How are students, parents and teachers coping with taking lessons out of the class and into virtual classrooms?
Team TLT
Ever since schools closed in March 2020 when the lockdown due to COVID-19 was announced,
“What next?” was the big question that faced many schools, students and parents. How were the plans for the current academic year going to come to fruition? The Government had ordered all schools to promote all students till Class 9 even if annual examinations had not yet been held. This did not deter some of the schools from completing the lessons through online sessions. Some even conducted tests over Google Forms. The students themselves have shown a good amount of interest towards all the new approaches.
The current situation has forced many sectors to seek out the various technological methods available and applicable to their business. In the era of video lessons and online tutors, interactive applications and smart classrooms technology has contributed a lot to education.
Novelty and excitement
Online classrooms have been started for all students, including everyone from students in UKG to Class 12. How have parents and children reacted to this new mode of instruction? For most parents, the reaction is one of excitement at the new mode of teaching, as well as positivity. Lakshmi Priya of Chennai says she and her daughter are happy about that the online classes. Some of the changes that come with it are welcome. “Besides some bits of scheduled live instruction, my daughter is generally able to go about her day in a way that works for her as long as she completes all of her assignments. That’s a good thing, because she can take a break when she needs.”
Another parent, Priya, mother of two and a Bangalore resident, says she was very excited about the new concept. The thrill of learning from home, interacting through a video call and meeting their friends on it was a novel experience for this parent and her children, who are in Classes 4 and 6.
Jagdish, father of a student studying in UKG, said that as their child was just beginning school, there was not much difference in their reactions to the new concept. Her daily routine has not really changed.
Srividya K., mother of two teenage daughters, said the idea of online classes was good as it
would keep them occupied during the vacation. Chennai-based parent M. Sandhya said the switch to online school was quite seamless despite initial teething troubles. The children, in Classes 5 and 9, were able to settle in within a week.
How then, are they finding the online classes? What are the pros and cons of learning from home, according to them?
According to Lakshmi Priya, ”I have full control over what, when and how my child learns.” She likes that online learning allows parents, children and other family members to spend more time together. And, of course, it is possible to control the physical distance between the child and others in pandemic times. However, there is such a thing as spending too much time together, she adds. There should be teachers who have specialised in handling online classes and students through the platform, she says.
Virtual interaction just not the same
According to Bangalore-based Priya, the online classes are safe and secure for the current situation.
However, the children miss the interaction with the teachers and their friends.
Jagdish says that while there is an academic touch to the lessons, after paying the fees, it’s the parents doing most of the work. It is similar to any academic CD. The teacher has no control over the student.
According to Srividya’s daughter, the advantage is that they don’t need to wear a uniform, can switch off the video and listen to the class while eating. “I cannot think of any major disadvantage except that the interaction between teachers and children shrinks as they do not ask doubts as they would in class,” says her mother.
What are the concerns about children in an online classroom? Concerns range from whether the student feels secure, private or isolated, and how effective the classes are. Parents feel that they have to supervise them or sit along with them, otherwise they are easily distracted. A major concern is whether they understand the lessons with this type of teaching.
Too much screen time
One of the major concerns is time spent on screen. Lakshmi Priya says the children are glued to the screen for more hours per day than usual, and parents and grandparents are obliged to keep a close watch on them, check homework posted in online chat groups, take photos of completed assignments, and submit them to the teachers. “Sometimes I feel fed up of these things, even my child loses interest and feels distracted.” Bangalore- based Priya says the excitement of the early days of online classes has dropped and turned into listlessness.
Other parents have noticed that the mood to study is not prevalent because of the home environment.
Some students are turning into pranksters by switching off videos, changing the wallpaper frequent and distracting their classmates and their teacher. Says Sandhya, ”I’m not happy that these young children are spending so much time on gadgets and WhatsApp, but it cannot be helped, I suppose.”
She also points to another problem she has experienced – the lack of enough gadgets for everyone.
“The major issue is that there are not enough devices to go around. My husband and I are using our phones for work and as this was all sudden, we struggled to enable access to online lessons. We managed to find a not so great phone and have given it to our daughter. I have connected my WhatsApp to the laptop she is working on and my privacy is lost. My son is with his grandparents, using their phone and iPad. Bringing him back to our home now would mean a greater struggle in terms of devices and access, but once the holidays end we have to deal with it. When the shops open the first thing we are going to do is buy a couple of phones.”
What does the teacher think?
A. S. Justine Antany, who handles classes for Classes 11 and 12 at R S Krishnan Higher Secondary
School, Tiruchi, says both classes and staff meetings are conducted online. Most students seem interested while others just seem to be passing time. “They are overwhelmed by seeing and talking to their friends and classmates in video and audio. They are keen to show themselves as actors/actresses on their profile photos.,” he remarks.
Ask him about the pros and cons of ‘teaching online’, and he says one is that students, stuck at home, are not getting an opportunity to make mischief. Second, there is no serious effort to complete the portions as there are no examinations to be faced.
He says they are not able to check whether the student is actually following the class. Hacking and other such mischief is a concern. Network problems are a hindrance to smooth communication. It would be good if networks could give better data package options.
Does he have any specific concerns for handling children in an online classroom? “Yes, we must have either a laptop or Android mobile to take the online classes. We must supervise each student when we are teaching online.”
Mr Antany says students need to put their videos on ‘mute’ as otherwise there is much noise and disturbance in the background as they are in their homes. There is unnecessary exposure and distraction. Once a student took screenshots of the online classes and posted them on the social networking sites.
According to him, the parents are happy to have their ward spend time productively during the lockdown period. They are, however, concerned about Internet security and hacking. “They expect us to keep the students more active and engaged with more work and homework,” he says.
Back to school
Some day, the students have to go back to school. When will the parents want to do that? Most parents are ready to send their children back to school provided the schools observe the safety protocol – distance in sitting arrangements, sanitation and such. Sandhya notes that her children’s school had begun adopting these measures one week before the lockdown began in March. However, Jagdish wants to send his child back to school only after the vaccine for COVID-19 is ready. “Anything less, I am unhappy,” he says.
There are many implications for the constituents of the education ecosystem. It will be interesting to see how this world evolves during these trying times.
