LEC052038 RUTH JOHN S ONLINE EDUCATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON STUDENTS.

The online mode of education, while being a great option to continue education in the middle of a pandemic, has its negative effects on the students. On March 24, 2020, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lock down in order to control the fast spreading corona virus. At that time no one had any idea as to how long this would last. Many hoped it would end as soon as it started. Schools, Colleges, Universities were all shut down and online classes began for the students. It was a difficult transition and the mode was just a Zoom or Google meet. This was very basic as everyone thought they would be back to facing blackboards very soon.  

But as days passed by and people realised that this wasn’t just a temporary situation, many dedicated platforms for this online education was created just to make the new learning method more seamless and efficient for both students and teachers. Most of the problems faced by the students with just meet and zoom were taken care of by these apps. Attendance was marked automatically with every log in and log out being noted. Even monitoring the student’s attention to the classes was possible with the facial recognition features. Home work was assigned online and due date was calculated by seconds. But the one thing that no one could find a solution for was the amount of stress and distance students and teachers would face in this un-tact mode.    

This online mode of education was carried out for students starting from first grade to graduate level and the effects are varied. For a six year old, it would be extremely hard to concentrate for the usual school hours though their phones. Hence schools had to accommodate it by shortening their class times. This naturally led to a decrease in the amount of subject matter that a teacher could cover in a particular subject. This inability to fully complete the syllabus poses a problem for students in the higher classes i.e. 9^th, 10^th,11^th and 12^th, for whom a complete and in depth knowledge of the subject is necessary. This type of time constraint results in teachers rushing through the lessons to finish leading the students to have an incomplete knowledge of the subject. Also the teachers are unable to fully pay attention and rectify the doubts of the students.

In the case of college students, this mode proved difficult when that had to present assignments and required the books from beyond the prescribed which they could have previously accessed in their college libraries. Final year students with projects and dissertations were mostly affected as the online sources are not that easy to access. Giving presentations through their laptops and mobile phones may have been awkward at the beginning but it’s something everyone got used to later on. There is a decrease in the interaction between the student and the teacher during the class hours and most times teachers feel like their talking into the void.

Besides these difficulties, students also faced physical, emotional and mental problems too. Not only do they have to use these gadgets for their classes but also for their homework and other assignments. These long hours with these devices cause extra stress to their sight. The detached environment leads to children feeling lonely and causes them to use these gadgets again to connect with their friends thereby increasing their screen time. The decreased social interactions face to face has had a negative effect on their mental health too. In the offline mode, the one-on-one interaction between students and teachers was possible besides the classroom interaction. Now, teacher will have to take extra time from besides the school hours for students who need that special attention through either mobile conversation or text which is not as effective.

This online mode has made it essential to own expensive gadgets which not every institution and every child can afford. There is also the requirement for a stable internet connectivity which is not possible for all either. All these kinds of issues will hinder the learning process of the students. The extent of access to internet in the hands of children is also very concerning.

The online mode of learning was a good solution but should only be a temporary one. If this continues, the future of the students is in question. Therefor it is absolutely necessary that all schools and colleges reopen while taking the necessary precaution measure.