Change should be consistent. As we are progressing towards educating ourselves, we are deviated from the ancestral form of it, practically due to development of technology. It had been a common statement that, “Our education system is faulty, broken, non-beneficial.” This specifies offline or classroom education where elements of “engagement” or one-to-one interaction always existed. What happens during online classes? With the spread of COVID-19, as many as 500 billion students were affected and their studies came to an halt. After a long break from mundane course of studies, it was decided to use “online platforms” for resuming studies and continue with their flow.
With online studies at peak now and with “Google Meet”, “Google Classroom” and “Microsoft Teams” as new classrooms, here is a critical study of students’ perspective on online classes.
Are these long hours of continuous sitting in front of a static 15.6 inch screen worth it? What do we actually do with our cameras off and microphones on mute? What do online classes offer?
With the internet replacing the college and our beds replacing our benches, online classes pose several issues to students. From the non-presence of that vibe of a physical classroom to various physical and mental problems, it is getting worse even before it started.
Here’s something students have to say after attending almost two weeks of regular classes:
“I start feeling lethargic even before I start, because of constant pressure on my eyes. The strain on eyes is because of longer duration of classes and that too continuously.”
“Interactive communication and engaging discussions are missing. Very few are ready to switch on their mic and that makes the class tiring and boring.”
“The changing sleep pattern is initially taking tolls on health. This is because of the lack of sleep. After attending classes, we have to study on our part too.”
“The essence of reading from a physical book is lost. However, online orders are an option but every study material isn’t readily available. Soft copy of study material increases pressure on eyes and brain after sitting for longer hours.”
“The mind is lost somewhere. There is no proper concentration and we are just sitting idle. We aren’t present mentally.”
“I have a limited data plan and cannot afford more than 4 classes a day. The schedule is as long as 6 hours a day and missing classes is my personal loss. I do not know how to manage that.”
“There are back to back classes. We don’t even have time to eat. It is possible to eat because our videos are probably off but if we eat, we miss out on notes. It doesn’t really make any sense.”
“Most of us are facing issues such as persistent headaches and due to earphones plugged in all day long, ears feel numb.”
“We are more than stressed, and our data gets exhausted in classes. We get assignments and practical work for which we have to refer to various sources on the internet but we are left with no data after classes.”
“It is difficult to sit in front of a laptop screen for the whole day.”
“I have internship deadlines to meet everyday and with class stretching as long as 6 hours, I cannot really concentrate on the work. I get too exhausted to do anything.”
Conclusion :
Along with the trend of online education and e-learning, come these very practical physically exhausting and mentally disturbing problems. From what is understood is that students are incessantly facing connectivity issues, lack of proper space, lack of concentration, disturbed sleep pattern, monotony, etc. Online classes have surely given us uninvited problems and suddenly created havoc in our lives.
Also read: DU Academic Calendar
Image Credits: Pixabay
