Students in grades 7-12 have now moved to online classes until at least Jan. 11, and diploma exams will now be optional for the rest of the school year.

Nailah Fuko, a Grade 10 student at Edmonton's W.P. Wagner School, said she found out she'd be back to learned online while scrolling through Instagram.

"I came upon this post that was talking about the government saying that we were moving online," Fuko said in an interview on Edmonton AM. "And I was like, 'Oh, this is new.'"

Rebecca Boroditsky, a Grade 10 student at Ross Sheppard, said she's not worried about the academic implications of going virtual.

Hear the students talk about their next month online:

"For the socializing portion, I'm kind of sad," she said. "I've made friends and I won't really get to talk to them anymore until January."

Boroditsky said she had been enjoying the quarter system schools brought in instead of the usual two semesters. In quarters, the classes are longer and Boroditsky said she had been liking her ceramics class she's taking.

"We have more time to really get into it and do lots of project things, whereas with the shorter classes ... there's less time because you have to designate time to clean up and get set up, and that eats into a good portion of the class if it's shorter," she said.

Fuko said she prefers a semester setup.

"I think they sped up a lot of the material and it wasn't as easy to learn," she said.

One practical difference is that online learning will make it easier to physically distance. Boroditsky said that was much easier in classrooms than in hallways or at lunch.

Fuko said her friends are being careful and do care about safety and what's going on with COVID-19.

"I definitely think students particularly are very worried and trying to do their best with what the rules are and how to follow the rules," Fuko said.