With the extending lockdown colleges and schools have been shut down for months now and thus online classes grace replaced them. Students did face many issues due to the lack of technological support and devices to attend the classes but after so many months the issue has been fully resolved. Also, do online classes affect the mental health of the students? All such kinds of questions have been arising for so long. All educators have also expressed that they have found it difficult to approach each and every student in the online mode. Well to make a note of online learning also has its own set of positives and negatives and has been proven to be the best way now to ensure an uninterrupted way for student’s learning journey during the pandemic.
Online learning replacing the school:
The new normal in education is the online learning method and it has been accepted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All around the world, educational institutions have shut down temporarily with digital learning emerging as the only source for students to continue learning. Also, many schools and colleges have been trying to incorporate a new learning method of extracurricular activities for students online. By this way, student’s life is also assured to be safe and the spread of the virus via schools and colleges have drastically decreased too. For now, online schools will continue replacing the schools and colleges in the future too until the virus becomes almost curable and its spread decreases.
Advantage of learning online:
Learn from anywhere: Students are attending their classes from anywhere in the world. All they need is a device and Internet connection and they have been actively participating in Virtual Classroom. Students do not have to spend more time traveling and it has proved convenient for many to access all the courses they want to learn at any time. Comfortable access to resources: Students have found it really easy to manage the time and for the ones who got quickly adapted to the new normal situation have also found that they can spare extra time to learn other courses. Many colleges and schools have implemented the use of virtual labs to conduct several practicals that they have been doing in schools and colleges. So even in this dangerous situation of pandemics, online virtual classes have proved to be useful for the continuation of students’ journey in learning and education.
The disadvantage of online learning:
The weakness of online learning mainly arises when students cannot cope-up with learning at home. It mainly occurs with a lack of resources, students get distracted easily, and other technological issues. Lack of access or issues when students cannot afford the technology, devices, or monthly rate for their internet connection, their learning gets disturbed. Many students also find it much difficult to participate in online programs and to stay active. Online instructors have also faced issues to compensate for the lack of physical presence in the virtual classroom. Onsite interactions can be completely different from those in an online class. Also, many parents have expressed their stress on children getting mentally stressed due to online classes. Straining your eyes on an electronic device like a laptop or mobiles for longer hours can cause strain in the eyes especially for children at a younger age. Experts have been advising youth to meditate especially during this pandemic in order to have balanced mental and physical health. Currently, schools have been following government guidelines to schedule an online class.
The talk of whether online classes are good or bad for students has been going on for a while now. Although it depends upon students’ capacity to learn online and a teacher’s capacity to teach in a new environment, no one can exactly say whether the new trend of an online class is completely good or bad. The main problem in learning online for a student can be to overcome the n number of distractions in their house. However, many have seemed to get adjusted to learning online and this is the best way, for now, to keep students safe from the deadly virus.
