The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.
– Carl Rogers
With the COVID-19 outbreak, educational institutions had to change their teaching methods. Though virtual teaching is not anything new, it has made it a new standard to do so daily.
To reinitiate the studies, educational institutions began an online teaching model. Today, as teachers and students get ready in the morning, from the comforts of their house, it is to equip themselves for the class on the computer screen.
But the fact that the experience of a classroom can never be replaced by virtual teaching & cannot be overlooked so it becomes all more difficult when teaching online to ensure student involvement, interaction, and communication. Since virtual teaching has become the new standard, this is the big challenge that teachers face. The pandemic has forced everyone to break from their status quo and embrace the inevitable new transition.
To make e-learning more engaging, teachers have to become tech-savvy and will have to formulate various creative methods. It is a priority to build interest among students, and teachers put their best efforts into being tech-smart. Some teachers are a newcomer to this new teaching mode and along with being educators are on a learning spree. It needs grit and determination.
Like everyone else impacted by COVID-19, this is a transitional period for teachers and the most we can do is to support the efforts they make. Due to internet problems, noise disruption during live classes, lack of facilities in rural areas, students interested in smartphones, and lack of answers from them, online teaching becomes more difficult. During the online class, it becomes difficult to monitor the students’ attentiveness and whether they are understanding the lessons or not.
The excessive screen time, which is not good for health, has made our eyes more fragile. Checking the on-screen subjective response sheets becomes strenuous and a process that requires time. The difficulty lies before teachers use diversified narrative approaches when offering online lessons. In the form of PowerPoint presentations, audio and visual tutorials, quizzes, to liven up the class for the students, they have to prepare study materials.
We, as students, are also adapting to this huge change and are getting used to it slowly and gradually. It’s difficult to work for long hours online. In the midst of background noises, lack of an appropriate environment, and loss of internet connectivity, a major challenge for them is concentration. It is also hard for educators to look for ways to draw students’ interest and make e-learning relevant and enjoyable.
During live sessions, smile and eye contact communicates confidence and helps to develop a positive relationship with students. Together, teachers and students would need to cultivate an affinity to build a healthy learning environment.
