We have always dreamt of attending classes from the comfort of our place. while attending the classes, we have always thought of sleeping or snacking during the class. And not get caught by the teachers. Students who travel for hours to reach the university to attend the classes have always yearned sleep for 10 minutes more in the morning.
The world took a huge toll after it was hit by the Novel Coronavirus this year, 2020. This affected a lot of businesses. Many lost their jobs and almost everything shifted to the online platforms and so did the online classes.
Online classes started in March in India. At first, it was fun for students to explore the different online platforms to practice virtual learning. It was fun trying out different features on ranging platforms like screen-sharing, breakout rooms, virtual backgrounds, and many more. Students had their part of the fun. But it was really challenging for teachers to set up their phones or laptops and their boards.
Virtual Struggles of Teachers
At first, many teachers were not comfortable with the use of new technology. The students set many pranks on students. Also ridiculed many of the teachers. It was very disheartening to witness this. A very few people would know this but teachers were also virtually abused which also led to their degradation of mental health.
Apart from having their own part of the fun, students will always upvote for offline classes. Going to school or college, hanging out with friends, doing projects work together, attending various sessions, organizing sessions, and many other factors that add to a memorable school or college life.
If we talk about the children who initially struggled to receive education in the offline mode. Receiving online education is like a dream to them. The students who studied in the daylight under a tree, are now struggling to arrange a smartphone.
Lack of Practical Exposure
If we talk about the fortunate students, medical and engineering students, the future of our developing nation, are not able to get practical information. We all know the efforts these students have to put in to become the best version of themselves. But due to this pandemic and no conduct of offline classes, they are missing out on practical exposure. All the other students belonging to different career backgrounds have now switched to the online mode. Teachers feel the lack of personal touch and they are not able to give proper attention to every student. Teachers are also not able to clear the doubts efficiently.
Even the kids of age 4 onwards also have their online classes. Generally, kids at this age don’t have much knowledge of technology. Now, they are seen utilizing virtual resources. This might be a plus point, as it would add it to their development phase.
Schedule of Indian online classes
But we compare the duration of Indian online classes and to that of any other country. We normally have a continuous stream of classes from morning 10 till 5 in the evening. University students follow such a timetable. School students follow a similar timetable, classes from morning 9 till 2 in the afternoon. Whereas in all the other countries, most classes in a day are for 3 hours. The rest of the time is spent on self-learning or utilizing the resources on assignments and projects.
Staring constantly at the screens is not a healthy option. Students have said to complain about eye-pain, headaches, and mild fever. Not all students have access to unlimited Wi-fi. They ultimately run out of their daily mobile data after attending a continuous stream of classes. Students who live in areas with low to medium connectivity range are not able to attend the online classes due to internet connectivity issues.
The Change we have to Accept
Online classes have become rather mundane and boring as less interaction takes place between the students and the teachers. But on the other hand, it has also made quite a few of us tech-savvy. We are more comfortable with the norms of technology now. This worldwide spread pandemic made so many things possible virtually which would have taken years to implement.
Virtual classes were huge in any student’s life. It is difficult to make a habit. Online education, no matter the number of issues faced but they were the only solution for the students. Everything has its own positive and negative points. Soon, online classes will become a huge part of student’s lives. And yet students are hoping for offline classes to continue as earlier.
