Challenges Faced By The Students In Distance Learning Mode Amid The Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has really changed the way things were in our daily lives. This is very true particularly in schools and universities, as the threat of catching the dreaded coronavirus in public spaces prevents the students from attending a face-to-face class. Still, thanks to technology, educators are able to find an alternative learning method so that the new school year would continue in spite of the pandemic. With classes being held via online classrooms, students will be able to catch their lessons without going to the campus. By just setting up a little study area in their room, everything is good to go.
However, all those things mentioned earlier are easier said than to implement. At first, you might think that the students are taking this new academic year easily as all they have to do is to connect to the Internet as they hang out in the comfort of their own homes.
What we are actually failing to realize is the challenge that the students face as they have to learn their lessons with minimal supervision of the teachers in a distance learning setup.
Some Students Do Not Have The Same Resources As Others For An Efficient Distance Learning Setup
In the United States, for example, the school year has already begun with the students meeting their teachers via Zoom or Skype. These apps might have solved the problem in conducting virtual classes, but the issue here is the accessibility of these online services to ALL students across the country. It is true that you cannot find one person in the United States of America that does not have access to the Internet, specifically the social media, but we have to realize that in a remote learning setup, being able to connect your mobile device to the Internet is not enough.
For starters, you need to have really realiable and speedy Internet connection for the virtual classroom to go smoothly. If not, you can expect to miss most of the important discussions of the day due to laggy or frozen screen. Another thing is the device or computer that the students will use to attend the online class. The hardware, les mer, must be steady enough to help the student to accomplish the requirements. Sadly, not all students have the same advantage for a fair learning experience at this time.
There are other setbacks introduced by the distance learning mode this school year, including the absence of opportunities for student athletes due to cancelled sports events. Hopefully, the coming months will have some answers to address the conflicts being experienced by every student.