Sometime in the second week of March 2020, the whole country was shut down leading to the closure of educational institutions due to the spread of a deadly virus. On 11th March 2020, Coronavirus disease was declared as a Pandemic by World Health Organization and India slipped into lockdown. It has been 15 months and counting since the schools and colleges have been shut. In order to save an Academic Year and not let the precious time go in vain, we have adapted ourselves to the online education system. The pandemic led to the transformation of the traditional chalkboard method to the one facilitated by technology.
Today technology has made it so convenient for us to do all kinds of activities just by sitting at our homes. Technology has enabled students across the world to attend their classes or lectures, enabled offices to keep their work on, encouraged small businesses to explore the online platform, and has become a convenient medium to earn a living. We were not used to the online scenario in our life until the pandemic hit us. We never even had an idea that one day we will be sitting at our home and carrying our work just in front of a small screen.
As a student, online classes seemed to me much fun before, when it had just started but as time passed and the situation worsened, it became difficult for a few to handle it. This sudden shift from offline to the online system has completely changed the lifestyle, both in good and bad ways. The online education system has both pros and cons. It has paved way for being able to do multiple works by saving lots of time, making it convenient for students to make use of all the available opportunities and grow as individual self. The online system has made the process smooth by cutting down traveling time, help to focus more on personal development, and experience the bond they have with their family members. This system paved the way for new talents which one never thought he had. The system provided time to sufficiently do activities one has an interest in.
The online system is not all about good stuff but it has many drawbacks too. It becomes very difficult for a student to concentrate in a virtual classroom because of many disturbances. The biggest distraction today for a student is a smartphone. Firstly, it is possible for a student to get attracted to use the smart gadget when the class is going on. This will reduce his concentration in the classroom and he won’t understand the concept explained. Secondly, we all know that students are attending the lectures at their homes and there exists a lot of background disturbances during the lectures. All this makes it difficult for the student to focus in the class because the online environment is way different from that of offline, which involves complete body presence in the class.
One of the most important issues is access to technology. Not all students have access to smart gadgets and a good internet connection. Two-thirds of the world’s children, i.e., 1.3 billion people between the ages of 3-17 years, did not have internet connection in their homes, preventing them from learning vital skills needed to complete in the modern economy, the UN report revealed.[1] Even the students between 15-24 years unconnected at home were around 63%, i.e., 759 billion.[2] This might make them feel left out and they won’t be able to make full use of the opportunities available.
Also, students don’t seem to consider online classes seriously. They are not worried about how and when will they be able to cope up with the concept. Online sessions are at times too stressful. Students have their lectures going on from 8 in the morning till 4 in the evening. Apart from this, they are allotted work to complete daily. Even they are expected to submit projects, research papers, and presentations that are of great importance for the evaluation of their performance. Once a student is done with the classes, he or she sits to complete the pending work. Students end their day with 10 to 12 hours of screen time.
This has a great impact on their health. The pressure and tension of meeting the deadlines kill the person. Student gets physically and mentally disturbed. And this eventually will lead to less concentration on focus on what a student is doing.
The most difficult task right now is to keep the attention of students at their high level. Interaction is the key to involving students in class discussions. Once a student starts to involve himself in the topic of discussion then he will be busy thinking about the concept and understanding it rather than just sitting and getting distracted. As a student, one should keep their surroundings clean and sit in a fresh area with no disturbance so that one can focus entirely in the class. Putting away the smartphone is very much required because it tempts the most.
Teachers too can make the classes interesting. Instead of just a monologue, professors can allot a particular topic to each student and ask them to present it in the class. In this way, the student tries to give the best presentation which will capture the attention of other students as well. It will create a competitive environment where students will get motivated by one another and they will try to give their 100% for the presentation. Planning for a debate session, open discussion, opinion, or views on a particular topic; all will capture the interest of the student to be interactive and not just log into the class and while away the time.
The most important part of learning is going back to the chapters and reading them on our own. This is what most of the students avoid today. Allotting homework once or twice a week and the submission deadline will keep the students connected to the concept. Small tests will help them test their knowledge and will make them realize how much they need to work more.
The online system has made it difficult to keep the focus on a particular thing. It has made people lazy. Meditation can be a solution to many of the mental issues one goes through and it helps to be able to remain active. So, efforts from both teachers and students are required to keep up the class interesting and fun to attend.
The online system has allowed one to excel in various fields. It is the right time now for one to realize how to use this amazing opportunity and make progress. I would like to conclude by saying that, the online system has been a huge challenge for students as well as teachers who had no idea about the technology systems. But today if one manages the time and makes use of the available opportunities, he will be the one to shine out in the future.
Author’s Name: Nethraa Vaishnav Nimbawat (NMIMS Bangalore)
[1] Gyan Pathak, Indian Students Suffered the Most During COVID-19 as Digital India Failed to Provide Internet Connectivity, The Leaflet, 5th December, 2020, available at https://www.theleaflet.in/indian-students-suffered-the-most-during-covid-19-as-digital-india-failed-to-provide-internet-connectivity/# (Last visited on 29th June, 2021)
[2] Gyan Pathak, Indian Students Suffered the Most During COVID-19 as Digital India Failed to Provide Internet Connectivity, The Leaflet, 5th December, 2020, available at https://www.theleaflet.in/indian-students-suffered-the-most-during-covid-19-as-digital-india-failed-to-provide-internet-connectivity/# (Last visited on 29th June, 2021)
