Challenges of Online Class due to Covid-19

 The novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in a large way. One of these effects is the conclusion of schools from nurseries to advanced education organizations.

While staying at home and maintaining social distancing policies, lots of educational institutions, especially post-secondary ones, have reacted quickly by shifting traditional campus-based classes to online.

Though online learning is not new, usage of and investment in education technology have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 outbreak, as many institutions decided to offer online courses despite being given relatively short preparation time. Demand for online learning is expected to grow continuously in the near future, and it is possible that the aftermath of COVID-19 may replace physical learning with online learning.

Advances in technology have fundamentally changed the way classes can be conducted traditionally. In the last decade, online learning has become popular and the number of online degree programs has risen with the introduction of global online learning platforms.

The advantages of online learning are flexibility, easiness, elimination of time and space barriers – which have created opportunities for learning as well as profit-making. 

A good thing is that online learning has become more useful to students that they can study different subjects and courses from all over the world offered by top universities. For the pandemic of COVID-19, all the students and teachers are forced to move their communication online. The schools are closed until further notice and we have to adjust to a new lifestyle. 

Teachers and educational leaders are working their best to keep students on track, moving to online learning within a short time during this hard time of the covid pandemic.

Although technology evolution now allows many things that we haven’t believed possible, the transformation of e-learning doesn’t go as smoothly as we want it to be. Facing the issues of e-learning may be discouraging and frustrating both for instructors and students. Besides technology advancement and advantages, there are some major problems for which both students and teachers face some challenging issues.

Here are some of them : 

Association of work processes:

The teachers are supposed to move their classes or lectures online right away without having any additional training and financial plan. A comprehensive learning management system usually costs an arm and a leg, so teachers have to use numerous digital tools to provide e-learning.

Unfortunately, many schools were not ready to run classes online. In this condition, the burden is putting on teachers to adapt themselves and their students to a new way of learning.

All we can do is to encourage them and support them to stay brave and suggest some free tools or learning platforms to organize their workplace. So teachers can’t use any LMS, we suggest trying some good and cheap software to bring all your digital working tools together on one platform. Plans start at free (enough to meet basic needs) up to $ 4 and $ 8. I can mention the online whiteboard for education from Dojoit in this manner.

Gadgets shortage:

Not every student & teacher has a personal gadget like a computer or laptop to use for online learning. To solve this problem, they need to share their laptops and computers with their parents, siblings. Another problem everyone is facing is a computer crash that usually happens at the most unexpected moment like in the middle of some important lecture, and that’s very bothersome to the students.

Instructors and students have been generally given a PC to use during the isolation, and no strict time frames are defined for having the assignments done. By the lead of some certain nations, lectures or classes can be shown on TV to make them accessible to a wider audience.

  This may help a lot of students to prevent technical problems in online education.

 Teacher Feedback & Assignment Help:

Before education moved completely online, it was very easy getting help from your teacher or professor. You can ask about your problems by raising your hand or waiting behind after class. Now the face-to-face interaction is gone.

Young students can’t walk up to their instructor’s desk to ask a question, and teachers can’t call up students to give them feedback. College students can’t wait after class or make an appearance at an educator’s office for additional assistance.

In-person interactions are very important, so during this time when such interactions aren’t possible. In that case, to complete an assigned task you can take a look at some websites like chegg.com, tutorial.com, etc.

Lack of interaction:

During online lectures, it is not possible to keep students busy and keep track of them without the physical presence of the teacher and face-to-face communication. Besides, there is a great deal of training required in science labs (physical science, science, and so forth), which is impossible to practice without physical instructions and courses (like nursing, art classes).

There are many ways to engage students during the online lessons: PowerPoint presentations, do it online whiteboard for collaboration, short videos, quizzes, on-the-go recordings, tracking the progress, and giving feedback is another step for keeping each student engaged.

Referring to science labs, students can use scientific modeling and software applications to gain practical experience.

Here are some tips for online classes:

•        Create a study plan.
•        Treat it like a private class.
•        Create a virtual reality group.
•        Use the resources your teacher provides.
•        There is a place of dedicated study.
•        Take notes.
•        Eliminate confusion.
•        Beware of terrible deadlines.
•        Get help if you fall behind.
•        Communicate with your classmates.
•        Complete your assignment before your scheduled time.

The world is changing. Today the pandemic has opened the door to new possibilities. Together, we can handle the mess and overcome it. Online education has surprised the world. For example, about 6 million students enroll in online courses through colleges and universities, but the market for online education extends beyond degree programs.

Conclusion:

You can find hundreds of excellent online educators who want to help you reach your goals. Everyone offers something unique to share, so you can do multiple courses on the same subject if you want to get the most out of it. and we have to find the most effective approaches to digital learning. So that it helps both students and teachers.