Name: Ayesha Jeddy

Grade: 11

1. How has architecture been switched to an online class?

“We’re still attempting to finish our main project that we were working on during the normal school year–we’re designing a house with floor plans and elevations. In order to do this, Mr. Miedema has given us the resources to download the computer programs ourselves on our own laptops.”

2. Has the workload increased significantly?

“The workload has not increased, as during the school year, the class was very self-paced and Mr. Miedema allowed us all to work freely with only a hard deadline at the end of the semester. Since we’re at home, I like being able to work on my project at whatever time I want (as we are no longer constricted to working only during the class period when our files and the programs were available to us).”

3. Has the difficulty of the class increased?

“The difficulty to actually execute our project hasn’t necessarily increased; however, it has been challenging sometimes to work off my laptop, which can be slower and more challenging to work with than the desktops we were used to in school. I can see how it might be challenging for those who might not have a mouse or even access to a laptop to finish their project. Since everyone’s houses are also so different, it can sometimes be hard to complete new tasks based on a generic example (from his youtube videos). Other than that, if we do run into any obstacles when working, we can always shoot Mr. Miedema an email or give him our files and he can directly edit our plans.”

4. Have you noticed any changes in how the class is being taught?

“There have definitely been changes in how the class is taught: Mr. Miedema has been uploading videos that detail how to complete different design aspects of the project. Instead of him being able to look at our projects every day and make sure we’re on the right track, we send him screenshots of our progress every week.”

5. How has preparing for AP Studio Art changed now that we aren’t physically in school?

“I actually wasn’t taking an art class this year, so for me, I had always been leaning on time out of school to continue drawing/painting. With this being said, it is nice to have a little extra time to prepare for Studio Art.”

6. Have you experienced any unexpected challenges while taking classes online?

“My experience with online classes has been pretty smooth so far, yet the thing I was most surprised about was how different my school day is and how much work I can get done when I’m not following an actual school schedule (ex. waking up at 7:45). Waking up later has made it a little bit harder to have enough time to do school and also study for AP exams. Other than that, I have been trying to create a schedule for myself and use my planner in order to make sure I get everything done.”