Changes in Education

It all started on the ending days of march 2020 when lockdown began in India, everyone was at home and there were no signs of going out. At that time many problems came out among students like stress, anxiety, frustration, and boredom and we missed going to school/college and hanging out with friends. 

Soon schools and colleges started the medium of education through the internet. First, we all thought it would be easy to cope up but it didn’t work out to be like that. Various methods were used for classes like reading material, assignments, communication via email, live chats or messages, and delivering content by live sessions, presentations, recorded videos, or lectures.

 Both students and teachers faced a lot of problems in this medium.

Technical issues

Many students were not well equipped with devices and a high internet connection that is required for online learning. Due to this, they face problems in going live for virtual learning and other platforms that require an internet connection. And most of the teachers were not much familiar with technology as it was their first time teaching on this medium.

Distractions

Because online learners use their computers and the Internet to participate in online learning, they may be tempted by many distractions. Students working on an assignment may find themselves surfing the Web, checking social networking sites, or catching up with video games. 

Lack of In-Person Interaction

Despite of getting reading material, communication via email, live sessions, presentations, recorded videos, or lectures for the students. As compared to traditional ones, students find it difficult to communicate in person who struggles with understanding concepts. Many times these students do not even approach teachers to clear their doubts as they are shy to speak up in front of everyone.

 Evaluation

In online mode, the task of giving assignments is easier but it is difficult to evaluate the students on basis of their performance. There would be students who would be copying everything from the internet. In a recent survey, it was found that 73% of students cheat during online examinations via internet, and 27% were cheating through books. 

Time management

In many cases, both students and teachers find difficulty in managing their time with online learning and doing household work. Online learning is completely new for them and requires intensive work. Everyone needs a well-planned schedule to manage their time in an effective manner. Online learning provides flexible time unlike traditional classrooms, whereas in traditional classes the schedule is highly maintained.

Course

The course and its content is designed earlier with respect to traditional classrooms. But with the shift to online learning, it requires redesigning of course which can take a considerable amount of time. In most cases, these courses work well in traditional classrooms but go flat in online learning. It happens when there are no content-related activities, assignments, or projects that can be done online.

Covid 19 brought a very big change in Education. Well in the end from my own perspective I can say conclusively that both traditional and online methods are in need of much evolving in fulfilling the needs of both teachers and students.