Introduction
Gaining education through the internet has made education readily available,
convenient and come with many opportunities. But, of course, it is not without
its drawbacks. As good as the new normal is, old and new students are
overwhelmed by numerous challenges in digital learning environments; from
mental health issues to the issue of motivation. This post explores the dark
side of online education and introduces ways to improve it.
1. Isolation and Loneliness
The Issue:
This reduces
direct student-student and student-teacher contact which can cause
students to feels isolated.
Impact:
Social
isolationism in essence has an impact on mental health, motivation and
academic achievement.
What Students
Can Do:
Consider taking
virtual study groups or if possible hybrid learning whenever it is
possible.
2. Screen Fatigue and Health Concerns
The Issue:
Too much
exposure is damaging to the body as one feels eye strain, back pain, and
worst of all, disruption of sleep.
Impact:
Lack of good
health can affect concentration and general health.
What Students
Can Do:
To reduce eye
strain take breaks as provided by the 20-20-20 rule; every 20 minutes
look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
3. Lack of Motivation and
Self-Discipline
The Issue:
One thing that
results with the loss of face-to-face contact with the teacher is
students are not disciplined.
Impact:
Lack of
assignments and timely delays are some of the ways that slow down the
actions.
What Students
Can Do:
Establish a
schedule and working plan, and use increments of increment achievement as
your benchmarks.
4. Technical Challenges
The Issue:
Incorporation
of internet and devices makes the students more fragile as they depend on
them to execute their work.
Impact:
They also found
that technical problems can be irritating and may cause children to lose
vital learning experiences.
What Students
Can Do:
Keep offline
resources or try another connection, in case of disruption or the
unavailability to use the internet connection.
5. Quality of Instruction
The Issue:
Online courses
can also be very different: There can be found a lot of courses that do
not contain interactive materials or highly qualified teachers.
Impact:
The quality of
lesson delivery reduces the achievement of learning objectives, as well
as, the effectiveness of the learning process.
What Students
Can Do:
Check all
available platforms and reviews regarding courses before you sign up for
a course.
6. Distractions at Home
The Issue:
Often home
environments involve the presence of other family members, household
cleaning or Internet browsing.
Impact:
People lose
concentration and therefore efficiency is affected.
What Students
Can Do:
Designate one
area and make it strict that study must be done there only.
7. Cybersecurity Risks
The Issue:
Virtual
learning mode exposes students to a data breach or scam via online
learning platforms.
Impact:
Some of the
risks which one might be faced with include; For instance you have lost
your personal details or even cash.
What Students
Can Do:
Many people
have been victims of hackers, therefore ensure you use strong passwords,
especially if you use the same password for all your accounts; enable
two-factor authentication; and avoid clicking on links that you are not
so sure of are genuine.
8. Limited Practical Learning
Opportunities
The Issue:
Some subjects
such as science or art involve practical’s which are not easily
conductible online.
Impact:
Superior aberration
Students fail to gain more important experiential knowledge.
What Students
Can Do:
To find
practical skills, try to look for hybrid courses or additional workshops
as many informative courses are provided in the form of hybrid or as
extra classes.
Conclusion
There are some advantages and disadvantages of online learning among which are
Flexibility and Convenience and Student challenges. The remaining parts of the
paper discuss how students can avoid the detrimental effects and maintain
welfare in order to maximize learning experience in online education.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0