Sophomore Naina Birdi impatiently sat in front of her computer screen on Aug. 21 while her Zoom meeting was loading on the connecting page. 

“How is this even supposed to work?” Birdi said.

It was her first day taking an art class online 

Huntley High School resumed school online after a long quarantine beginning in March. The main difference from the start of the last school year is that it is now taking place online for the time being. This has been an adjustment for HHS students. 

However, teachers and other administrators are doing the best they can to make this a smooth and successful school year while protecting themselves from the virus. 

As much as this change has been a struggle for all staff, students taking classes in the art department have had to make many adjustments. Going from art being a hands-on class to completely online, students are trying to do their best work. 

“It is harder because it is difficult to relay art techniques through zoom. We do our best by screen sharing but even through that, students have a hard time learning the techniques and paying attention,” Birdi said.

Not only do students have to focus and understand what they are doing, but teachers have to teach the content in a way that is easy to understand. 

“I think Ms. Corapi does more than enough to teach her students the proper steps to succeeding in her class. Personally, I don’t find it difficult because I think that Ms. Corapi explains the assignments properly and makes it easy to understand,” Birdi said.

Fortunately, the outcome of the assignments is not negatively impacting the students grades.

“Honestly, I would say it’s pretty similar to physically being in the classroom and learning from the teacher,” Birdi said. “We get art demos on all of the projects we do throughout the units. We are given the necessary art supplies from the school but there are certain things that many students do not have at home so we make do with what we have but overall, it turns out almost identical.” 

The students working with what they can is in their favor because they are being provided everything they need and can utilize those materials from the comfort of their own homes. 

With that being said, e-learning is not the most preferred and easiest way to learn. 

However, the students here at HHS have shown us that they are creating beautiful and astonishing artwork that will keep them on the right track for when they are able to continue their hard work back at school when the time comes.