Our Extra Lives in Quarantine
2020.05.22
Simon Mourgues
It has been nearly 2 months since I, among many other Californians have been ordered to shelter in place. While many, including myself, are fortunate enough to be able to work from home during this global pandemic, many around the world have had to adapt very quickly to this situation. Those who were taking classes have experienced this first hand with most schools moving to online lessons, but luckily technology has done a lot to help people during these times, which this article will discuss.
Education
While many classes have been moved to online, a lot of students worried about what would happen to their upcoming graduations. Luckily with a little creativity and technical ability, a lot of students and schools have come up with ideas to still hold their graduation ceremonies. Cal students have worked together to create their campuses in Minecraft so that students could still experience their graduation. Those graduating seniors in Minecraft would be able to wear digital gowns, caps, and receive a digital diploma while also being able to explore their familiar schools. UC students are not the only ones to use Minecraft to graduate though, as Japanese elementary students also set up graduation online using the popular game.
For those who don’t have or plan to use minecraft to graduate, other communities have come up with ideas such as having a number of racetracks opening up for graduation. While some have done so just to offer more space for graduates to walk, others have decided to allow students and families to drive around the track to graduate.
Of course there are also those teachers who are using technology to teach, such as those on Zoom or Google Meets. Others have used games to teach lessons, such as one which used Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, which takes place in ancient Greece, to do history lessons. Instead of normal homework, students will be exploring the game and use it as the foundation for their history reports, as it has educational modes.
Daily Life
Whle class may be normal for a lot of people, there are those businesses who have also made changes to keep up with regulations. Hairdressers for example have sent care packages to those at home, or have published tips on how to take care of their hair.Those which are used to eating out may be also receiving goodies delivered, as a lot of businesses had to swap to delivery with restaurants being closed. In that regard, of course more people are cooking at home, which has led to sales of many household ingredients rising, such as those from Redstar sales of yeast which increased 6.5 times over 1 month. Finally, of course a lot of people must be missing their loved ones, but luckily with the technology available, families have been able to stay in contact
Conclusion
With many states and countries reducing their restrictions on citizens, some of these changes are sure to disappear. At the same time a lot of people have learned new ways to improve their business of lives, which they may continue to practice. Take the US army for example which is using video games to get new recruits. Since they are not able to meet new recruits face to face, they have created an Esports team which has gotten 13,000 potential recruits in the first half of the year. Whether or not this will come to an end after the pandemic is unclear, but it is clear that these times will not be soon forgotten.