Coronavirus and Online Education

                         Coronavirus and Online Education

Coronavirus pandemic has impacted all spheres of life. The virus also affected the education system globally. All the schools had been closed after the declaration of coronavirus as pandemic disease. In Pakistan, schools are closed since the first two cases reported in March. Many countries have started online learning. Now the question arises that is it right to close educational institutions in fear of disease.

The answer is yes. Because the spread rate of coronavirus is high as compared to any other viral disease as it spreads through the air, coughing, breathing, and sneezing. So, for the safety of children, the Government took the right decision. Educational institutions are places where a huge crowd is present and the chances of getting the disease are higher.

Now if we look into the other side of the picture. Pakistan is a developing country and has a very poor educational background. The literacy rate in Pakistan is not very good. No of students receiving standard education in Pakistan is low as compared to other developed countries. If we close educational institutions in this situation then what will be the future of our children and the future of Pakistan?

To cope with this problem Government took the decision to start online education in educational institutions. But as there is no proper system or guidelines every institution is taking online classes in their own ways and means. This system of online education is also called E-Learning.  The concept of E-Learning is not new. With the increase in technology, this concept of E-Learning has been flourished day by day.

What is E-Learning?

E-learning is learning by the use of technology including mobile devices, tablets, and computers. Various researches have been conducted to investigate the effects of E-Learning on students’ performance.

Benefits of E-Learning

·        This type of education provides many benefits when compared with traditional education.

·        Students can take classes at any time and anywhere. There is no need to carry heavy bags and books.

·        Teachers can explain their point of views easily by using different sources like YouTube animated videos, pdf books.

·        Wide variety of learning sources are easily accessible to students without any the expense of cost.

·        Students can communicate easily with the teacher while learning. In traditional classrooms, some students face difficulty in asking questions from teachers and they hesitate from face to face interaction. In online learning, they feel comfortable and can easily ask questions from teachers.

·        Mobile devices are very common in use these days. Students love to operate mobile devices so the students enjoy E-Learning.

Problems due to E-learning

As online education has several advantages it has some disadvantages also.

·        Internet the issue is the most common issue. The Internet is not accessible to all the students and teachers. Everyone cannot afford expensive internet packages. In using WIFI or any other internet device load shedding is the major problem. HEC should take notice and should provide proper guidelines to cope with the issue. As internet accessibility in Pakistan is only 36.8%.

·        There is no proper setup or guidelines. Every teacher is taking online classes in the way he wants.

Lots of apps are available to conduct online classes. Some of them are described below.

Evernote

It is considered as the best app for taking online classes. By using this versatile app, you can save images, audio, and files. It will help students to make study notes. This app is free of cost and you need only a Smartphone.

Zoom

This app is common in use nowadays. It helps teachers to teach online without any kind of disturbance. Its amazing features include video recording, screen sharing, and presentation whiteboard.

Google Hangout

 It is available free of cost. It is the best app to teach online as it enables us to do video conferencing. Students can easily discuss the lecture with their teachers via videos.

Other apps included audiobook and tether. Hence there are several apps available for this purpose. You can choose the app according to your requirements.

Online teaching and learning process is entirely different from traditional teaching and learning. This type of education is proved to be more useful in improving a student’s academic performance. But the role of teachers and the method of their teaching is very important.

ü  Teachers should plan things properly before taking online classes. They should give proper outline and syllabus to students so that the students get an idea about what they have to learn.

ü  Teachers should motivate the students regularly to participate in class discussions.

ü  Teachers should make their lecture interesting to develop of the interest of students.

ü  At the end of every week, teachers should take an online quiz in order to check the performance of students.

Final Words

Teachers and students are facing a lot of issues regarding online education. HEC should take notice of these issues. Proper planning should be done. Teachers should be trained to use modern technologies. Internet issues should be resolved.


Posted by Sara Khan