It is obvious that through online learning there is a huge loss of social contact. There is also a loss of social interaction between teachers and students. This can be particularly difficult for students who have become accustomed to the presence of their teachers. Whether you call it remote learning, online learning, or distance learning, school looks different during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some students are thriving with this form of learning, many don't seem to participate in it. Some students may not be present at all. Others may be present, but they are not turning in the work or doing more than the bare minimum. So what's stopping your students from getting involved? I feel pressured to try to rush to finish and turn in all my tasks on time.
Most of my tasks are due at the same time, and many of them are time-consuming. Successful field instruction doesn't always translate to successful online instruction. If facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and methodologies, the success of the online program will be compromised. The teacher must be able to communicate well in writing and in the language in which the course is offered.
An online program will be weakened if its facilitators are not properly prepared to function in the Virtual Classroom. Online learning is more difficult for many reasons; from losing crucial parts of your learning to not being able to access your education due to the Internet, online learning has been a difficult adjustment. While online programs have significant strengths and offer unprecedented accessibility to quality education, there are inherent weaknesses in the use of this medium that can pose potential threats to the success of any online program. Because of my online learning experience right now, I wouldn't choose more online learning in the future because in a school, a classroom is a learning environment.
If online participants' time is limited by the amount of Internet access they can afford, instruction and participation in the online program will not be equitable for all students in the course. The highest quality education can and will occur in an online program, provided that the curriculum has been developed or converted to meet the needs of the online environment. Sometimes, management cannot look beyond the bottom line and look at online programs only as ways to increase income, and therefore makes no commitment to seeing online programs as a means of providing quality education to people who might not otherwise be able to access it. Before any online program can expect to be successful, it must have students who can access the online learning environment.
