year Ph.D. student. One of the most memorable parts of this year of virtual learning was getting together on Zoom every Monday evening with my reading group for one of our required courses. We were supposed to be discussing our readings and sharing notes, which we did, but only after checking in personally, sharing updates about baby panda Xiao Qi Ji at the National Zoo, and posting funny memes for about an hour. Having this unstructured time to laugh and connect during this strange year was one of the highlights of the fall for me. (Shout out to my reading group: Caroline, Julian, Lily, and Kemy!) Ed. Magazine The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Explore All Articles Related Articles News A Personalized Learning App Helps Close the Divide Master’s student Iman Usman's innovative startup Ruangguru serves more than 25 million learners in Southeast Asia with high-quality, personalized content. News HGSE Launches Online Master’s in Education Leadership Transformative online Ed.M. program for experienced education professionals will expand access and bolster leadership across the sector, from preK–12 through higher ed. News Creating Change in Real Time How HGSE students connected their studies to practice to build supports for their communities all over the world.