LEC052017.DEEPTHI M. Growing Concerns of Online Education

 

Deepthi M

Dr. Joseph Koyippally

LEC 5104

03 March, 2021

 

                                Growing Concerns of Online Education

Online education, which was once considered as a greatest blessing to our education system is slowly becoming a threat to the same. The sudden outbreak of a deadly disease called Covid-19 caused by Corona virus shook the entire world. This situation challenged the education system across the world and forced the educators to shift to an online mode of teaching, which posed a great challenge for both the students and teachers to cope up with. Though online education has largely helped in continuing with the education amidst the pandemic, long term online learning has begun to have adverse impact on student’s and teacher’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing.

The first and foremost concern associated with online education is the equity and accessibility to technology. Before any online program can hope to succeed, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. As online classes are completely dependent on proper internet connectivity and functional systems (computers or smartphones), their lack of access, whether it be for economic or logistic reasons, will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course. This is a significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods. UNESCO has noted that, half of the total number of learners around 826 million (82.6 crore) students kept out of the classroom by the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t have access to household computers and 43 percent (706 million or 70.6 crore) have no internet at home, at a time when digitally based distance learning is used to ensure educational continuity in the vast majorities of the countries. Thus, online education induced exacerbation of inequality and the denial of the fundamental right to education and equality of opportunity for many.

    It is not only the question of accessibility alone, but also user friendly and reliable technology is critical to a successful online program. It became necessary for both students and educators to possess a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to function successfully in an online environment. Faculty members are feeling the huge stress of remaking their classes into effective digital forms. The additional workload and concomitant anxiety are heaped upon the already multifaceted responsibilities of faculty. However, even the most sophisticated technology is not 100% reliable. Breakdowns can occur at any point along the system. These difficulties are associated with modern technology range from login problems, downloading errors, issues with installation, and technical problems with audio and video. Individual PCs can have numerous problems which could limit students’ and teacher’s access; In situations like these, the technology is neither seamless nor reliable, and it can detract from the learning experience. Students are emotionally distressed due to lack of continuity of the classes and continuous threat of attendance shortage which can abstain them from appearing in the exam. Without a consistent internet connection for students or teachers, there can be a lack of continuity in learning for the child.

       While online mode of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined students, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. In order to successfully participate in an online program, students must be well organized, self-motivated, and should possess a high degree of time management skills so as to keep up with the pace of the course. However, this places a greater responsibility on the student. For these reasons, online education is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age) and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty in assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm. Also, as the students are free from the regulations and boundaries of a proper classroom environment, it is quite obvious that the curriculum will not be maintained the way it should be. They might not study the materials in a routine manner and may start taking things lightly. There are high chances that the students might get distracted while learning online. There are few pros of classroom teaching that digital or online education will find hard to replace, such as collaborative learning, enhancement of critical thinking skills, improvement of social skills, building organisational skills, keeping students stimulated, development of important personality and career building skills.

       Additionally, the sudden and prolonged transition to online education has serious impact on student’s health, specifically sleep habits. Students in different time zones than their institutions are now sacrificing sleep to wake up for online classes. In addition to adverse health impacts from altered sleep cycles, increased digital use can affect student’s physical and mental health. Virtual learning has inevitably increased the amount of time students spend on digital devices everyday. Increasing eyesight problems with frequent headaches are attributed to prolonged screen time .Jennifer Katzenstein, director of psychology and neuropsychology at the Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, has observed that the increased screen time usage, has been found to be linked with increase in depression, anxiety and perceived attention problems. Besides online classes, students also have to engage in class discussions and complete their assignments, papers and projects. Team activities may also add to the time commitment in some classes, as students must often communicate with peers electronically and collaborate on work. These prolonged working hours can cause back pains, shoulder pains and neck aches etc. Continuous typing can cause conditions like Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, which can be considered as a long-term effect. The continuous contact with screens, as most of us are aware of, will cause various problems to our eyes. Dryness and itching of the eyes, is a very basic condition, from which, the problems can even reach to an extend were, the continuous contact with radiation can cause Retinoblastoma or retinal cancer. Hence if this condition continues, this can lead to serious health issues.

Yet another common disadvantage of online education is limited social interaction. Even though the students often engage with peers in online discussions and interact with teachers via e-mail, google classroom, and other discussion groups, this doesn't replicate the face-to-face experiences in a traditional classroom. The informal social interactions with peers before and after classes helps in still a sense of community and belonging. It also plays a major role in student’s social and emotional development. A good interaction with teachers is also very necessary for educational success. Lack of this face to face interaction negatively impacts a student's ability to interact with professors, ask questions and get immediate help. Continuous motivation from teachers and peers,immediate feedback and reinforcement plays a major role in a student’s progess.Some students may also require personalised attention and scaffolding from the teachers and peers. This cannot be achieved adequately through online education. Also this lack of social can cause students and faculty to experience social isolation and an increase in stress and anxiety. “Several researchers have noted that overuse of technology can result in mental overload and disconnect people from nature, play and people. A child who spends too much time in virtual worlds is likely to have effective social skills to interact in the real world simply from lack of practice.” (Halupa).  A school classroom provides a structure and an environment of effective learning which learning at home lacks. This ensures a cycle for students struggling to finish their assignments, leading to a lack of motivation and lower goals for themselves. Limited opportunities to learn from the experiences and backgrounds of class peers is a major negative of online learning,. In classrooms, students can share ideas, listen to peers and collaborate face-to-face on projects. But through online education, it is difficult to get deeply engaged in conversations with other students that lead to new ways of thinking and broader cultural and diversity awareness.

.           We know that online teaching is no more an option, it is a necessity. But it has become a real burden to students as well as teachers, due to the various health hazards and other difficulties, including the struggles to adapt to the technological advancements. Though it is the need of the hour to be at the least, a drastic and quick adaptation is a task of its own. A high level of preparedness is necessary to overcome the complications of online classes. To make online learning effective in difficult times the world must focus on the use of technology more efficiently. That is the usage of the technology, which has minimum procurement and maintenance costs, but can effectively facilitate educational processes must be encouraged. Proper network connectivity in all areas must be ensured by the government in order to solve the complications of online classes caused by low network. This pandemic makes us realize that the online education system has its pros and cons and improper accessibility has also lead to unstable learning among students. So, we need to build a stronger online educations system and be prepared for any upcoming disasters.

                                               

 

 

                                                        Works Cited

Dutta, Ankuran. "Impact of Digital Social Media on Indian Higher Education: Alternative Approaches of Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis" International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, vol. 10, Issue 5, May 2020 604 ISSN 2250-3153

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ankuran-Dutta-2/publication/341606651 Accessed on 27 February 2021

Halupa, Colleen. "Risks: The Impact of Online Learning And Technology On Student Physical, Mental, Emotional and Social Health" 6305-6314. 10.21125/iceri.2016.0044. 

www.researchgate.net/publication/311362980   Accessed on 27 February 2021

Li, Cathy. Farah Lalani. “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever.” World               EconomicForum,29April2020, 

www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2021. 

Mehdi, Tamanna. “Online classes may affect physical health: Experts.” The New Indian Express, 24 June, 2020. Accessed 25 Feb 2021.