Online education for children – Accept or reject?

Technological advancements made life more sophisticated. Online mode of lifestyle practices replaced the old pattern. Almost all needs are met at the doorstep of our house. No need of going out or attend in-person to carry out our responsibilities and obligations. Work from home and Online education are the concepts got introduced a few years back. It was an optional choice for many till the occurrence of the Covid – 19 pandemics. Right now, it is a compulsion for the employees and students.

Learning is moving away from the classic classroom concept to virtual. Technology made it possible without much hassles. It includes lectures, demonstrations, student-faculty interactions, quiz, examinations, assignments and feedback. Many softwares are designed according to the needs of educational organizations and time to time get modified and altered. As always, there are some challenges while introducing and implementing. 

Many are welcoming and accepting the concept of online education. But when it comes to the children, they have the second thought about it. This is quite challengeable for the children, parents and teachers. Here the parents especially the mother is forced to play an additional role of teacher which may impact the relationship as better or worse. The online educational trend for children has raised the concerns of many academicians all over the world. 

Based on the report of UNESCO released on April 21st, “Half of the total number of learners — some 826 million (82.6 crore) students who kept out of the classroom by the Covid-19 pandemic, do not have access to a household computer and 43 per cent (706 million or 70.6 crores) have no internet at home, at a time when digitally-based distance learning is used to ensure educational continuity in the vast majority of countries.” 

Online learning makes the teacher be on camera. This is a unique experience or challenge for them. It is a tough task of many teachers since they are not at all used for. Whether the teacher likes or not, but forced to do it. As a result, many teachers are stressed about this and feel like over-demanding. A virtual classroom may not be the best platform for them to show the best of their abilities. But it is just an initial struggle. Once they get used for the new system, they will find it is quite interesting and more confident. 

Benefits Online learning for children

Not Depending on external factors: Online class takes place while the child is inside the home. There is no need to worry about to reach the school or classroom environment. Hence the pandemic conditions, travel restrictions or adverse climatic situations won’t affect the learning.

Saves Time: There is no need for travelling or getting ready to school and catching the vehicle. A lot of time may have saved by this. Children can stay comfortably in their home and learning takes place in a comfortable environment. 

Less chance of distractions: There is less chance of distraction during a virtual teaching session as the student is focused on the teacher completely. If the home atmosphere is supportive then chances of distractions are minimal and better learning takes place. 

The positive impact of the environment: Online learning poses much less of a burden on the environment. Children can choose their own space to sit and learn like their own preference of room or furniture and all. Their own choices make a positive impact on their learning.

Challenges of Online learning for children

Lack of adequate facilities: Not everyone is feasible to have a laptop, tablets or smartphones with parents. Without these basic instruments, Online education is highly impossible for children.

Network Issues: Low bandwidth network won’t be supportive of online education. Unfortunately, many rural areas are not having internet connectivity or inadequate. In that case, children belong to rural and remote areas may not be accessible to Online education.

Struggling with a new mode: All parents are not expected to be familiar with computer skills or smartphone operation. Moving from a conventional setting to online education in a virtual classroom may be difficult for children may result in adaptation issues.

Working parents: Children of working parents facing a lot of issues with it. Most of the parents are falling under the mode of work from home. All devices like laptops and smartphones used for their job purpose. Moreover, the timing of classes may not be suitable for parents to be with their children.

Lack of human interaction: Education is not just gaining textbook knowledge. A lot of learning takes place by interactions with fellow students and teachers. Online learning considerably reduces the chances of informal learning. It may result in developing inadequate social skills among children.

Familial issues: Single parents or children from broken families getting inadequate support from parents. In that case, children struggle a lot for coping with the new demanding situation. 

Chances for addiction: Some children fall into excessive likeness toward the online contents. They may be motivated again and again to watch the contents and even related. Gradually they develop a sense of curiosity to explore many concepts online and leads them to get an addict to it.

Online education for children is a hot topic of discussion on many platforms at the moment. Abrupt introduction of Online classes for children provocate the parents to react with much more negativity. No one can deny the positives and advantages. Online education is the future face of the educational system. Technology makes more and more ways for creative and innovative learning among children through online. Proper guidelines in implementing and overcoming the constraints are the areas to work out. Society will adopt this system soon and won't be a hot topic of discussion any more!