Midterms during an educational emphasis on online format

 The week of October 12-17 is The University of Kentucky's universal midterm week. While tensions and stress are typically high during this time, the air around campus seems more tight than normal. When walking through Willy T. earlier today, I passed a girl sitting a table crying into her open textbook. Instead of thinking, "She must be struggling with studying," I was left thinking, "I bet she's lost because she doesn't understand online lectures." This is a theme I think is present for a lot of students right now. We've made it through papers, assignments, quizzes, tests, etc... but now it's time for a cumulative exam on what we've learned. That's what makes this midterm season so frightening, what have we learned? As I've stated in other blog posts, I'll be the first to tell you I haven't actually learned much at all this year. At my high-school last year, finals during an online format were easy. Most teachers were understanding, allowing for them to be open note, or simply regurgitated information. That's where the line is drawn. College professors don't give this leeway. Not only are we expected to fully understand the information we're given, we're expected to be able to apply it abstractly. We've been taught how to study and we've been taught how to take tests. But we have never been taught how to efficiently do online school, and how to take tests based off limited understanding. I think it would beneficial if professors could realize this challenge and offer more aid to students in these areas. I also think it would be helpful if there were university made opportunities in order to help teach students how to do online school most efficiently.