Online teaching during the pandemic
The advantages and disadvantages
SCHOOLS in Fiji have been closed for about three months. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on Fiji’s education system. Students and teachers have been away from each other physically and online teaching and zoom classes have become the order of the new norm.
Although new for a developing country such as Fiji, students and teachers are adapting to this new method of teaching and learning.
As with most teaching methods, online learning also has its own set of positives and negatives, and decoding and understanding these positives and negatives will help create strategies for efficient delivery of lessons, ensuring an uninterrupted learning journey for the students.
The term “new normal” has been one of the most used terms during the pandemic.
For Fiji, the new normal in education is the increased use of online learning tools as the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered new ways of learning.
Not only in Fiji, but all around the world educational institutions are looking toward online learning platforms to continue with the process of educating students.
The new normal has been a transformed educational concept with online learning at the core of this transformation.
Today, digital learning has emerged as a necessary resource for students and schools. For many educational institutes, this is an entirely new way of education that they have had to adopt.
Online learning during this pandemic is now applicable not just to learn academics, but also extending to learning extracurricular activities.
In recent months, the demand for online learning has risen significantly, and it will continue doing so in future. There are various advantages of online learning.
To begin with, online learning offers our teachers an efficient way to deliver lessons to students. Online learning has a number of tools such as videos which teachers can use as part of their lesson plans. By extending the lesson plan beyond traditional textbooks to include online resources, teachers are able to become more efficient educators.
When the pandemic extended the closure of schools, teachers started organising zoom classes. They were able to keep intact their students’ interest in school work.
Using online tools help students understand concepts better. Another advantage of online education is that it allows students to attend classes from any location of their choice, and it allows schools to reach out to a more extensive network of students, instead of being restricted by geographical boundaries.
Online classes can be recorded, archived, and shared for future reference, and this allows students, who missed classes, to access the learning material at a time of their comfort.
Thus, online learning offers students accessibility of time and place in education. Furthermore, online learning reduces financial costs.
Online education is far more affordable as compared to physical learning. This is because online learning eliminates the cost of student transportation, for instance. In addition, course or study materials are available online.
This creates a paperless learning environment which is more affordable, while also being beneficial to the environment. Since online classes can be taken from home or location of choice, there are fewer chances of students missing out on lessons.
Finally, online learning suits a variety of learning styles. Every student has a different learning journey and a different learning style. While some students are visual learners, others prefer to learn through audio.
Hence, online learning creates a perfect learning environment suited to the needs of each student. On the other hand, there are disadvantages of online learning.
For some students, one of the biggest challenges of online learning is the struggle with focusing on the screen for long periods of time. With online learning, there is also a greater chance for students to be easily distracted by social media or other sites.
Therefore, it is imperative for the teachers to keep their online classes crisp, engaging, and interactive to help students stay focused on the lesson. Another key challenge of online classes is internet connectivity.
While internet penetration has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years, a consistent connection with decent speed is a problem.
At this time when majority are working from home, internet interruption could hinder zoom classes. Without a consistent internet connection for students or teachers, there can be a lack of continuity in learning for the child.
This is detrimental to the education process. Students in rural areas, who face internet issues, risk the likelihood of missing online classes.
Furthermore, students can learn a lot from being in the company of their peers.
However, in an online class there is minimal physical interaction between students and teachers. This often results in a sense of isolation for the students. In this situation, it is imperative that the school allows for other forms of communication between students, peers and teachers.
This can include online messages, emails and video conferencing that will allow for face-to-face interaction and reduce sense of isolation.
Online learning also requires teachers to have a basic understanding of using digital forms of learning.
However, this is not the case always. Very often, teachers have a basic understanding of technology. Sometimes, they don’t even have the necessary resources and tools to conduct online classes.
To combat this, it is important for schools to invest in training teachers with the latest technology updates so that they can conduct their online classes seamlessly.
Parents are also concerned about the health hazards of having their children spending hours staring at a screen.
This increase in screen time is one of the biggest concerns and disadvantages of online learning.
Sometimes students develop bad posture and other physical problems due to staying hunched in front of a screen.
A good solution to this would be to give the students plenty of breaks from the screen to refresh their mind and their body.
Finally, at this time when people who are unemployed or have lost hours and pay cut are fighting to survive, forking out money for data may prove futile.
Hence, any help towards purchasing data will assist families who are struggling. At the outset, the debate on having online classes can continue, but at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning looks to set the platform for students to be connected to their school work.
It’s a pity, though that some students could miss out from having online classes because of their socio-economic background and accessibility to internet. I commend schools that have invested in digital learning.
I commend teachers for sacrificing their time and efforts in preparing slide shows and videos, and for conducting online classes. Times are hard, but digital learning is the way forward.
As I conclude, I pay tribute to my mother, the late Pushpa Wati Lingam, who was a schoolteacher and who would have celebrated her birthday today.
It’s hard to forget the wonderful moments that we spent together and the sacrifices that she made to teach her students in an era with little technology.
I miss you mom, and I thank you for moulding me into whom I am today. May your soul rest in peace.