“You don’t want [online students] to get so comfortable that other students and other people who use the library feel uncomfortable in the space,” Mills said.

     The media center caters to in-person classes by providing a spacious area for classes to complete work and do research.

     “The primary issue when online students come in is that they are not being observed by a teacher,” Mills said. “It is a little more free-flowing so there is more noise and movement, so when we have a formal class come in with a teacher, sometimes that can be disruptive.”

     Mills says due to the increase in students in the media center during third period, it is difficult to bring classes in. Online students must temporarily be moved for testing or large class activities to be held in the library.             

 “When we bring classes in, we mainly focus on book checkouts for free reading or class reading, research-based projects and breakout boxes that we have introduced this year,” Mills said.

     There has been an increase in online students who stay on campus. This is due to the increased offering of classes through programs such as PCVA and NCVPS.

     “I wanted to get acclimated to online classes,” sophomore online chemistry student Lena Wshah said. “Next year I plan on taking a lot of online classes, so I want to get used to how it works.”

     While the amount of students may be overwhelming to media center staff, online students are benefiting from the collaborative environment the media center provides. 

     Wshah believes a challenge of online classes is not having a peer community. The majority of third period online students are in the same class, honors chemistry. This commonality allows students to work together.